29 January 2026
Atmospheric chemist Dr Eva Pfannerstill has been elected to the Young Academy | Mainz. The four-year membership awarded by the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz recognises outstanding scientific achievement at an early career stage and provides a platform for interdisciplinary exchange beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The Young Academy | Mainz is the Academy's programme for the promotion of early-career excellence. It brings together outstanding researchers as well as artists, integrates them fully into the Academy's activities, and fosters dialogue across disciplines, institutions and society. Election to the Young Academy is widely regarded as a mark of distinction, acknowledging both the scientific achievements to date and the future potential of its members.
Researching the links between climate change and air pollution
Dr Eva Pfannerstill conducts research at the Institute of Climate and Energy Systems - Troposphere (ICE-3) at Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Cologne, focusing on the interactions between climate change and air pollution. Using atmospheric measurements, she investigates how emissions of trace gases respond to rising temperatures and how these processes contribute to the formation of air pollutants that pose risks to human health. A further focus of her work is the unequal distribution of air pollution within urban areas. Her research shows that exposure to air pollutants varies significantly between population groups, providing important, policy-relevant evidence to support more equitable environmental and public health strategies.
Her election to the Young Academy | Mainz highlights the scientific relevance of this work and its contribution to evidence-based decision-making on climate change and air quality.
