Julia Steinberger

Steinberger, daughter of Nobel laureate in Physics Jack Steinberger, studied science at the Collège de Saussure in Switzerland, where she was awarded the de Saussure prize in 1993. Steinberger moved to the United States for her graduate degree, working at Brown University on the cosmic microwave background.{{Cite web|url=http://www.math.brown.edu/TFBCON2003/students/JuliaSteinberger.html|title=TFBCON2003 (Students): Julia Steinberger '97|website=www.math.brown.edu|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407205120/http://www.math.brown.edu/TFBCON2003/students/JuliaSteinberger.html|url-status=dead}} She earned her PhD studying ultracold atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.{{Cite thesis |title=Progress towards high precision measurements on ultracold metastable hydrogen and trapping deuterium |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/28649 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |date=2004 |degree=Thesis |language=en-US |first=Julia K. |last=Steinberger|hdl=1721.1/28649 }} She worked in the centre for ultracold atoms with Thomas Greytak and Daniel Kleppner, developing new ways to trap ultracold hydrogen and deuterium.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/physics/greytak-kleppner/people.html|title=Ultracold Hydrogen Group Personal|website=web.mit.edu|access-date=7 April 2019}}{{Cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Cort|last2=Matos|first2=Lia|last3=Newman|first3=Bonna|last4=Steinberger|first4=Julia|last5=vant|first5=Kendra|last6=Yi|first6=Peng|last7=Ueno|first7=Tomohiro|last8=Willmann|first8=Lorenz|last9=Greytak|first9=Thomas|date=2003|title=Developments with Ultracold Hydrogen|journal=APS Division of Atomic|volume=34|bibcode=2003APS..DMP.D1067J|pages=D1.067}} The comparison of hyperfine splitting in the ground and excited state is expected to test quantum electrodynamics. During graduate school Steinberger was a member of the MIT Social Justice Cooperative.{{Cite web|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V122/N1/11socjustice1mich.1p.html|title=Volume 122, Issue 1 - The Tech|website=tech.mit.edu|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119192400/http://tech.mit.edu/V122/N1/11socjustice1mich.1p.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/course/21/21w.749/www/Students/michellepovinelli/finalproject/Text/the_group.html|title=Michelle Povinelli: Adventures in Activism|website=web.mit.edu|access-date=7 April 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mit.edu/~thistle/v16/1/commencement.html|title=Commencement Day Crackdown|website=www.mit.edu|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407205118/http://www.mit.edu/~thistle/v16/1/commencement.html|url-status=dead}}

Steinberger was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne and then the University of Zurich, working alongside Claudia R. Binder.{{Cite thesis|title=Progress towards high precision measurements on ultracold metastable hydrogen and trapping deuterium|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|date=2004|degree=PhD|language=en-US|first=Julia K.|last=Steinberger|hdl=1721.1/28649|oclc=655586822}} {{free access}}{{Cite web|url=http://public.julias.promessage.com/homepage/current/home.html|title=Julia K. Steinberger Homepage|website=public.julias.promessage.com|access-date=7 April 2019}} Steinberger was appointed Senior Researcher at the University of Klagenfurt Institute of Social Ecology in 2007.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sume.at/iff|title=Social Ecology Vienna {{!}} www.sume.at|website=www.sume.at|access-date=7 April 2019}} Her research considers the relationships between the use of resources (energy, materials and emission of greenhouse gases) and performance of societies (wellbeing and economic output).{{Cite web|url=http://blog.worldsocialscience.org/author/juliaksteinberger/|title=Julia K Steinberger, Author at World Social Science Blog|website=World Social Science Blog|language=en-US|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-date=23 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123073103/http://blog.worldsocialscience.org/author/juliaksteinberger/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/social-futures/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/julia-steinberger-slides.pdf|title=Growth and sustainability: When can enough be enough?|date=31 January 2014|website=lancaster.ac.uk|access-date=7 April 2019|archive-date=7 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407205124/https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/social-futures/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/julia-steinberger-slides.pdf|url-status=dead}} She is interested in identifying new development pathways toward a low carbon society.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdrc.ac.uk/events/lida-seminar-answer-life-universe-everything/|title=LIDA Seminar: The answer to life, the universe and everything?|website=cdrc.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=7 April 2019}} She joined the University of Leeds as an associate professor in ecological economics in 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverthebluedot.com/profile/julia-steinberger|title=Julia Steinberger|website=Bluedot Festival|language=en|access-date=7 April 2019}} She is a member of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP).{{Cite web|url=https://www.cccep.ac.uk/profile/julia-steinberger/|title=Julia Steinberger |publisher=Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy|language=en-US|website=cccep.ac.uk|access-date=7 April 2019}} On 1 August 2020, Steinberger joined the University of Lausanne as a full professor on the social impact of climate change.{{Cite web|url=https://www.unil.ch/gse/fr/home/menuinst/vie-facultaire/promotions--nominations/steinberger-julia.html/|title=Julia Steinberger, professeure ordinaire |publisher=University of Lausanne, Faculty of Geosciences and Environment|language=fr-CH|website=unil.ch/gse/home/|access-date=19 November 2020}}

Steinberger showed the greenhouse gas emissions of global cities depends on the relation between geophysical and technical factors.{{Cite journal|last1=Kennedy|first1=Christopher|last2=Steinberger|first2=Julia|last3=Gasson|first3=Barrie|last4=Hansen|first4=Yvonne|last5=Hillman|first5=Timothy|last6=Havránek|first6=Miroslav|last7=Pataki|first7=Diane|last8=Phdungsilp|first8=Aumnad|last9=Ramaswami|first9=Anu|date=2009|title=Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Global Cities|journal=Environmental Science & Technology|volume=43|issue=19|pages=7297–7302|doi=10.1021/es900213p|pmid=19848137|bibcode=2009EnST...43.7297K|issn=0013-936X|doi-access=free}} She has also investigated the textile chain, food waste and materials use.{{cite journal|last1=Papargyropoulou|first1=Effie|last2=Lozano|first2=Rodrigo|last3=K. Steinberger|first3=Julia|last4=Wright|first4=Nigel|last5=Ujang|first5=Zaini bin|title=The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste|journal=Journal of Cleaner Production|volume=76|year=2014|pages=106–115|issn=0959-6526|doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.020|bibcode=2014JCPro..76..106P |s2cid=154562712 |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/79194/1/accepted%20manuscript.pdf}} {{closed access}}{{Cite journal|last1=Steinberger|first1=Julia K.|last2=Krausmann|first2=Fridolin|last3=Eisenmenger|first3=Nina|date=2010|title=Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis|journal=Ecological Economics|volume=69|issue=5|pages=1148–1158|doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.12.009|issn=0921-8009}} {{closed access}}{{cite journal|last1=Weisz|first1=Helga|last2=Steinberger|first2=Julia K|title=Reducing energy and material flows in cities|journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability|volume=2|issue=3|year=2010|pages=185–192|issn=1877-3435|doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2010.05.010|bibcode=2010COES....2..185W |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3416745|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=13 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913202437/https://zenodo.org/record/3416745/|url-status=dead}} {{closed access}}{{Cite journal|last1=Steinberger|first1=Julia|last2=Friot|first2=Damien|last3=Jolliet|first3=Olivier|last4=Erkman|first4=Suren|date=2009|title=A spatially explicit life cycle inventory of the global textile chain|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/311314|doi=10.1007/s11367-009-0078-4|journal=The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment|volume=14|issue=5|pages=443–455|bibcode=2009IJLCA..14..443S |s2cid=153975438|issn=0948-3349}} Steinberger is a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) iBUILD (Infrastructure BUsiness models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery).{{Cite web|url=https://research.ncl.ac.uk/ibuild/ibuildteam/investigators/juliasteinberger.html|title=iBUILD - Newcastle University|website=research.ncl.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=7 April 2019}}{{cite web|last=University of Leeds|title=Valuing Infrastructure Conference 2017 - Julia Steinberger|date=19 May 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyvL_4WrSs|website=youtube.com|access-date=7 April 2019}}

Steinberger is the Principal Investigator on the Leverhulme Trust Project "Living Well Within Limits".{{Cite web|url=https://lili.leeds.ac.uk/|title=Living Well Within Limits [LiLi] : Homepage of the LiLi Leverhulme Research Leadership Award Project|website=lili.leeds.ac.uk|access-date=7 April 2019}} The project investigates what the biophysical requirements are for human well-being, and the influence of social provisioning on the levels of resource associated with this. The project also looks to understand how the world's limited resources could be used to preserve human wellbeing. To achieve this, Steinberger believes it is necessary to define what a "good" life is, understand what the requirements are for wellbeing and the context surrounding international inequality.{{Cite web|url=https://memento.epfl.ch/event/eess-talk-on-well-being-and-climate-change-mitigat/|title=EESS talk on "Well-being and climate change mitigation: the Living Well Within Limits approach"|website=memento.epfl.ch|access-date=7 April 2019}}

Steinberger has studied how humanity can maintain a good quality of life without damaging the planet.{{Cite journal|last1=Steinberger|first1=Julia K.|last2=William F. Lamb|last3=Fanning|first3=Andrew L.|last4=O’Neill|first4=Daniel W.|date=2018|title=A good life for all within planetary boundaries|journal=Nature Sustainability|language=en|volume=1|issue=2|pages=88–95|doi=10.1038/s41893-018-0021-4|bibcode=2018NatSu...1...88O |s2cid=169679920|issn=2398-9629|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127264/1/GoodLifeWithinPB_AuthorAcceptedVersion.pdf}} {{closed access}} She argues that to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals the world must move away from growth and toward an economic model that promotes sustainability and equity. Steinberger and colleagues visualised the relationship between national performance in several environmental sustainability indicators and social thresholds for a 'good life'.{{Cite web|url=https://goodlife.leeds.ac.uk/|title=Home|website=A Good Life For All Within Planetary Boundaries|language=en-GB|access-date=7 April 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://goodlife.leeds.ac.uk/about/|title=About|website=A Good Life For All Within Planetary Boundaries|language=en-GB|access-date=7 April 2019}}

In 2020, environmental journalist Roger Harrabin reported on her research on the responsibility of the rich for climate change.{{cite web | last=Harrabin | first=Roger | title=Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study finds | website=BBC News | date=16 March 2020 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51906530 | access-date=13 January 2021}}

Steinberger supports the work of Greta Thunberg and the school strike for climate activists.{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@JKSteinberger/gaslighting-the-climate-striking-students-e57d9e60488c|title=Gaslighting the climate-striking students|last=Steinberger|first=Julia|date=17 February 2019|access-date=7 April 2019|website=medium.com}} She was one of 238 academics who called for the European Union to limit economic growth and instead promote stability and wellbeing.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/16/the-eu-needs-a-stability-and-wellbeing-pact-not-more-growth|title=The EU needs a stability and wellbeing pact, not more growth|last=Letters|date=16 September 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=7 April 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} Steinberger has been the Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report for Working Group 3.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.ipcc.ch/report/authors/report.authors.php?q=37&p=&p|title=IPCC Authors (beta)|website=archive.ipcc.ch|access-date=7 April 2019}} She was also Lead Author on the Urbanisation knowledge module of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Global Energy Assessment.{{Cite web|url=http://www.iiasa.ac.at/web/home/research/Flagship-Projects/Global-Energy-Assessment/GEA_Chapter18_urban_hires.pdf|title=Urban Energy Systems|website=iiasa.ac.at|access-date=7 April 2019}} She is on the Steering Committee of Future Earth.{{Cite web|url=http://futureearth.org/steering-committee|title=Steering Committee|website=futureearth.org|publisher=Future Earth|language=en|access-date=7 April 2019}}

In October 2022, Steinberger participated at a road blockage in Bern with the Swiss ecological movement Renovate Switzerland, and glued her hand to the pavement alongside five other people.

{{cite web

| last1 = Ongweso{{nbsp}}Jr | first1 = Edward

| title = 'We don't have much time left': co-author of UN climate report detained at climate protest

| date = 12 October 2022

| work = Vice

| location = Nashville, Tennessee, USA

| url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/we-dont-have-much-time-left-co-author-of-un-climate-report-detained-at-climate-protest/

| access-date = 2025-04-02

}}

Ten weeks into the second Trump presidency, Steinberger writes in The Guardian that humanity faces unprecedented threats and that "we need an appropriate name for this new era of fossil and tech bros accelerating attacks on democracy and the planet: cataclysm capitalism".

{{cite news

| last1 = Steinberger | first1 = Julia

| title = Trump and Musk have ushered in the era of cataclysm capitalism. But I have a plan to counter it

| date = 2 April 2025

| work = The Guardian

| location = London, United Kingdom

| issn = 0261-3077

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/02/donald-trump-elon-musk-capitalism-us-democracy

| access-date = 2025-04-02

}}

She argues that this new phase builds on neoliberalism but is indifferent to a deteriorating economy. Steinberger outlines three cornerstones for a successful resistance, while observing that:

{{blockquote | 1 = The picture is grim. We are faced with an organised hostile takeover of democracy, coupled with a dismantling of the economy in favour of the sectors and industries most beneficial to the fossil-fuel and tech magnates, to our detriment and the detriment of all life on Earth.}}

Steinberger is the daughter of Jack Steinberger and Cynthia Steinberger.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1988/steinberger/biographical/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1988|website=nobelprize.org|language=en-US|access-date=7 April 2019}} She is the half-sister of musical instrument and industrial designer Ned Steinberger.

{{reflist}}

{{Scholia}}

• [https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/1553/professor-julia-steinberger Julia Steinberger's profile] at School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
• [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=c8Ar3N4AAAAJ&hl=en Julia K. Steinberger's profile] at Google Scholar
• [https://twitter.com/jksteinberger Julia K. Steinberger's profile] at Twitter
• [https://lili.leeds.ac.uk/ Living Well Within Limits]

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Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:Swiss women academics

Category:21st-century Swiss women scientists

Category:21st-century Swiss scientists

Category:Swiss women physicists

Category:Climate change and society

Category:Academics of the University of Leeds

Category:Academic staff of the University of Lausanne

Category:Brown University alumni

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni

Category:Swiss people of German-Jewish descent

Category:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead authors