The TUM Ambassadors Prof. Dr. Noelle Eckley Selin and Prof. Dr. Henrik Selin not only appreciate the research environment at TUM, but also the proximity to nature and the Alps (Picture: Noelle and Henrik Selin).
It is a real blessing for science and society that the two top researchers met at a conference in 2001. It was love at first sight. They got married and have been working hard towards their life’s goal ever since. “We want to make the world a better place by repairing environmental damage,” they say. ”We are passionate about sustainability and the protection and improvement of human well-being.”
Perfect environment
Professor Dr. Miranda Schreurs holds the Chair of Environmental and Climate Policy at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology. She has known Noelle and Henrik Selin for many years. She did not want to miss the opportunity to combine their shared interests and approaches to the political and social understanding of sustainability and the technological management of climate change. She encouraged the pair of researchers to apply for the three-year Hans Fischer Senior Fellowship.
The stay at TUM was crucial for both of us to advance our interdisciplinary research.
The collaboration with Miranda Schreurs in the TUM focus group “Pollutants and Sustainability Governance” was also a great enrichment for both sides. “It was not only a great personal honor for us to receive the fellowship, the stay at TUM was also crucial for both of us to advance our interdisciplinary research,” said Noelle and Henrik Selin. “Through our collaboration, we were able to gain a better understanding of the interactions between humans, technology and the environment for the management of sustainability and develop new multidisciplinary analysis methods.”
Long Time Benefit
The results of the focus group’s work were incorporated into teaching at TUM and at Noelle and Henrik Selin’s home institutions. “Our numerous stays at TUM during the years of the fellowship and beyond created valuable opportunities to build connections between TUM and the Pardee School and MIT,” says the research couple. ”Last but not least, we were able to expand our network of colleagues at TUM.”
Although the research fellowship at TUM has already come to an end, this has not stopped Noelle and Henrik Selin from coming back here almost every semester break, working with Miranda Schreurs on their joint research and making plans for the future. “We would like to further expand our successful collaboration with TUM, including the joint supervision of doctoral students, co-authored articles and workshops,” say Noelle and Henrik Selin. “We are a mutual source of inspiration.” In December 2024, the research couple was awarded the honorary title of TUM Ambassadors by TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann.
Noelle and Henrik Selin (Picture: Noelle and Henrik Selin).
TUM Ambassadors 2024
Noelle Eckley Selin graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, USA, with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy, followed by a Master’s degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences, in which she earned her doctorate in 2007. She has been researching and teaching at MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for seventeen years. Since 2021 she has been a full professor at the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and since 2024 she has been the Director of the Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy. She is regarded as a leading international scientist in the interdisciplinary field of sustainability science. She has established a fundamental understanding of atmospheric chemistry, the transport of toxic substances such as mercury, ozone and particulate matter, and their risks to human health.
Henrik Selin completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in political science at Lund University and his PhD in the Department of Thematic Studies at Linköping University. During his studies, he realized that international environmental policy in particular fascinated him in its interdisciplinary dimensions. Since then, he has been researching global and regional politics and policy-making in the fields of climate change, hazardous substances, and sustainable development. Much of his internationally recognized research focuses on the management of mercury and other harmful chemicals and materials. His current main research project is on the theory and practice of effectiveness evaluations of multilateral environmental agreements. Henrik Selin has been at Boston University for over twenty years. There he is Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and an Associate Director of the Institute for Global Sustainability.
Noelle and Henrik Selin have been researching and working together for over twenty years. From 2018 to 2021, they were both Hans Fischer Senior Fellows at TUM’s Institute for Advanced Study. During their time at TUM-IAS, their joint book “Mercury Stories: Understanding Sustainability Through a Volatile Element” (MIT Press) was published.
A healthy work-life balance is very important to the talented research couple. The high quality of life at their two academic locations in Boston and Munich makes this easy. Here and there, Noelle and Henrik Selin enjoy hiking and cycling. But the “food seasons” in Bavaria are still a special treat for the two of them.
In December 2024, Noelle and Henrik Selin were awarded the honorary title of TUM Ambassador by TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann. In recognition of their achievements, selected top international researchers who have conducted research as guests at TUM have been awarded this title once a year since 2013.
