Planetary Boundaries

Johan Rockström, born December 31, 1965, is a pioneering Swedish scientist who serves as Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and holds professorships at both the University of Potsdam and Stockholm University. He is internationally renowned for developing the Planetary Boundaries framework in 2009, which defines the safe operating space for humanity on Earth. His distinguished career includes founding the Stockholm Resilience Centre and serving as Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute. Recently awarded the 2024 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Rockström's research focuses on global sustainability, climate change, and water resources, with over 150 research publications. He teaches several courses through the SDG Academy, including "Planetary Boundaries" and "Transforming Development," and leads the Master's Pathway in Foundations of Sustainable Development program. As Chief Scientist at Conservation International and chair of multiple international initiatives including the Earth Commission, he actively bridges scientific research with policy-making to address global environmental challenges

Sarah Cornell serves as Associate Professor and Principal Researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, where she coordinates research and international collaborations on Earth resilience. After earning her Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry from the University of East Anglia in 1996, she transitioned from studying marine and atmospheric chemistry to becoming a pioneer in transdisciplinary sustainability science. Her research focuses on understanding Earth resilience and characterizing the global 'safe operating space for humanity.' As co-convenor of the international Planetary Boundaries Research Network, she leads efforts to bridge Earth system science with social-ecological resilience. Her work spans multiple disciplines, from biogeochemistry to sustainability governance, with particular emphasis on human impacts on global environmental processes

Garry Peterson serves as Professor in Environmental Sciences at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, where he focuses on resilience in social-ecological systems and heads the PhD programme in Sustainability Science. After earning his Bachelor's in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Florida, he built an impressive career spanning research, education, and policy work. His research integrates three core themes: the dynamic connections between people and nature, resilience dynamics, and future thinking for navigating social-ecological change. As director of the Finance to Revive Biodiversity Programme and co-chair of the Resilience Alliance, he has published over 125 papers in 40+ journals while co-founding three influential open databases: Biosphere Futures, Seeds of the Good Anthropocene, and the Regime Shifts Database. His work in science-policy interfaces includes significant contributions to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Arctic Council's Arctic Resilience Report, and IPBES assessments. Prior to joining Stockholm Resilience Centre, he held positions at UC Santa Barbara, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and McGill University. His impact is reflected in numerous honors, including being named a Web of Science highly cited researcher in 2020 and receiving the Innovation in Sustainability Science award from the Ecological Society of America in 2019. Through his teaching and research, he continues to advance understanding of how social-ecological systems can navigate change while maintaining resilience in the face of global environmental challenges.

Carl Folke, born in 1955, serves as the Director of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and was the founding Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre (2007-2023). His groundbreaking research has transformed our understanding of the dynamic relationships between humans and nature, economy and ecology. After completing his Ph.D. in 1990 on ecosystem roles in development, he has spent over three decades advancing interdisciplinary sustainability science. His work emphasizes how humans are embedded within and dependent on the biosphere while simultaneously shaping it from local to global scales. As a systems thinker, he has produced over 300 scientific publications, including 16 papers in Science and Nature, and has been consistently recognized as one of the world's most cited researchers. His contributions have earned him prestigious honors including the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences (2022), the Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science (2017), and election to both the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Through the Stockholm Resilience Centre and various international collaborations, he continues to advance understanding of resilience, social-ecological systems, and biosphere stewardship while training new generations of sustainability scientists.

Lisa Deutsch serves as Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies at the Stockholm Resilience Centre while holding a position as Guest Researcher at the Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies at Stockholm University. After earning her Ph.D. in Natural Resources Management and two Master's degrees (Systems Ecology and MBA in International Marketing), she has focused her research on the complex relationships between globalized food production systems and their social-ecological impacts. As Principal Investigator of a Swedish government-funded project on soybeans, she examines the historical development of global agrofood systems, tracing their evolution from ancient China to modern industrial agriculture. Her work spans food system resilience, urban food security, and the ecosystem impacts of intensive livestock and aquaculture production. As Director of Studies, she leads innovative educational programs developing the next generation of resilience and sustainability scientists. Her research has garnered over 10,750 citations, reflecting her significant impact on understanding global food systems and their sustainability challenges. She currently teaches courses in Planetary Boundaries and Foundations of Sustainable Development through the SDG Academy while overseeing all study programs at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.