YSSP Testimonials
Our young scientists from the IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) 2012 talk about their experiences gained during their three months working with leading scientists on research relating to their own personal areas of research interest.
Doris Rosenkranz, YSSP 1993 Professor, Department of Social Sciences, FH Würzburg-Schweinfurt
"My memories are very colourful and lively and I am still thankful for this intense time in my life. The official picture of my YSSP-group is still hanging on a wall close to my business desk and I am still friends with some of my YSSP colleagues. Because of these contacts, which I also share with my students, I get insights in the scientific life in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Austria and the USA. My scientific and personal experiences at YSSP encouraged me to develop a scientific career. Therefore 11 years ago I started as the youngest - even female - full-professor in Bavaria, Germany."
Andrew Noymer, YSSP 1997
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine
"It was a fantastic experience. It gave me a great perspective on applying research to real-world problems. The atmosphere at IIASA is very good for collaborative research. The professional networks I formed during my YSSP summer are with me still. Every year at the Population Association of America (PAA) annual meeting, the large annual gathering in my field, I see colleagues who I first came to know at IIASA. The YSSP program can work well for students just beginning graduate school, or those nearly finished, although the experience may be different for each group. For any graduate student working on areas covered by IIASA's diverse research programs, I would strongly encourage looking at YSSP."
Eri Saikawa, YSSP 2005
Postdoctoral Associate, Center for Global Change Science, Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"My YSSP experience helped me explore the problems I was interested in. Having a quality time with a mentor at IIASA with so many enthusiastic colleagues around me made one of the best environment for research, and it really was the moment when I fell in love with my research topic. After YSSP, I studied atmospheric chemistry, international relations, Chinese and Korean and conducted a very interdisciplinary research that was policy-oriented. All of this became possible because the breadth and the depth of research I got engaged in at IIASA made me motivated that such interdisciplinary work was possible."
Stephy Makungwa, YSSP 2010
PhD Student, University of Edinburgh, Senior Lecturer, University of Malawi, Bunda College of Agriculture
"It was really an experience for me and I will cherish it throughout the years to come. The relationship was beyond student-supervisor/advisor, we were like friends! I benefited a lot from the YSSP. I was always amazed of the richness of knowledge and expertise and no wonder that IIASA, in particular the Forestry Program, is one of the world class research centres. I came back to Edinburgh with new tools and expertise that will help me to work on PhD research with ease. I trust that the collaboration we have established will flourish and will be beneficial for the African forests and the marginalized rural populance who depend on forests for their livelihoods."
Jesse H. Ausubel, YSSP 1979
Director of the Program for the Human Environment and Senior Research Associate, Rockefeller University, New York City
"My YSSP experience transformed my career. It introduced me to many new areas of science, to many new colleagues with whom I continued to collaborate, and to a global view of problems. My experiences at IIASA profoundly influenced my career in every way: the problems I work on, the ways I approach the problems in a technical sense, the shift from a uni-national to a multi-national perspective, the networks of people with whom I work, and my belief in the contribution science can make to conflict resolution."
Elena Rovenskaya, YSSP 2005
Junior Research scholar, Optimal Control Department, Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University
"My participation in YSSP changed my view on my possible way in science dramatically. I discovered a vast sphere of new applications of mathematical techniques. Traditionally, rigorous mathematical tools were being developed for and showed their effectiveness in ingeneering, mechanics and military applications. However, socio-economic-environmental models are principally new and different. It opens up possibilities for new optimal solutions of complex global issues which are of high importance for the humanity. My YSSP participation has resulted in an ongoing collaboration with the DYN program, I have a lot of new scientific contacts at IIASA and thanks to them I have been visiting quite a few places with research-related missions."
R.R. Krishnamurthy, YSSP 1992
Associate Professor, University of Madras, India
"I have set a record by being the first YSSP from India in the year 1992, which was my first visit to a foreign country at the age of 28. I can firmly say that the experience and knowledge gained in the areas of remote sensing and GIS applications used as basis for my academic career on which I have developed my skills during the last two decades to carry out several field based action oriented research in the areas of coastal management and disaster management in India. My future vision is to establish strong collaborations with IIASA and its YSSP’s spread all over the world."
Erkki Ormala, YSSP 1982
Vice President, Business Environment, Corporate Relations & Responsibility, Nokia Corporation
"The program was a great experience and allowed me to conclude the theoretical part of my PhD in Engineering. The YSSP program provided me with support and an ideal working conditions in an area where there was no tradition in my home country, Finland. The degree and knowledge associated with it were very helpful in my future career as a scientist, policy adviser and, finally, as a business leader."
Charlie Wilson, YSSP 2008
Teaching Fellow, Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics
"It was a steep learning curve, but immensely stimulating and rewarding to work with and learn from experienced researchers at IIASA. This opened up a whole new research direction for me, and one in which I am now fully immersed. The professional relationships I developed have led to me returning on three separate occasions as a visiting research scholar, both to continue and extend work begun as a YSSP, and to work on other IIASA projects. These collaborations, and the regard with which IIASA is held internationally, have undoubtedly helped me successfully find a permanent position at an institution in my home country."
Muhammad Arif Rashid Goheer, YSSP 2007
Senior Scientific Officer, Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), National Centre for Physics (NCP) Complex, Islamabad
"I believe the YSSP is a defining moment in the career of a young researcher. My experience at IIASA was challenging, stimulating, nurturing and rewarding. The Institute promoted and encouraged my personal and professional development by allowing me to explore my interests and get involved in the scientific activities. My work at IIASA helped me to think beyond science and its application in solving the real problems of society. It profoundly influenced my career by all means: from picking the problem to solving it; it helped me connect and establish professional relationships all across the world and gave me a lot of new ideas for future research."
