Headline: Arrived in the Anthropocene – the IASS congratulates Paul Crutzen on his 80th birthday and presents him with the title „Honorary Senior Fellow“

Nobel prize laureate Paul Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer are among the pioneers who have described a new age – the Anthropocene, the age of humanity, where the human influence on the Earth system has become large enough to be a quasi-geological force in its own right. Human actions have contributed to climate change and sea-level rise, as well as the rapid decline of biodiversity and fertile soils. Paul Crutzen recognized early on that these interventions are a great challenge for present and future generations. Throughout his professional life, he focused on understanding and protecting the environment, for instance the ozone layer.

“With the Anthropocene comes the great responsibility to live sustainably, but also preserve the planet for future generations – this is one of the core topics of the IASS, which aims to identify pathways for the sustainable transformation of society. We are thus especially honored to be associated with Paul Crutzen since the conception of the IASS and to continue a close relationship with him”, said Executive Director Klaus Töpfer who gave the laudatio. For his contributions to better understanding the Earth system in the Anthropocene, the IASS is honored to present Crutzen with the title of “Honorary Senior Fellow”. He is the first scientist to receive this title. “We are very happy that Professor Crutzen accepted the Honorary Senior Fellowship at the symposium “The Anthropocene”, held on the occasion of his 80^th birthday”, congratulates scientific director Mark Lawrence.

Paul Crutzen was born on December 3^rd, 1933, in Amsterdam. He received his PhD in meteorology in Stockholm and worked at multiple universities in Europe and North America. He was director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry in Mainz from 1980 to 2000. He received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1995 together with Mario J. Molina and Frank S. Rowland for his work on the ozone layer.

Photo: Kurt Hensler