Dr Sebastian Losacker presents research at the Univeristy of Stavanger
Location: Stavanger, Norway
05. December
On December 5, Dr. Sebastian Losacker followed the invitation of Huiwen Gong and Tom Broekel to the University of Stavanger in Norway. Under the title "A geolocated dataset of German news articles" he presented current research on the creation of a news dataset for Germany, which will serve as a basis for future publications. The dataset will be used in the TRABBI research project on socio-technical regimes in the construction sector.
10 years of ‘Bioeconomy as Societal Change’
Location: Bonn, Germany
26. November
The junior research group participated in an event organised by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to mark the tenth anniversary of the funding programme "Bioeconomy as Societal Change". Dr Sebastian Losacker presented an overview of the current progress and first publications of the TRABBI project, which is funded by this programme. In addition, the group showcased their research in four poster presentations.
The event aimed to celebrate the achievements of the programme and discuss its future direction. Launched to support the transition to a bio-based economy, the programme has funded nearly 50 projects from science, industry and society with more than €60 million and focuses on socio-economic and systemic approaches. Flagship projects were highlighted, and the event fostered interdisciplinary exchange on the role of social science research in advancing the bioeconomy.
Lennart Fischer during his presentation on legitimacy in the construction sector.
39th Meeting of the Industrial Geography Working Group
Location: Wiesbaden-Naurod, Germany
14.-15. November
At the 39th annual meeting of the Industrial Geography Working Group (AK Industriegeographie) in Wiesbaden-Naurod, the junior research group presented recent research results. Presentations covered the forest-based bio-economy in Germany, analysed using the Q-method, market formation in the bamboo construction industry in China, and institutional (mis)alignments and (de)legitimation processes in the construction sector.
The event provided an open forum for the exchange of ideas on current research approaches as well as ongoing and completed projects. Special emphasis was placed on giving young researchers, especially PhD students, the opportunity to present their work and receive valuable feedback from more experienced colleagues.
​​Presentations:
Lennart Fischer: "Cross-country comparison of institutional (mis-)alignment in socio-technical configurations & (De-)legitimation processes in the construction sector"
Charlotte Lobensteiner: "Exploring discourses in the German forest-based bioeconomy: A Q-methodological approach"
Tim Becker: "The geography of green market formation: Insights from the bamboo construction industry in China"
Copyright: Zukunftsperspektive Bioökonomie, bioökonomie.de
Panel discussion at the event "Future Perspectives in the Bioeconomy"
Location: Berlin, Germany
07. November
On November 7, Dr. Sebastian Losacker followed the invitation of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to take part in a panel discussion on "Careers in Science" at the event "Future Perspectives in the Bioeconomy". The event aimed to inspire young people by introducing the bioeconomy as an exciting field for research and future careers. Over 100 young participants gathered at the Ministry in Berlin to explore the diverse training and career opportunities that the bioeconomy offers.
Research stay in India
Location: Mumbai & Chennai, India
08. October - 09. November
Lennart Fischer completed a nearly five-week research stay in India. He spent the first week in Mumbai, where he attended the "World of Concrete" trade fair from October 16 to 18 and conducted interviews with experts from the concrete industry. He then traveled to Chennai, where he met with Dr. Sebastian Losacker. Together they spent a week interviewing experts in the field, including in the ecological model city of Auroville. There, various sustainable building materials could be observed in practice, such as reinforced bamboo (photo right) and the use of clay and coconut wood (photo left).
Over the next two weeks, Lennart Fischer continued his work in Chennai on his own, conducting additional interviews with experts in sustainable construction. Particularly insightful were observations of the production of 3D printed buildings (photo bottom center) and the realization of a building with bricks made from industrial waste (photo top center).
Research stay in China
Location: Shanghai, China
13. October - 01. November
Tim Becker and Dr. Sebastian Losacker spent about three and one week respectively at the East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai, China. During this time they worked closely with TRABBI guest researcher Prof. Dr. Yongmin Shang from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Together, they attended CADE BAU, a leading trade fair in the Asia-Pacific region, from October 16 to 18, and conducted interviews with exhibitors. During his one-week stay, Dr. Sebastian Losacker also gave lectures at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and at ECNU.
Tim Becker continued his work for the next two weeks, conducting additional interviews with bamboo industry experts in Shanghai and Zhejiang Province. He visited a bamboo fair in Anji and the world's tallest bamboo house in Ninghai (photo bottom left). In addition, he visited several factories that process bamboo into building materials (photos above) and toured a completed interior project in Shanghai (photo bottom right).
Copyright: European Regional Science Association
63rd ERSA Congress
Location: Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal
26-30 August 2024
Dr. Sebastian Losacker attended the 63rd Congress of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) in the Azores, Portugal, from August 26 to 30. In the session 'The Spatial, Regional and Urban Dimensions of Circular Economy' he presented recent research under the title 'Using Sequence Analysis to Uncover the Spatio-Temporal Emergence of Bioeconomy Innovations'.
Dr. Herbert Stolzenberg Award for Sebastian Losacker
Location: Gießen, Germany
19. June 2024
Dr. Sebastian Losacker was awarded the Dr. Herbert Stolzenberg Award for Research in Social Sciences, Economics and Law at the summer party of the Giessen Graduate Center for Social Sciences, Economics and Law (GGS) at Justus Liebig University Giessen. Among other recognitions, he received the award for his research with the TRABBI junior research group.
Internation Sustainability Transitions Conference
Location: Oslo, Norway
16-19 June 2024
Lennart Fischer attended the 15th International Sustainability Transitions Conference in Oslo, Norway, from June 16-19, where he presented recent research on the collectivization of visions of a future bio-based construction sector in the session "The geography of sustainability transitions".
In addition to the conference, he participated in the ERC paper development workshop on June 20, organized by the Network for Early Career Researchers in Sustainability Transitions (NEST) in cooperation with the IST conference, and discussed his current research paper in a session chaired by Anna Bergek.
New Research Associate
Location: Gießen
01. June 2024
We are delighted to announce that Charlotte Lobensteiner will join our team as a research associate from June 1, 2024. As part of the research project, she will be working on her PhD thesis, which will focus on the sustainability transition towards a bioeconomy in Germany. Charlotte Lobensteiner studied Geography at the Leibniz Universität Hannover (B.A.) and Human Geography at the University of Münster (M.Sc.).
