Wladimir Köppen PreisSICSS Doctoral Candidate Honored at CLICCS Retreat

10 July 2025

Photo: UHH/Miriam Frieß

For a long time, climate research was primarily shaped by the natural sciences – yet climate has far-reaching impacts on prosperity, migration, tolerance, and many other aspects of society. SICSS doctoral candidate Youssef Ibrahim explored how society itself became a subject of climate science. For his outstanding dissertation, he has now been awarded the Wladimir Köppen Award by the Cluster of Excellence CLICCS – presented during this year’s CLICCS Retreat.

In his dissertation, Ibrahim traces the evolution of climate science – from early thinkers like Alexander von Humboldt and Wladimir Köppen to modern climate models. His focus lies on how the concept of climate shapes social structures – for example, through the idea of “climate niches” in which societies develop within specific climatic conditions. The jury praised his work as an outstanding interdisciplinary achievement, combining historical, sociological, and scientific perspectives in an innovative way.

The Wladimir Köppen Award is endowed with €5,000 and awarded by the Cluster of Excellence “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society” (CLICCS) at Universität Hamburg. It recognizes exceptional doctoral dissertations by early-career researchers. At the retreat, CLICCS members also discussed the latest research, consolidated their efforts, and prepared for the next phase – CLICCS II.