Recent
Academic
Appointments
2023 – 2026
Omidyar Fellow at the Santa Fe Instiute, U.S. (comparable to a junior faculty pure research position without teaching responsibilities)
until 2023
Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Economics, Konstanz University and Thurgau Institute of Economics (with Urs Fischbacher)
from 2022
Ongoing affiliation with the Santa Fe Institute (visiting researcher 01-02/2022, with Samuel Bowles)
from 2020
Member of the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” at the University of Konstanz
Education
Nov. 2012
PhD in Economics, Jena University & MPI (summa cum laude)
Thesis: “Cultural, individual and situational determinants of control aversion in employment relationships” (awarded “Best doctoral dissertation” by the GfeW, Association of German-speaking experimental economists)
Advisors: Simon Gächter Oliver Kirchkamp, Anthony Ziegelmeyer
PhD program: IMPRS-Uncertainty (International Max Planck Research School on Adapting Behavior in a Fundamentally Uncertain World), MPI of Economics, Jena
2003
Diploma degree (equivalent to Master degree) in Psychology, University of Jena (grade 1.1, ranging from 1.0 [best] to 6.0 [worst])
Thesis: “Cognitive structuring and mathematical giftedness – an experiment with primary school children”
1996
“Abitur”, best of the year (grade 1.1)
Awards,
Grants &
Recognitions
2023
Young Researcher Teaching Award, Department of Economics, Konstanz University
2022
Prize for Courageous Science of the Ministry of Science of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, for research and public communication on covid policies €30,000 (shared with Sireen El Zaatari)
2022
Science Prize of the Messmer Foundation for the research agenda on “Covid and climate: new insights for behavioral science and policy making”, €10,000
from 2022
Member of a team of scientists providing ongoing policy advice to the Minister of Finance of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg
2021
Nominated by Konstanz University for Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz prize of the DFG (German Research Foundation)
2021
Flexible Fund of the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” (Konstanz University, €4,000)
2021
Young Scholar Fund (Konstanz University, €5,770)
2020
Fund application at the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” (granted, €238,000) for “Selection into Leadership and Perceptions of Inequality: The Case of Consistency” (with A. Chadi, U. Fischbacher, I. Wolff)
2014
Research and teaching grant (€50,000) from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the state of Baden-Württemberg
2014
Swiss National Fund, Agora programme (CHF 64,316, with U. Fischbacher, U. Wacker, I. Wolff for public exhibition project: “Economic Decision Making – An Interactive Exhibition on New Findings of Behavioral Economics”
2013
Heinz Sauermann Award for the best Ph.D. thesis of 2012/2013 given by the GfeW (Gesellschaft für experimentelle Wirtschaftsforschung, association of German-speaking experimental economists)
Katrin Schmelz 