A New Generationof Scientists

25 Years YSSP Young Scientists Summer Program

Autumn 2002Autumn 2002

I I A S A

International Institute forApplied Systems Analysiswww.iiasa.ac.at �������

Options magazine features the activities of the International Institute for AppliedSystems Analysis (IIASA), located in Laxenburg, Austria. IIASA is an interdisciplinary,nongovernmental research institution sponsored by a consortium of National MemberOrganizations in Asia, Europe, and North America. The Institute’s research focuseson sustainability and the human dimensions of global change. IIASA’s studies areinternational and interdisciplinary, providing timely and relevant insights for thescientific community, policymakers, and the public.

This issue of Options was written by Val Jones and prepared by theIIASA Publications Department, with photo contributions from John Clark,Fernando Martins, Franz-Karl Nebuda, and Olivia Volker-Nilsson.

Printed by Remaprint, Vienna

Copyright © 2002

International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisA-2361 Laxenburg, AustriaPhone: +43 2236 807 0Fax: +43 2236 71313E-mail: inf@iiasa.ac.atWeb: www.iiasa.ac.at

Sections of Options may be reproduced with acknowledgment to IIASA.Please send a copy of any reproduced material to the Office of Information.

The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarilyrepresent the positions of IIASA or its supporting organizations.

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Options Autumn 2002

Contents

Editorial 1

The Origins of the YSSP 2

The Early Years: Overcoming Barriers 3

The YSSP: A View from Sweden 4

One American’s Reflections on the YSSP 5

YSSP Projects: Preparing for Success 7

A Recipe for Duck Soup 8

The Magic of Research 10

YSSP Midsummer Workshop 2002 12

The YSSP Experience 15

Peccei and Mikhalevich Scholarships 20

About the YSSP 24

Special Thanks to Maggie 25

Cover designby Anka James

editorial

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The year 2002 is remarkable for IIASA in that it marks both theInstitute’s 30-year anniversary and the 25-year anniversary ofthe Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP). This issue ofOptions is entirely devoted to the YSSP. In this way it differsfrom other issues, which usually report on the research findingsof IIASA scientists. IIASA is a research institute with no formaleducational programs, with one exception: the YSSP.

In the past 25 years, over 1,000 young researchers from 45countries have spent three summer months at IIASA. Duringtheir stay, the participants work with their project supervisors,with scientists in other IIASA projects, and with one another.

They share their ideas through informal discussions and more formal presen-tations of their research, such as at the midsummer workshop. As is echoedthroughout this issue of Options, these experiences teach the participants to“think big.” Above all, the YSSP enables young people to work together in afriendly environment that is ideal for thinking and for developing their ideas.

This summer, IIASA celebrated the first 25 years of the YSSP with the returnof a number of alumni, who gave lectures and discussed the past and future ofthe program. Their memories and insights are among those included here. Thetopics covered in this issue of Options range from descriptions of the program’sorigins to visions of the YSSP of the future. The articles also provide insightinto the candidate selection process, how the program serves to strengthen therelationship between IIASA and its National Member Organizations, and howparticipation can be a learning process for participants and project supervisors.

Particularly interesting are the responses to a survey of YSSP alumni regardingthe ways the program has affected their lives and careers, and how the programmight be changed to address changing global research needs. Many of the alumnipointed to the need for a shift in emphasis to issues of sustainable development,and thus to North–South collaboration. This is in line with IIASA’s long-term plan,as decided by the IIASA Council in late 1999. In a move in this direction, Chinajoined IIASA in early 2002, and discussions concerning possible membership forseveral developing countries—including India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Chile—areongoing.

During its first 30 years, IIASA has evolved from its past focus on East–Westissues to become a research institute dealing with matters of global change.And for the past quarter-century, the YSSP—with its international, hands-on,interdisciplinary approach—has been helping launch the careers of youngscientists uniquely equipped for the challenges of global change research.With the increasing membership of developing countries, our “YSSPers”will be even better equipped in the years ahead.

Leen HordijkDirector of IIASA

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The Origins of the YSSPRoger E. LevienDirector of IIASA, 1975–1981

The Young Scientists Summer Program had its originin two things: the Institute’s desire to develop a newgeneration of scientists who would carry forward theinternational, interdisciplinary, and applied approachthat we were developing at IIASA, and my experiencein a similar program at the RAND Corporation.

One of the principal problems the Institute facedin its early days was the scarcity of researchers withpractical experience in “systems analysis” of the kindthat IIASA was trying to apply. Although the UnitedStates was viewed as the source of systems analysisknowledge and experience, there were in fact only asmall number of American systems analysis prac-titioners, and most of them worked in industry andthink tanks. There were even fewer experiencedsystems analysts in other countries. Only a handfulof scientists in the world had international systemsanalysis experience—principally in military issues.Thus, the Institute recruited mature scientists withstrong disciplinary research backgrounds, formed theminto interdisciplinary and international teams, andapplied them to policy-relevant problems. It hopedthat the crucible of experience would transmute goodscientists into good systems analysts. The results were

mixed: it is difficult for experienced scientists,nurtured on the research paradigms of their fields, todevelop new approaches in mid-career. The Instituteneeded to foster an international cadre of youngresearchers who would bring vigor to the developingdiscipline of international and applied systemsanalysis.

This problem confronted me when I became thedirector of IIASA in the fall of 1975. But I broughtto it my own experience as a young scientist. WhenI had finished my undergraduate program inengineering, I sought a summer internship to gainexperience (and income) before starting a master’sprogram at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The chairman of the Engineering Department at mycollege recommended me to the RAND Corporationin Santa Monica, California (where systems analysiswas developed; it was the original “think tank”).Fortuitously, RAND was at that moment consideringinitiating a graduate student program and decided thatI would be a suitable test case. I spent three months atRAND, absorbing its systems approach, interdis-ciplinary style, and focus on real policy problems. Theexperience changed my career—and life—plans.I resolved to prepare myself to become a RANDresearcher and switched to a PhD program at HarvardUniversity. After returning for two more summers toa full-fledged summer graduate student program,I joined RAND full-time. There, I worked on a widerange of public policy problems, engaging graduatestudents whenever possible. Then, in the fall of 1974,I was invited to spend a sabbatical year at IIASA.When, after a year, I was appointed director of IIASA,it seemed to me that a similar program could helpattract young scientists from many countries to thefield of international and applied systems analysis—and, eventually, to IIASA or to organizations in itsresearch network.

A New Generation of Scientists

The YSSP: 25 Years at IIASASince 1977, IIASA’s Young Scientists Summer Program

has provided a unique opportunity for young scientists

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Roger Levien (inset) and the 1979 “YSSPers.”

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The Graduate Students Summer Program, as itwas then known, began in the summer of 1977 with13 participants from five countries. Office space—cubicles—was found for the students in the Kaisergang,the passageway that links the Schloss with the ParkWing. The students worked with supervisors fromalmost all of IIASA’s research projects. The summerwas a success for both the program participants andthe Institute. The students found the experienceenriching and the program to have great potential,despite some start-up problems. They expressed thehope that it would continue. The supervisors foundthe students to be bright, enthusiastic, and productive.

The program was repeated in 1978; this timeparticipants were required to find their own financialsupport. Even with that requirement, 13 students fromeight countries participated. To strengthen the formaleducational component of the program, the studentsattended a series of lectures on systems analysis,organized by Ed Quade, who headed the State of theArt of Systems Analysis Project. As a sign of its successand spreading reputation, the program grew sub-stantially in 1979, bringing together 24 young scientistsfrom 11 countries.

With three years of positive experience andCouncil support, I decided to formalize and publicizethe program more widely. My assistant for scientificrecruitment, Gennady Potemkin, took on the task. Hepointed out that many of the previous participantswere not formally “graduate students,” but rather“young scientists.” So we agreed to modify theprogram’s name. Gennady soon returned with a draftbrochure whose cover carried the new name: “SummerProgram for Young Scientists.” I took one look andtold him that it had to be changed. The acronym—SPYS—simply would not do for an institute dedicatedto breaking down Cold War barriers! So it became the“Young Scientists Summer Program.” And YSSP it hasremained.

When I left IIASA at the end of 1981, I wasdelighted that the YSSP had become an integral andsuccessful part of IIASA’s activities. Everyone lookedforward to the arrival of the young scientists eachsummer because not only did they come to learn, butthey also brought their intelligence, energy, andenthusiasm, raising our spirits and renewing ourcommitment to the Institute’s goals. My originalobjective of developing a new cadre of systemsanalysts had been well served. But I came to realizethat perhaps the most important function of the YSSPwas to bring together scientists from many countries,enabling them to build bridges across politicalboundaries at the start of their careers that wouldserve them well in the years ahead. I hope and expectthat the paths across those bridges have been welltrodden in the 25 years since the first graduatestudents spent the summer at IIASA.

The Early Years:OvercomingBarriersTibor VaskoFormer Dean of the YSSP, 1981–1986

This year IIASA celebrates the 25th anniversary of thelaunch of the YSSP. For those who are consideringjoining the program to pursue your scientific interestsand are looking for a friendly country, beautifulcountryside, and good food and wine, you will becoming to the right place.

This year IIASA also celebrates another anni-versary: the Institute was established 30 years ago, aftermany years of preparation and efforts to build bridgesbetween East and West. I had the pleasure of beingthere, representing theCzechoslovak SocialistRepublic. Today there isno Czechoslovakia and noSocialist Republic, butthere is still IIASA, whichproves the robustness andresilience of the idea ofcreating an internationalinstitute for cooperationand mutual benefit.

IIASA may have been based on friendship andcooperation, but it was the 1967 Arab–Israeli war thatled to the decision to create it. In that year, many headsof state were at the United Nations General Assemblyin New York to discuss the war, including Soviet PremierAlexei Kosygin. The Americans wanted to make use ofthe fact that Premier Kosygin was on US soil, but hewas there as a guest of the UN, and not the US govern-ment. For reasons of protocol, therefore, US PresidentLyndon Johnson could not meet him in New York, andKosygin could not visit Johnson in Washington. Thediplomats were very inventive, however, and proposedthat a meeting take place halfway, in Glassboro, NewJersey. At that meeting, the two leaders agreed thatthe world was facing new problems and proposed thata special institute be created to address them.

McGeorge Bundy and Soviet Academician JermenGvishiani were given the task of pursuing the matterand bringing it to formal conclusion, but it was anotherfive years before the Institute was established. In 1972the negotiations moved to London, hosted by the RoyalSociety. The negotiators were to select a location forthe new institute, decide on a suitable name, and findthe means to finance it. Everything involved acompromise—even the name. The Americans wanted

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Tibor Vasko with the 1982 “YSSPers.”

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IIASA’s National Member OrganizationsIIASA’s 17 National Member Organizations (NMOs) provide valuable support for the YSSP, both bypromoting the program and offering scholarships to enable predoctoral students to participate. TheNMOs support students registered at universities in their countries, but increasingly are offering supportto foreign nationals, specifically those from countries with economies in transition or developing countries.The following articles present the views of representatives of two NMOs—Sweden and the UnitedStates—highlighting the importance of the program at the individual, national, and international levels.

an institute that would work on practical problems,applying known theories and experience, and using alargely empirical approach. The Russians wanted aninstitute that would undertake scientific analyses ofproblems and generate widely applicable method-ological rules. After long discussions, it was decidedthat the name, the International Institute for AppliedSystems Analysis, would encompass both interests:“applied” was closer to the American view, and“systems analysis” satisfied the Russians.

Once the decision was made to locate the Institutein Laxenburg, the government of Austria, includingChancellor Bruno Kreisky and Foreign Minister (laterPresident) Rudolf Kirchschläger, and the wider Austrian

community were very supportive. The work beganimmediately, in an apartment in Vienna borrowed fromthe International Atomic Energy Agency until June1973, when the first eight rooms in Schloss Laxenburgbecame available. Many observers were skeptical aboutthe Institute’s future. They warned that it would takeyears for an international institute to start to produceresults. I was therefore delighted when the first researchreport appeared in the summer of 1973, followed afew weeks later by a paper by George Dantzig. Thesewere the first signs that IIASA was alive and well.

After 25 years the YSSP continues to be a greatsuccess, and its importance is growing. I am sure I speakfor all IIASA staff when I say that we have all becameso used to the program that for us the real summeronly begins when we are flooded with young people.The program has always been international and inter-disciplinary, and is responding to recent challenges bybecoming multicultural.

For almost two-thirds of its existence, IIASAoperated in a Cold War environment. The iron curtainmay no longer exist, but many other barriers remainbetween peoples, nations, and religions. There is still aneed for IIASA’s unique ability to tunnel useful ideasthrough barriers of whatever kind. I think the continuingchallenge to researchers of any age is to identify andspread new knowledge, but even more, to spreadwisdom. In this venture I would like to wish all YSSPparticipants, both past and future, the greatest success.

Supporting Young Scientists andthe YSSP: A View from SwedenBerit ÖrnevallSenior International Officer,The Swedish Research Council forEnvironment, Agricultural Sciencesand Spatial Planning (FORMAS), andSwedish NMO Secretary

During my first visit to IIASA in 1977, my impressionswere of the magnificent Schloss Laxenburg, the inter-national atmosphere, the sounds of differentlanguages in the corridors, and, most of all, the almosttangible excitement of the ongoing high-level research.All these things led me to think that this was

something that our young students should be able toexperience during their years of long hard work toreach their scientific goals. Thus, when IIASAlaunched the YSSP, I was happy that the SwedishNMO took the opportunity to send some young PhDstudents to Laxenburg. Some of those first SwedishYSSP participants are now successful scientists,working as university professors and research leaders,or are directors of institutes and private companiesin Sweden and elsewhere. Many of them have declaredthat IIASA was their portal to internationalcollaboration.

Sweden has supported the YSSP for more than20 years, and has extended its funding to enable morePhD students to join IIASA’s research teams and tomake valuable contacts with other young scientists

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Peter Aven (USSR, YSSP ’77)worked with IIASA’s ETI Project forover ten years. From 1991 to 1992he was the minister of foreignrelations of the Russian Federation.He is currently president of theRussian Alpha Bank.“I participated in the firstexperimental YSSP program in1975. I also was there for thesecond time in 1977.…[F]or all

Russians (there were four of us in both years), this time at IIASAwas extremely interesting and helpful. Especially for Russiansat that time it was not just IIASA but ‘the West’.…[The] YSSPgave me a lot of information about the proper organizationof scientific work. And it also gave me serious stimulus tocome back, which I did in 15 years’ time.”

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from all over the world. Every year we fund five or sixparticipants from Swedish universities who haveapplied to the program and have been selected byIIASA. Our rule is that applicants must be registeredat a Swedish university, but they need not necessarilybe Swedish citizens. We have also given financialsupport to students from a number of East Europeancountries that cannot find funding for their own youngscientists. This support has allowed us to obtaininternational feedback and has led to the developmentof many valuable networks for Swedish researchers.

How can Sweden help to make IIASA and its YSSPbetter known and to attract more young PhD students?Over the years, we have found that professors orsupervisors who have been in contact with IIASA areable to recruit interested and competent candidatesamong their own students. It is also clear that youngpeople with international experience or foreignbackgrounds are more eager to continue to workabroad. We therefore see it as our task to broaden thisgroup and to convince other students to make use ofthis very special opportunity to spend a summer at anexciting research institute together with 50–60 otheryoung people of different nationalities.

As one way to “market” the program, post-YSSPseminars are held each year at a university in Sweden,where former participants describe their scientificprojects and experiences during the summer. Especiallytempting for the audience are the accounts of the manysocial activities, such as hiking in the mountains,exploring Vienna, and visiting cities such as Budapestand Prague. The highlight is the annual midsummerparty—incorporating many of our traditions such asdancing, flowers, herrings, and “snaps”—which isarranged by the Nordic students. These seminarsenable us to establish new contacts between IIASA andSwedish universities.

As another way to ensure that we keep in touchwith former YSSP participants and other IIASAalumni, we invite IIASA project leaders and alumni

One American’s Reflectionson the YSSPAlan McDonaldFormer Executive Director, US Committeefor IIASA, and US NMO Secretary

IIASA’s first director, Howard Raiffa, faced thechallenges of starting up the new institute, but thesubsequent task of the second director, Roger Levien,was perhaps even more daunting—to turn a successfulstart-up into a sustainable institution. To meet thischallenge, in the late 1970s Levien initiated two newprograms, the YSSP and the International Cooperationin Systems Analysis Research program. ICSAR, whichaimed at attracting corporate funding for industry-oriented research at IIASA, did not survive.

Fortunately, the YSSP not only survived butexpanded and flourished, even while IIASA’s overallbudget and staff contracted during the 1980s. Indeed,the YSSP proved the easiest of the US NMO’s manyfund-raising duties. In particular, the government wasmuch quicker to write a check so that Americanstudents could experience IIASA’s research first-handthan it was to pay for that research in the first place.Thus for the US NMO, the YSSP was (and still is)very much a win–win proposition. In addition to itsdirect educational andresearch benefits, the YSSPcontributes to IIASA’slong-term health in at leastthree ways.

First and most funda-mental is the program’scontribution to recruiting.Recruiting has alwaysbeen the director’s mostimportant task. It is time-consuming, never ending,

to present their work at annual seminars. The past25 years have resulted in a long list of alumni for usto invite.

Why does Sweden put so much effort into pro-moting the YSSP? It is one of IIASA’s most importantand popular programs, and provides science with new,upcoming young talent. For me personally, this is andhas always been my favorite job. It has often involved agreat deal of hard work, but I have also had a lot of funand pleasure in return. I have enjoyed meeting the manyclever and always very positive young people, and haveestablished good contacts with many of them. One ofmy best memories is of the words of one of thosestudents: “the Swedish scholarship gave me a real chanceand it changed and improved my whole life.”

IIASA can certainly be proud of this successfulprogram.

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YSSP participants sponsored by Sweden in 2000, withYSSP coordinator Margaret Traber (back row, secondfrom right). Missing from photo: Adam Mantaye.

Alan McDonald (right) with formerIIASA Director Peter de Janosí.

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and difficult. Convincing established professionals touproot their families and careers and move everythingto Vienna can be a challenge, particularly with theincrease in two-career couples. Enticing students intothe YSSP, which is essentially a “three-month free trial”of work at IIASA at a time when they are relativelyunconstrained by spouses, children, mortgages, andcommunity and professional commitments, is mucheasier. Once they are familiar with IIASA and havepersonal and professional connections, they are easierto recruit at subsequent stages in their careers. Thereis also an indirect recruiting benefit from YSSP alumni.By augmenting IIASA’s overall network of alumni, theYSSP alumni broaden its reach, and the alumninetwork is an essential part of any director’s recruitingeffort.

Second, YSSP alumni are also a critical resourcefor IIASA’s NMOs. In retrospect, the creators ofIIASA—the relatively small group of remarkableindividuals who negotiated IIASA’s six-year birth—mayhave devoted too little attention to the NMOs. Eachof the creators was fulfilling the functions he (and theywere all men) would later leave to his NMO. Eachserved as a two-way link, simultaneously doing threethings: (1) promoting national interests to his IIASAcolleagues, (2) negotiating with them compromiseswith mutual benefits, and (3) promoting IIASA tonational constituencies back home. Being present fromthe beginning, their comprehensive appreciation ofIIASA from all perspectives was unique. The same

comprehensive appreciation is just as valuable today,but it is hard to recreate generation after generation.Still, the challenge is not unique to IIASA. Just as largecorporations move talented people around to buildunderstanding and relationships that will ultimatelyhelp to coordinate the overall company, “corporateIIASA” (including both NMOs and the operation inLaxenburg) is well served by alumni who activelyparticipate in their NMOs. The view from Laxenburgis always different from the views from Stockholm,Cambridge, Moscow, Beijing, or even Vienna. Peoplewho understand more than just one view are valuable.To the extent that YSSP colleagues are active in thedifferent NMOs, they also help to strengthen under-standing and coordination directly among NMOs. Itall helps “corporate IIASA” to run more smoothly andto be more effective.

Finally, the YSSP can play a role in building andexpanding IIASA’s constituency. The creation of IIASAin the midst of the Cold War, the arms race, Vietnam,the Six-Day War in the Middle East, and the Sovietsuppression of the Prague Spring was remarkable—atruly admirable accomplishment. But now it is ancienthistory. For IIASA to be useful in advancing researchand in promoting joint international policy progressthrough joint analysis, it must be responsive tochanging policy interests in the NMO countries, tochanging research approaches and data, and to thechanging roster of what C.S. “Buzz” Holling, IIASA’sthird director, called “influentials”—the movers andshakers in governments, business, and academe. Themore of those influentials that are YSSP alumni, thebetter off IIASA will be, and—in my opinion—thebetter off the world will be.

Plamena Gaydarova (Bulgaria,YSSP ’96) is now working in aSwedish–Bulgarian project on inte-grated environmental diagnosis andassessment of ecological systems atrisk in Bulgaria.“I have been very grateful for whatI learned from the holistic thinkingthat characterized the IIASAresearch environment.”

Stefan Anderberg (Sweden,YSSP ’85) returned to IIASA asa staff member from 1989 to1996, and was often a YSSPsupervisor. He is now associateprofessor at the University ofCopenhagen, Denmark.

“I had a fantastic, and I thinkrather unique, YSSP experience,

which has had an enormousinfluence on my career. The

YSSP opened up new worlds ofresearch, research questions,

perspectives, contacts, andopportunities.”

Jesse Ausubel (USA, YSSP ’79) is director of the Program for theHuman Environment at the Rockefeller University, New York. From1979 to 1981 he led IIASA’s Climate Task within the Resources andEnvironment Program.“My experiences at IIASA profoundly influenced my career in everyway: the problems I work on, the ways I approach the problems ina technical sense, the shift from a uni-national to a multi-nationalperspective, the networks of people with whom I work, and mybelief in the contribution science can make to conflict resolution.”

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YSSP Projects: Preparing for SuccessUlf DieckmannYSSP Supervisor

Putting together a successful YSSP project is often akinto preparing a sophisticated dinner menu. Both benefitfrom careful planning, a good match of available skillsand actual requirements, determination and diligence,some ingenuity, and an inspired vision of the finalproduct.

YSSP projects are at the same time wonderfulopportunities and formidable challenges. Like anypiece of innovative research, they can be highlyunpredictable. A promising plan, even if wellconceived at the outset, might simply crumble inthe face of a few unexpected findings. Or, what mayhave initially seemed a solid and unequivocalresearch pathway may open up surprising vistastoward even more exciting destinations. But the trulytaxing aspect of these projects is their length. Threemonths is not an awfully long time in which to packthe choice of a mutually attractive subject, trainingin some specific skills or techniques, the unfoldingof the required research, and the production of sometangible output—as well as participating in theunique social environment for which IIASA’s summerprogram is justifiably famous.

Yet it works, often amazingly well. One reason,I think, is that some critical self-selection among theparticipants works to the advantage of the summerprogram. The young scientists who come to IIASAare keenly interested in going abroad, engaging ininternational collaboration, and working and livingtogether with other students and scientists fromaround the world. Many of them bring a high degreeof commitment to the program and a combination ofsalient talents. A second reason for its success lies inthe preparation. When scientists at IIASA andcandidates for the YSSP can orchestrate a researchagenda through a process of mutual information and

discussion, and if the young scientists then familiarizethemselves with the necessary background before theyarrive, most of the summer can be spent focusing onthe actual work.

Perhaps the most important reason for thecontinuing success of the YSSP stems from thesynergies it helps to create. Many participants join theprogram equipped with scientific questions, skills, andoutlooks that are healthily different from the platformIIASA has available in-house. Combining thesecomponents then has the potential to create a wholethat is more than the sum of its parts. Here, the brevityof summer projects is actually key: whereas con-ventional PhD projects can be (and often are) builtsolely around the scientific enthusiasms of theirsupervisors, many fine YSSP projects regularly arisefrom a more cooperative approach, in which two onlypartially overlapping sets of expertise are fruitfullypooled. In the past few years, such fortunate constel-lations have enabled, for instance, our AdaptiveDynamics Network Project to expand its expertise inareas as diverse as modeling fish stocks and fisheries,investigating the ecology and evolution of structuredpopulations, and studying plant–herbivore interactionsor speciation by sexual selection, to mention just afew prominent examples. Longer-term affiliations offormer YSSP participants with IIASA then ensure thatthe most thriving of these collaborations can becontinued.

Returning to the dinner-menu analogy, it is clearthat, as usual, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.For those involved in the YSSP, both participants andsupervisors, this involves not only expanded horizons,but also happy memories of the collaborative processitself. First and foremost, this means sharing the resultsof fruitful summer projects with the wider scientificcommunity in the form of publications. This step isnot only important for IIASA as an institution; it isalso becoming increasingly vital for the participatingyoung scientists. At least in science, PhD thesescompiled from articles published in international peer-reviewed journals are becoming the worldwidestandard (sweeping away conservative rules thatoblige candidates to produce little-read monographsin their national language). In support of this trend,IIASA’s summer program has already led to many agood PhD chapter, and has thus allowed youngscientists to visibly demonstrate the skills andexperience they have gained in the art of internationalscientific collaboration.

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Ulf Dieckmann (left) with YSSP Vice-Dean Zig Klimont.

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Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer

A Recipe for Duck SoupJoanne Linnerooth-BayerDean of the YSSP

A poster for the Marx brothers’ satirical film Duck Soup shows the four Marx brothers

swimming in a cooking pot over a fire. Why the title Duck Soup? It is claimed that Groucho

provided the following recipe: “Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck,

and mix them together. After one taste, you’ll duck soup the rest of your life.” 1

Roger Levien, IIASA’s second director and founder ofthe YSSP, provided the basic recipe for the YSSP’ssuccess: take a few young scientists from IIASA’smember countries, a few from outside, be sure theyrepresent about half as many disciplines as participants,and integrate them into IIASA’s research projects.

And what did Groucho mean by “duck soup?”While English is the common language of the YSSP,some participants may not know that “to duck” is slangfor “to avoid.” Yet, even though the participants maynot be familiar with English slang, let alone each of thehighly specialized jargons of the twenty-plus disciplinesrepresented every summer at IIASA, interdisciplinaryand international research can and does go on. Howdoes the YSSP do it? Let me give an example from theRisk, Modeling and Society (RMS) Project.

RMS is carrying out an integrated assessment offlood risks on the Upper Tisza River, which flows fromUkraine to Romania through one of the poorest areasof Hungary. This is also one of the most flood-proneareas in Europe. Together with Swedish and Hungariancollaborators, the RMS team is building a flood-catastrophe model of the area and is using this modelto aid a stakeholder process to reach a consensus onpolicies for reducing flood losses and sharing themthrough a country-wide insurance program. The modelis informed by interviews with stakeholders and a surveyof the Hungarian public. This is a typical IIASAproject—thoroughly international, interdisciplinary andaimed at an integrated assessment.

Enter the young scientists—not on the film set asin the fictitious Freedonia where the Marx brothersfound themselves, but on the site of the historicHabsburg palace in Laxenburg. Since the beginning ofthe Tisza River project in 2000, RMS has hosted 18“YSSPers” from nine countries. Each has come withhis or her disciplinary baggage; yet, by learning fromeach other and the RMS staff, many have turned theirsummer into a genuinely interdisciplinary experience.They have also greatly contributed to the Tisza Riverproject. I will illustrate with some of RMS’s cast ofcharacters.

Arriving in 2000, two Swedish participants, Karinand Lisa, with backgrounds in systems sciences fromStockholm University, set out to build an interface for

the IIASA model such that it could be used in the secondround of interviews with Hungarian stakeholders. Thistask clearly required expertise beyond modeling. To learnabout the intricacies of the Hungarian policy terrain,Karin and Lisa made good use of the expertise of Zoltán,who had been working on the Tisza River project inBudapest. Coming from a sociology background, Zoltánalso stretched his discipline. His task was to analyzethe Hungarian survey data, but as he learned more abouttheories developed by cultural anthropologists, he testedwhether the Hungarian responses reflected economicinterests or were related to socially determinedworldviews.

The soup became richer with the addition ofMuneta, our Japanese participant from KyotoUniversity, who applied stochastic optimizationtechniques to two key Tisza issues: how much to investin flood mitigation and how to share fairly the residualcosts among generations. This was a difficult exercisein systems thinking (given rare catastrophic events) anddistributive justice—an unusual assignment for aJapanese economics student. Muneta spent a great dealof time discussing his approach with Krzystof, a Polisheconomics student with experience in financialinstitutions, who worked out a strategy for financinglarge, probabilistic losses to public infrastructure dueto floods. This strategy made use of novel hedginginstruments, such as catastrophe bonds—a hot topic infinancial circles.

Just as in the classic Marxbrothers’ film, where the plotthickened as the Freedonianpresident, Rufus T. Firefly, endedup at war with Sylvania, theTisza River project becamemore complex with the widelypublicized cyanide contamina-tion from a gold mine in (yes)Transylvania. Discovering thatcyanide decomposes into a num-ber of by-products whose risksare little known, Felicia from theHeinz School of Public Policyat Carnegie-Mellon Universitybecame concerned that the

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Hungarian public was uninformed about possible newrisks. Keeping in mind that the tourist industry in thebeautiful Tisza area could be further damaged byadditional “risk scares,” she began an inquiry into thefeasibility and ethics of communicating uncertainscientific information. This required interviews withkey Hungarian scientists and policymakers, a task thatrequired a good understanding of both chemistry andpolitics—and she even learned some Hungarian.

Help in involving the stakeholders in theHungarian policy process came from the Netherlandsand, again, Sweden. Building on her experience withstakeholder involvement in climate policy, a Dutchstudent of environmental sciences, Marleen,developed ideas on how best to incorporate stake-holder participation into an integrated assessment, atask foreseen as the next step in the IIASA Tisza Riverstudy. Another Swedish participant, Ari, used his skillsin decision analysis to develop an interview protocolfor addressing the question of whether to build someTisza River levees (dikes) higher or take them downaltogether. He left behind his computer screen andtraveled to Budapest to test his protocol on aHungarian policymaker. This foray into the real worldwas an eye-opener, and Ari was astounded to findthat the policymaker had little information on thepotential consequences of these hotly debatedstrategies.

Other RMS participants applied the method-ologies and insights from the Hungarian study andfrom related RMS research to extreme flood events inEurope and Africa—Elena to the Tundja River inBulgaria, Adam to the Nile in Sudan, and Jürgen tothe Rhine in Germany.

These interactions go far beyond what a scholar ofinterdisciplinary research, Margaret Boden,2 refers toas shared interdisciplinarity, which only requiresparticipating disciplines to acknowledge that anotherdiscipline may better address discrete aspects of thecentral problem. Inquiries and outcomes are communi-cated among groups, but there is no day-to-daycooperation. Clearly, the “YSSPers” do not need to cometo Laxenburg to engage in this style of interdisciplinaryresearch.

Cooperative interdisciplinarity, on the other hand,requires that researchers from different disciplines andpossessing complementary skills actively cooperate toreach a common goal. This style is typical of projectsat IIASA, and the “YSSPers” often participate inapplying their skills to further project goals. Thisresearch style, however, does not lead explicitly to cross-disciplinary learning, and Boden considers it to be nomore than an intellectually tolerant form of multi-disciplinarity. The only genuinely interdisciplinaryresearch enterprise, in Boden’s view, is integratedinterdisciplinarity, which requires the cross-pollinationof concepts and insights from one discipline to another,enhancing all of the participating disciplines.

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Mina Ryoke (Japan, YSSP ’96) returnedto IIASA as a guest researcher in 1999,and joined the Risk, Modeling andSociety (RMS) project in May 2001. Sheis also a research associate in the Schoolof Knowledge Science at the JapanAdvanced Institute of Science andTechnology (JAIST), Ishikawa, Japan.“One of the reasons why I joined theYSSP was to apply my developingmethodologies to address real

problems. As a result of my work at IIASA during that summerI wrote several papers and have made presentations at variousinternational conferences and meetings in Japan.”

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Warren Sanderson

The YSSP strives for cooperation among disci-plines and also genuine cross-disciplinary learning.The Tisza River project was a catalyst for both. Whilemany of the young participants cooperated incontributing to the development of the model andthe project generally, some went beyond thismultidisciplinary effort. Karin and Lisa, for example,learned from Zoltán about incorporating stakeholderviews into a broad integrated assessment, and Munetalearned from Krzystof about risk-swapping strategiesfor achieving equity in flood losses. Likewise, Zoltánlearned about modeling from the Swedish parti-cipants, and Krzystof learned about systems thinkingfrom Muneta. This integrated interdisciplinarity,Boden argues, demands face-to-face interaction.

From June through August each year this is whatSchloss Laxenburg is about, and a lot of duck soupsare cooking throughout this palatial residence. TheYSSP would be incomplete, however, without thegrand soup-tasting, recipe-swapping event—the YSSPmidsummer workshop. Here, the participants polishtheir presentation skills with just ten minutes topresent their research, followed by valuable com-ments and feedback from their YSSP colleagues andIIASA staff.

The Magic of ResearchWarren SandersonYSSP Supervisor

Those who have seen the film Duck Soup will knowthat it is filled with delightfully funny moments, gags,and just plain silliness. And so goes the YSSP. Whatelse could be said of that dark night when the “YSSPers”found an entrance to the Vienna sewer system—inspiredby yet another film classic?

Duck Soup did not receive any Academy Awardnominations; perhaps it was a film before its time. Thisis fortunately not the case with the YSSP. Theparticipants compete each summer for the Peccei andMikhalevich Scholarships, which allow them to spenda second summer in this grand palace as part of yetanother great duck soup. And the results are impressive.

Take two Swedish system scientists, add aHungarian sociologist, a US policy analyst, aJapanese economist, a Polish financial analyst,a Dutch environmental expert, and a Swedishdecision analyst. Sprinkle in a Bulgarianhydrologist, a German sociologist, and aSudanese economist. Simmer until fullyintegrated…

1Dirks, T., 2002, Review of Duck Soup, www.filmsite.org/duck.html2Boden, M.A., 1999, What is interdisciplinarity?, in R.Cunningham, ed., Interdisciplinarity and the Organisation of Knowl-edge in Europe, European Communities Press, Luxembourg.

Researchers often experience emotions that are hard toexplain to others. There are wonderful “eureka”moments, but even these can sometimes take on astrange form. One day, you discover that several yearsof work on subject A has led you to a new, exciting, andunanticipated finding in subject B. Instantly, your lifechanges and you become a subject B researcher. At thatmoment, you give up all pretenses that your studies aretotally under your own control. You are doing yourresearch, and in a sense your research is also doing you,guiding you to intellectual places you never dreamed ofgoing before. Most “eureka” moments are notserendipitous, but they are nevertheless unpredictable.It is possible to work on something for years, only tohave all the pieces magically fall into place within a week.Suddenly, everything that you have been working onseems crystal clear. You only wonder why it took you solong to see something so obvious.

There is no good way to communicate how it feelsat one of those frightful “anti-eureka” moments, eventhough researchers often experience them. You are surethat you and your collaborators have discoveredsomething new and important. You tell your friends andtalk the night away, thinking through all the implications

of the finding. Then, in the morning, after reviewingyour notes in great detail, you find that a decimal pointhas disappeared somewhere, transforming a 0.2 into a 2,thus generating your—now clearly misplaced—jubilation. The feeling of loss is almost overwhelming,especially in contrastwith the previous day’selation. It is also diffi-cult to explain to peoplewhat it feels like to haveyour research go back-ward. You work on some-thing very hard for twoweeks and you learnthat something that youwere sure was right isactually wrong, and thatyou know less than youthought you knew twoweeks earlier.

The students whoparticipate in the YSSPare just at the beginningof their research lives.

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They come to IIASA each summer in the hope thatthe staff and their fellow students will help themexperience some of the magic of research. And theyhave come to the right place.

IIASA itself has a magical quality. Its main building,known simply as “the Schloss,” was originally con-structed as an informal summer palace for EmpressMaria Theresa and her court. It is rich in history. In1916, uninvited emissaries were captured on thewinding staircase near what are now the offices of theComputer Services department, on a mission topersuade Emperor Franz Josef of a plan that wouldhave changed the course of the First World War. Theircapture meant that Franz Josef never heard theirproposal, and the rest is history. Behind the Schloss isa magnificent park that was once a hunting groundfor the aristocracy, but now is enjoyed by everyone.

Perhaps because I usually return to IIASA in thesummertime, just as the students are arriving, I cansee the magic of IIASA afresh every year, more or lessthe way they must see it for the first time. One of mygreatest thrills each summer is meeting some of themost talented young people in the world who areinterested in the same kinds of research as I am. I havedevoted my professional life to the study of economicsand demography. Having contact with these brightyoung people every summer is like a person who has apassion for chocolate receiving a three-month supplyof the world’s best chocolate every year. Such pleasureis addictive.

The YSSP participants have been and continue tobe amazing people in all sorts of ways. They are bright,talented, and they come to work. There is no generic“YSSPer.” I have supervised all kinds of students,ranging from a person writing her undergraduate thesisto someone who has been a professor for a number of

years. Each one is unique. The only common thread isthat they have to write a high-quality research paperby the end of our three months together.

When I first thought about writing this article,I thought I would describe some of the mostinteresting experiences that I have had with the youngscientists I have supervised. But the more I thoughtabout it, the more I realized that this would give thewrong impression. The real joy in being a YSSPsupervisor is not in the extraordinary, but in theordinary day-to-day interactions with these talentedpeople. I have often sat in a room where Franz Josefperhaps discussed affairs of state, with the door opento the park, talking with amazing young people aboutfascinating research. Sometimes we talked about whytheir work seemed to be going backward. SometimesI helped when they were uncomfortable with the factthat their work was leading them in new directions.Sometimes I helped them understand that thosefrightening “anti-eureka” moments did not signal theend of their academic careers. And then there havebeen those wonderful “eureka” days, when the resultsare clear and everything makes sense. Such days areexciting not only for the students, but for me as well,because I learn from them too. To me, the joy of beinga YSSP supervisor is not derived from what I learnfrom my young colleagues, although I have learnedquite a bit. The joy comes from helping them learnto love that strange and magical experience called“research” just as much as I do.

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Thomas Büttner (GDR, YSSP ’86) was aresearcher in IIASA’s Population Project from1988 to 1991. He is now a demographer atthe United Nations Population Division inNew York.“I appreciated the creative atmosphere atIIASA, where people left their office doorsopen so one could easily talk to almosteverybody.…IIASA provided the ‘YSSPers’with a stimulating and very supportiveworking environment, and it was there that

I gained much experience in the quantitative and empirical aspectsof demography. The experiences gained and skill acquired during mytimes at IIASA have been very important for what I am doing now.”

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YSSP Midsummer Workshop 2002This has been a significant year for IIASA. While celebrating its 30th anniversary and 25 years

of the YSSP, the Institute has also welcomed a new director and China as its most recent

member country. The YSSP stands out as one of IIASA’s most successful programs, yet how

can IIASA build on that success to ensure that the program continues to meet the needs of

young scientists in the future?

For 25 years the YSSP has been bringing togethergroups of enthusiastic young scientists from manydisciplines and cultures to work with and learn fromeach other. This year was no exception, with 45participants representing 18 nationalities, includingthree students from China. As in previous years, theparticipants presented their research at the annualmidsummer workshop, after which their fellowparticipants and IIASA staff provided feedback in theform of pertinent questions and peer assessments oftheir presentations.

To mark the 25th birthday of the YSSP, two alumnireturned to IIASA to give plenary talks at the workshop.They highlighted the very different scales at which asystems approach can be used to address complex

problems. First, Semida Silveira (Brazil, YSSP ’88)focused on the ways in which IIASA could apply itsanalytical tools and knowledge of environmentalsystems to guide new global strategies for sustainabledevelopment. She encouraged the YSSP, and IIASA,to become truly global by focusing more on thedeveloping world. Tony Patt (USA, YSSP ’97) thendescribed his ongoing work in Zimbabwe assessing howlocal subsistence farmers can make use of probabilisticclimate forecasts to guide their day-to-day decisionson whether and when to plant food crops (see boxes).

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Seasonal Rainfall Forecastingin ZimbabweTony Patt (USA, YSSP ’97)Potsdam Institute for ClimateImpact Research, Germany

Sustainable development requiresthe application of knowledge bydecision makers at a number oflevels, extending from the negoti-ators of international treaties, tonational and regional policy-makers, and ultimately to farmersin the field. Indeed, useful scienceoften results from co-production:the cooperation between decisionmakers and scientists combining

their knowledge and generating salient, credible, andlegitimate information that can be applied in practice.

In my research I am both examining and undertakingthis process, focusing on the decisions faced bysubsistence farmers in Zimbabwe and their use ofseasonal climate forecasts. First, I tested the farmers’ability to work with probabilistic information, since thisis a prerequisite for productive interactions with climateforecasters. Having concluded that farmers can indeedwork with probabilistic information, I am now in themiddle of a five-year project to bring farmers andforecasters together. Through local communityworkshops, the farmers have a unique opportunity tolearn a little of the science behind the weather patternsthat influence their lives and to combine it with theirlocal knowledge of weather, crops, and economictrade-offs.

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In addition, some YSSP alumni and former IIASAstaff members returned to Laxenburg to attend themidsummer workshop. In a special panel session, theywere set the tasks of assessing the program in the lightof their own experiences in their subsequent careersand presenting their vision of how it could evolve overthe next 25 years. Their discussions are summarizedin the following paragraphs.

The YSSP in the futureThe alumni were unanimous—the YSSP is not simplya summer program, but a valuable work experiencein which young scientists from different disciplinesand cultures can exchange ideas. For many parti-cipants the summer at IIASA is an inspiring time.From the beginning the YSSP has been one of IIASA’sbest and most successful programs, and there is noreason to change it fundamentally. In other words,if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.

Yet the world has changed in the past 25 years, ashas our awareness of the scale of the challenges that

need to be addressed. Whereas in the past IIASA’smission was to help bridge the East–West divide, inthe future the emphasis should be on North–Southresearch collaboration to address the problems ofsustainable development. Through the YSSP, IIASAcould make a valuable contribution to building thecapacity for systems analysis in the South. Specialefforts should therefore be made to promote theprogram among young scientists from less developedcountries and economies in transition, regardless ofwhether they are IIASA members, to encourage themto participate in the YSSP.

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Systems Analysis for Development:A New Direction for IIASA?Semida Silveira (Brazil, YSSP ‘88)Swedish Energy Agency, Eskilstuna, Sweden

Young scientists bring to IIASAfresh ideas, reflecting the changingattitudes and demands of a newgeneration. How should IIASAposition itself in response to thesedemands, and how could its workevolve in the future?

As a YSSP participant in1988, I worked in the project oninternational rivers, one of thefew IIASA projects dealing with

developing countries at that time. This apparent lack ofinterest in development issues surprised me—IIASA wasworking on global environmental issues, and I could notsee how they could be addressed without a properunderstanding of the development context of the South.In terms of both collaboration and problem definition, aNorth–South axis was missing.

In view of the widening gap between rich and poor,and increasing environmental concerns, it has become clearthat in the search for global solutions the two agendasneed to be addressed together. Although progress has beenmade in shifting the focus of development goals away fromeconomic growth alone to include environmental andsocioeconomic sustainability, the search for effectivedevelopment strategies has been less successful. Indeed,the methods that have so far been applied in developmentstrategies reflect only a small part of the accumulatedknowledge of societal systems.

If the UN’s Millennium Development Goals are tobe achieved, new approaches are urgently needed to tackleinequality. In the context of globalization and the newtechnological revolution, the problems faced bydeveloping countries are becoming increasingly complex.A systems approach is therefore essential in identifyingstrategies aimed at eliminating poverty, promotingeconomic growth, and achieving environmentalsustainability.

There is a gap between the understanding of complexsystems and the strategic application of that knowledgefor the purpose of development. IIASA possesses theanalytical tools and an interdisciplinary perspective. Itis also deeply involved in research related to the globalenvironmental agenda. I therefore challenge IIASA toinclude in its portfolio the task of bridging this gap andto guide the formulation of new strategies for sustainabledevelopment.

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For this new approach to succeed, however, IIASAwill need to reformulate its mission statement. It willalso have to reposition the YSSP to attract new sourcesof funding for students from non-NMO countries. As anumber of alumni pointed out, many universities inEurope are now offering an increasing variety of summercourses. IIASA could expand the program by introducinga series of supplementary one- or two-week coursesduring the summer, designed with the YSSP participantsin mind, to which academics and practicing professionalscould also be invited. These could include skills trainingcourses or educational programs concerned withgovernance and capacity building in the South.

There is undoubtedly room for IIASA to enhancethe YSSP’s profile to make it better known to the outsideworld, not only among funding agencies and potentialparticipants, but also among the public. As IIASA’smembership expands, the YSSP could be promoted asa truly worldwide forum for the scientists of the future.

The alumni did not discuss the development ofIIASA itself, which will obviously shape the YSSP, northe range of scientific disciplines that IIASA and theYSSP could embrace over the next 25 years. They did,however, discuss some ways to ensure that allparticipants continue to make the most of their summerat IIASA.

Some panel members felt that the YSSP hasundoubtedly become more output oriented over theyears, with the result that the participants workharder, leaving little time for discussion andexchanging ideas. It is therefore important that YSSPproject leaders continue to encourage the participantsto make full use of the opportunity to reach out toother students and staff outside their projects, andto take an active part in the conferences, seminars,and workshops held at IIASA during the summer.

They should also be further encouraged to organizeseminars or workshops themselves, since suchinitiatives are often more rewarding for them thanformal presentations by IIASA staff.

The network of alumniThe panel pointed out that the growing internationalnetwork of YSSP alumni is a valuable asset for IIASA,both for maintaining its reputation and for promotingthe program. The Institute could adopt a practice thathas long been common in the United States and callupon the YSSP alumni, particularly those now workingoutside academe, to assist in fund-raising for theprogram. The network could undoubtedly bestrengthened in a number of ways. A special YSSPalumni database or YSSP association, for example,would help to improve communications and encouragescientific exchange among alumni and between thealumni and scientists working at IIASA. While theYSSP midsummer workshop could continue to providethe setting for annual reunions, the inclusion of aspecial Alumni Day, perhaps focusing on a specifictheme, would encourage more alumni to return toIIASA each summer to make contact with newparticipants and welcome them to the network.

The alumni felt that the IIASA Web site could beused more effectively both to strengthen the networkand to attract new participants, particularly studentsfrom the South. For instance, abstracts of past YSSPprojects could be posted on the site, stressing thatprojects may address socioeconomic issues that arerelevant to the South, and not just the hard sciences.And, of course, the Web site should emphasize themany benefits of a summer at IIASA—social as well asprofessional.

In the time-honored IIASA tradition, at the endof the two-day workshop the YSSP participants,alumni, and staff were invited to the Schloss restaurantfor a buffet, complete with a large birthday cake,accompanied by a Strauss waltz and a speciallycommissioned YSSP anthem.

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Left: The 2002 “YSSPers.” Right: YSSP alumni at the 25-yearcelebration.

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The YSSP ExperienceThe YSSP is one of the Institute’s most important activities. To get some idea of how the alumni themselvesnow feel about the program and how the experience has affected their professional careers, Options contacteda small sample of the 1,009 scientists who have participated in the YSSP over the past 25 years. The formand content of the responses varied enormously, ranging from one-line answers to a short novel, amplyreflecting the very different personalities and the cultural and disciplinary backgrounds of these formerYSSP scholars. Nevertheless, the overwhelming consensus is that participating in the summer programwas unforgettable, for many different reasons, and in a number of cases it changed their lives.

The many young scientists who have taken part inIIASA’s summer program may all have had some mixedfeelings about leaving their home countries or concernsabout their English, but they all recognized that theYSSP offered a unique opportunity, both professionaland personal.

What stands out in your memory about your summerwith the YSSP?

All of the former participants have clear memories oftheir summer in Austria, particularly those who wereliving abroad for the first time. Within the historicSchloss Laxenburg, they shared cubicles along theKaisergang, with just enough space for two desks, twochairs, and little else. Their close proximity meant thatthey soon got to know each other, and many recall sittingoutside their offices drinking coffee and discussing theirresearch. Others remember the difficulty of working inthe heat of the Austrian summer and the pleasure ofeating ice cream in Laxenburg on hot afternoons.

The people

For all the YSSP alumni, the strongest memories oftheir summer at IIASA center on the people, bothfellow participants and IIASA scientists. In IIASA’smulticultural setting they were able to meet and workwith young scientists from many countries, in theprocess establishing new friendships and professionalrelationships that they have maintained over the years.

While the backgrounds of their fellow participantsmay have varied enormously, several alumni were struck,not by their differences, but by the many things theyhad in common. This realization undoubtedlycontributed to the sense of camaraderie, as well as toindividual self-confidence. At IIASA, “working andplaying alongside so many other doctoral students at asimilar point in their careers, almost all navigating adifferent country, I realized that I might not be an idiotafter all.” One participant in the early 1980s remembersbeing surprised that a Finn should be wearing the sameclothes as he and his friends were wearing back inCalifornia—“those were the early days of globalization.”

One of the benefits of the summer “was simplybeing able to live a normal life in a foreign countryand learning more about it than is possible on short

visits.” Being surrounded by “a group of young peoplein a foreign city where all normal routines are differentundoubtedly encourages creative thinking, as well as awillingness to take risks.” The experience was “definitelydifferent from any we could normally have at auniversity” and offered real challenges, both intellectualand social.

The research

Working within IIASA’s projects, the YSSP studentsare exposed to a broad range of research fields and areencouraged to develop new ways of looking atproblems. They are able to draw upon the expertise ofIIASA staff and fellow students trained in differentdisciplines. The types of YSSP projects may vary, butfor many participants, the IIASA experience meant“being confronted with new types of research, researchquestions, perspectives, and the challenge of workingin an interdisciplinary setting.” As a result, manyalumni claim that during the three months at IIASAtheir scientific interests broadened significantly, andmany felt they were able to contribute to importantnew research fields.

Being part of a multidisciplinary team was anotherimportant new experience. Working with youngscientists from other fields to address common

Tibor Vasko with the 1983 “YSSPers” at the traditional farewell Heuriger.

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problems or issues, they were able to appreciate thevalue of different perspectives and individualcontributions in finding workable solutions. “I becamea member of a team working on complex real-lifeproblems. The friendly atmosphere, the valuableadvice, and constructive criticism provided perfectconditions for grasping the different socioeconomic,environmental, and methodological aspects of aproblem, and understanding its complexity.”

In particular, they appreciated the frank com-munication between established and young scientists,the feedback they received during seminars andpresentations, and discussions led by eminent scientistsfrom IIASA and other research institutes. Severalalumni commented on the valuable role of theirsupervisor in answering “what must have sounded likestupid questions,” and in helping them to understandthe issues underlying complex problems.

The most valuable aspect of working at IIASA isthat “it encourages researchers to ‘think big,’ globally,to look for general traits, address internationaldifferences, and move beyond conventional disciplines

and dominant national and local perspectives.” For afew individuals, the YSSP provided an opportunity towork with eminent scientists in projects addressingglobal issues. According to one student who worked inthe Biosphere Project in the mid-1980s, “we were con-fronted with the challenges of studying large-scaleenvironmental issues and of integrating various typesof studies, issues, scales, and perspectives.” Thatexperience had an enormous influence on the student’scareer in that it “opened up new worlds of researchand new research questions, as well as contacts andopportunities.”

The summer program also offers temporaryfreedom from the constraints of a traditional multi-year research project. For some, the three months wasperhaps too brief, but for one at least, it was “bothshort enough to mean that any big mistakes [could]be left behind in Vienna, yet long enough to sink one’steeth into something. The YSSP is no holiday, butrather an opportunity to accomplish somethingconcrete, and that helps to build confidence.”

Midsummer workshop

In the middle of the program, usually about six weeksafter the students arrive, IIASA holds its annualmidsummer workshop, where the participants makepresentations summarizing their research. Many areunderstandably very nervous, especially those speakingin public in English for the first time.

In retrospect, the alumni feel that the workshopwas a valuable experience, forcing them to think abouthow best to describe their work, to formulate prelimi-nary hypotheses, or to propose new avenues for futureresearch. It also enabled them to learn about one

Vicki Norberg-Bohm (USA, YSSP ’87) is director of the Energy TechnologyInnovation Project at Harvard University, USA.“It was at IIASA that I was first introduced to the concepts of industrialmetabolism, sustainability, and patterns of technological change. My intellectualand professional life continues to revolve around these themes as I try to makea contribution to moving the USA as well as other countries toward a moresustainable energy system. Of equal importance, this was my first extended tripabroad, and it broadened my horizons considerably. The experience of workingwith scholars from around the world in an atmosphere that focused oninternational cooperation influenced my decision to focus much of mysubsequent efforts on international cooperation for sustainable development.”

Kal Raustiala (USA, YSSP ’94) wasawarded a Peccei Scholarship andspent parts of the next three yearsat IIASA studying environmentaltreaties. Since 2000 he has beenprofessor of law at UCLA.

“Since my YSSP summer I haveshifted disciplines, from political

science to international law and theenvironment. I owe my good fortunein no small part to my time as a YSSP.Without that project, and that paper,

I would not be where I am today.”

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Pekka Kauppi (Finland, YSSP ’81)worked with IIASA’s Acid Rain Projectin 1982–1983 and in 1987–1988, andjoined the Forestry Project in 2001. Heholds the chair of Environmental Scienceand Policy at the University of Helsinki.“IIASA is particularly useful foryoung professionals who have ideasand energy but who need trainingand a setting that allows them tocommunicate with each other andwith experienced scientists.”

The 1993 YSSP awards dinner.

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another’s projects, in the process becoming aware ofthe frequent overlap between different areas ofresearch. They found the rehearsals, the guidance fromtheir supervisors, and the feedback from the audiencevery useful in giving them a clearer perspective of theirwork. In particular, the workshops gave themconfidence, “turning nervousness into positive energy,”and helped them to improve their English andpresentation skills.

At the end of each summer, the participantssubmit a paper on their research, to be consideredfor a Peccei or a Mikhalevich Scholarship. With theseawards, the most outstanding students can return toIIASA to continue their work with a project of theirchoice. Many have indeed done so, and more thanonce. One criteria for the selection of the scholars isthe novelty of their approach to a problem or issue,thus encouraging creative thinking. For those who metthis challenge, the benefits have been enormous:“I owe my good fortune in no small part to my timeas a YSSP. Without that project, and that paper,I would not be where I am today.”

Social activities

A summer spent as a YSSP participant does not justinvolve hard work. IIASA staff organize a wide rangeof social activities, including evenings at local Heurigen,national days (one alumnus even claims to be stillnursing the hangover from the Nordic midsummerparty), sports events, and weekend trips to nearby citiessuch as Budapest and Prague.

It was a special time for many—“I will alwaysremember my summer in Laxenburg: both intellectuallyand emotionally, it was terrific”; “I learned a lot, andat the same time I was able to enjoy the company ofnew friends, as well as the unique atmosphere ofVienna.” One recalls “great times both at the Schlossand especially in the city, visiting beer gardens andstanding at the back of the Vienna opera house.”

Others ventured further afield, hiking in the mountainsor rock climbing in the Wienerwald; one student evenfondly recalls returning home on the last bus toMödling after a long day’s work.

In what ways did the YSSP experience affect your lifeand career?

Participating in the YSSP affected the lives and careersof the former students in various ways. For many, thesummer at IIASA represented an important turningpoint in their careers in that it provided the stimulusthat pointed them in a completely different direction.Based on the project work they carried out in thosethree short months, some switched from theoreticalto applied research, and others to an entirely differentfield. One, for example, decided to shift disciplines,from political science to international law, a change inemphasis “that was a direct result of my summer withthe YSSP.” Another had been planning to work onmathematical methods of modeling social securitysystems, but “over the summer [her] plans changed,and [she] became more interested in policy research,”a decision that later led to an invitation to join agovernment expert group on pension reform in herhome country.

Once immersed in IIASA’s interdisciplinaryresearch, some students were able to create novel linksbetween fields, allowing them to take their research ina new direction. For many, the YSSP offered an oppor-tunity to meet like-minded individuals who wereequally frustrated with either the status or directionof their current research, and together they were ableto find a new way forward. For one such student,“filling this gap as rigorously as possible became mytask for the summer.…By the end of the summer I had

Tatiana Ermolieva (Ukraine, YSSP ’97) wasawarded a Peccei Scholarship and returnedto IIASA in 1998 to work with the SSRProject.“I regard the YSSP as a perfect guide foryoung scientists in their future careers.Over the last 30 years IIASA has benefitedfrom the many scientists who havecontributed their knowledge to a broadspectrum of research topics.”

Peter Hackl (Austria, YSSP ’80) isprofessor at the Department of Statisticsat Vienna’s University of Economics andBusiness Administration and has co-authored several IIASA books.“I owe IIASA quite a bit. First, forcontacts with very reputable individualsand with the international researchcommunity in general.…Also for the

stimulus for my own research…and for the valuable memoriesof the people and the great atmosphere of this unique place.”

Michael Stoto (USA, YSSP ’77) issenior statistical scientist and deputydirector for public health at RAND,USA.“IIASA exposed me to scientists fromvarious disciplines working togetherto inform weighty policy decisions.

Through 25 years as a facultymember of Harvard’s Kennedy

School of Government and Schoolof Public Health, and as a senior scientist at the US National

Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, this perspective hasbeen central to my scientific work. For the last year, I’ve beenworking at RAND, using the same systems approach to help

improve health security in the USA and abroad. So IIASA’s YSSPprogram turned out to be much more than a fun way to spend

the summer—for me it changed my professional life.”

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finished a draft paper. Though it was not part of mydoctoral thesis, the work that went into it formed thefoundation for other papers that were.”

While participating in the YSSP, a number ofstudents made contacts with researchers who had asignificant influence on their career paths. Accordingto one alumnus, “I still maintain contact with somewonderful people, both fellow participants and IIASAscientists. I am now involved in scientific projects thatI could only have dreamed about if I had not been atIIASA that summer.” Many of the former studentshave maintained those professional relationships,whether collaborating on joint papers, workingtogether in projects, or meeting at seminars andinternational conferences. Thus the network of YSSPalumni has continued to grow in terms of the numberof members, its outreach across national borders, andits influence.

Have you stayed in touch with IIASA? If so, in what ways?

YSSP alumni have kept in touch with IIASA in variousways. Some have returned to continue their work asPeccei or Mikhalevich scholars, or to attend the manyconferences or workshops held each year in Laxenburg.Others have returned for short periods as guestresearchers, as long-term IIASA staff members, or asYSSP supervisors themselves. Many continue to visityear after year—one former participant has returnedto work at IIASA every year since 1981! Alternatively,former participants have maintained their links withIIASA researchers and now continue the work theybegan there under IIASA contracts in their homecountries.

A number of alumni acknowledge the work of theNational Member Organizations (NMOs) in providingfinancial support for students in the form of scholar-ships and in promoting the YSSP. Since the programwas launched in 1977, most of the political constraintson collaboration between scientists from East and Westhave disappeared, and for many young researchers fromcountries now in transition today’s constraints areeconomic. With the generous support of some NMOs,however, a number of students from these countriesare able to participate in the YSSP and becomeinvolved in the world of international science. TheSwedish NMO, for example, supports students fromSweden and from countries in transition, hosts annual“post-YSSP” seminars, and organizes conferences tofoster linkages between researchers at IIASA andSwedish universities. Similarly, the Dutch NMO isactively supporting the development of the networkof YSSP alumni. In April 2000, it sponsored the firstYSSP Conference, held at the Free University ofAmsterdam, where alumni—environmental scientistsworking in 13 countries—were able to get together andshare their experiences since leaving the program.

Have you recommended the program to others?

Many YSSP alumni now hold senior positions inuniversities in their home countries, or in national orinternational research institutions. Over the years, theyhave in turn recommended the program to their ownstudents and colleagues, thus helping to maintain theflow of fresh young scientists so that they too canexperience a summer in Laxenburg. One formerstudent, now a professor, commented that he nowpromotes the YSSP among his PhD students, but isaware of “many more experienced researchers (andprofessors) who would also like to have such a uniqueopportunity to work at IIASA, even for a short time.”

One former participant was so impressed by theYSSP experience that he wanted to do something toenable his colleagues back home in Ukraine to be ableto share it. After discussions with senior IIASAresearchers, it was decided to hold a conference in Kievto bring together scientists working on similar projectsat IIASA and in his home country. The conference,sponsored by the Swedish NMO, was a great success,helping to extend and strengthen the IIASA researchnetwork.

It is generally felt that most graduate students canlearn a lot from participating in the YSSP. However, itprobably “works best for sufficiently experienced, self-confident, and self-motivated individuals who are still

Meredith Golden (USA, YSSP ’86) is seniorstaff associate with the Center for InternationalEarth Science Information Network (CIESIN)at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Shebalances her professional work at CIESIN withraising her two children. In 1982, Meredithwas a research scholar with the Managementand Technology Program.

“In IIASA’s YSSP I learned how to conversewith scientists from diverse disciplines and

many countries. Currently, I’m working withmedical researchers, social scientists, and geoscientists

primarily from the United States and Bangladesh on the issuesrelated to arsenic in drinking water. In meetings, I often see myrole as a translator of information across technical and cultural

boundaries—a role that the YSSP certainly nurtured.”

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Petro Lakyda (Ukraine, YSSP ’94) worked withIIASA’s Forestry Project a number of times. Heis now head of the Forest ManagementDepartment and vice-rector of the NationalAgricultural University, Kiev, Ukraine.

“The YSSP was my first experience with aninternational research organization and itinfluenced greatly my future work. I have

recommended the YSSP to a number of youngscientists in Ukraine. Two of my students

have successfully participated in the YSSP,also with IIASA’s Forestry Project.”

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open, flexible, and willing to learn.” It is definitely anadvantage if the students have some experience, skillsand interests that “fit” with IIASA’s ongoing projects,and are willing to spend the summer developing newinterests and projects where they can use their ownexperience and ideas.

What do you think has contributed most to the successof the YSSP?

Many things have changed significantly in the quartercentury since the YSSP was launched as an East–West“think tank” at the height of the Cold War. Theworld’s political landscape is now very different, asare the range and the scale of the problems that needto be addressed. IIASA’s projects have evolvedaccordingly, to ensure that new generations ofscientists and policymakers are equipped to addressnew challenges as they arise. Through the YSSP, IIASAhas continued to encourage students to “think big,”in projects focusing on global issues such as theenvironment, climate change, the impacts oftechnological change, etc., as well as developing newmethodologies for addressing the social problems thataffect all nations.

In the early years, the program brought togetheryoung scientists from nations in conflict in the ColdWar, offering them an opportunity to build bridges

Serguei Glaziev (USSR, YSSP ’88) workedin the Technological and EconomicDynamics Project. He served as Russia’sminister for foreign economic relationsfrom 1992 to 1993. He is currently headof the Information and Analysis Depart-ment, Council of the Federal Assembly ofthe Russian Federation.“The YSSP experience helped me tounderstand more about the world andlife in general. I have also benefitedfrom the new information and researchopportunities that the IIASA networkprovides.”

across the ideological divide. Western alumni valuedthe experience of working alongside Soviet, Czech, orEast German scientists, which they could have hadnowhere else. Students from the former East bloccountries appreciated the facilities at IIASA, such asthe library, and access to databases and com-munications networks, which were not available tothem in their home institutions and which contributedto their later scientific work. Some of those earlystudents have since returned to IIASA to attendconferences or to study the potential impacts ofeconomic reforms in the post-communist era.

There is general agreement that the key to thecontinuing success of the YSSP is that it enables“young people to work together in a friendlyenvironment that is ideal for thinking and developingtheir ideas.” The interdisciplinary nature of theresearch at IIASA means that students can draw uponmany different areas of expertise, and in the process“understand that scientists cannot be blind to otherfields of science.” One alumnus is still grateful for“the holistic thinking that so characterized the IIASAresearch environment.” The program “is importantboth for IIASA, and for young scientists all over theworld,” and out of it many things grow: “new scholars,new staff for IIASA, a sense of scholarly community,and true international collaboration.”

What is your vision for the future of the YSSP?

Teamwork is regarded as an essential part of the YSSP,“with IIASA staff and students working together toaddress important issues. This could of course becomplemented by individual tasks, but it is importantthat the students are well integrated into projects,”and that they are encouraged to look beyond theirdifferent disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.

IIASA should continue to address the “big”international issues, and strengthen its position as acenter of excellence for global change research. Since“this kind of research focus is rare in some countriesand regions, it is important that the YSSP studentscan meet people from many countries, including thoseoutside the industrialized world,” in order to assist theirintegration into international research networks.

Now that the barriers between East and West nolonger exist, several alumni commented that in the futurethey would like to see more emphasis on North–Southresearch collaboration. Thus, the YSSP shouldencourage more students from developing countries, aswell as from countries in transition, regardless of whetherthey are IIASA members. As the membership of IIASAexpands, most recently to include China, and, hopefully,more countries in the future, “the program could becomea truly worldwide forum for young intellectuals.” Indeed,IIASA could perhaps use the YSSP strategically to“recruit” new member countries.

Jolanta Perek Bialas (Poland, YSSP ’97)is now lecturer at the JagiellonianUniversity, Cracow, Poland.“While participating in the YSSP I wasable to meet and still maintain contactwith some wonderful people, bothfellow participants and IIASA scientists.I am now involved in some scientificprojects that I could only havedreamed about if I had not been atIIASA that summer.”

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Peccei and Mikhalevich ScholarshipsEach year, IIASA presents three awards—two AurelioPeccei Scholarships and one Vladimir S. MikhalevichScholarship—to the most outstanding YSSP partici-pants. These awards enable the recipients to return toIIASA for a further three months to work in a projectof their choice. To date, IIASA has awarded a total of48 scholarships to summer students from 17 countries.

In cases where the standard of the participants’contributions is exceptionally high, the selectioncommittee may also decide that “Honorable Mention”citations should be awarded. So far, 11 YSSPparticipants have received such citations.

The Peccei Scholarship was established in 1984in recognition of Dr Aurelio Peccei’s contribution

Peccei scholars, 1984–2001

Year Winner Country Program/Project

1984 Sara Johnson USA System and Decision SciencesKees van Paridon Netherlands Economic Structural Change

1985 Maria Holmberg Finland Acid RainAndrew Foster USA PopulationRafal Serafin Canada Biosphere Dynamics

1986 Steven Underwood USA Biosphere DynamicsYuri Ledyaev USSR System and Decision SciencesPeter Tallos Hungary System and Decision SciencesYuri Kuznetsov USSR Biosphere Dynamics

1987 Mikhail Ter-Mikaeljan USSR Environmental Monitoring

1988 Harry O. Helmisaari Sweden Biosphere DynamicsNedjalko Nikolov Bulgaria Biosphere DynamicsOlivier Dordan France System and Decision Sciences

1989 Ralph F. Lehmann Germany Transboundary Air Pollution

1990 Deanna Haunsperger USA PopulationDavid Rios-Ínsua Spain System and Decision SciencesYasumasa Fujii Japan Environmentally Compatible Energy Strategies

1991 Wolfgang Keller Germany Economic Reform and IntegrationElena Boulanger USSR System and Decision SciencesAmanda Wolf USA Processes of International Negotiation

1992 Andrei Ganopolski Russia Environmental Change and DevelopmentWolfgang Schopfhauser Austria Forestry

1993 Susan Murcott USA Water ResourcesCharlotte Jönsson Sweden Transboundary Air PollutionKarl Henrik Johansson Sweden Dynamic Systems

1994 Kal Raustiala USA International Environmental CommitmentsMari Pöyhönen Finland Methodology of Decision AnalysisAlexander Tarasyev Russia Dynamic Systems

1995 Gary Wojcik USA Transboundary Air Pollution

1996 Lauren Hale USA PopulationPatricia Kandelaars Netherlands Population

1997 Keigo Akimoto Japan Environmentally Compatible Energy StrategiesTatiana Ermolieva Ukraine Risk, Modeling and Policy

1998 Margaret Taylor USA Environmentally Compatible Energy StrategiesAnton Dobronogov Ukraine Risk, Modeling and Policy; Social Security Reform

1999 Lily Panyacosit USA Transboundary Air PollutionJanica Ylikarjula Finland Adaptive Dynamics Network

2000 Ulrike Dusek Austria Transboundary Air PollutionOdd Godal Norway Risk, Modeling and Society

2001 Anna Gårdmark Sweden Adaptive Dynamics NetworkYanhong Jin China/USA Land Use Change

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toward understanding global problems and his effortsto promote multinational collaborative research.Dr Peccei was one of the founders of IIASA, but isperhaps best known as the former president of theClub of Rome. He enjoyed a distinguished career inindustry, conservation, and international affairs. Hishallmark was a humanistic approach to the problemsconfronting the modern world, whether economic,technological, managerial, or political. Dr Peccei wasa consistent and devoted friend of IIASA, a memberof the small group of individuals who inspired theoriginal concept of the Institute and actively con-tributed to its realization. In his later years, hisoverwhelming concern was the challenge of findingcreative opportunities for young people to influencea shared future.

Sara Johnson (Stanford Uni-versity, California) and Kees vanParidon (Erasmus University,Rotterdam) were chosen as thefirst Peccei scholars in 1984.Johnson worked within IIASA’sSystem and Decision SciencesProgram and designed and im-plemented a decision supportsystem on a micro-computer toaid group decision making. VanParidon worked in the EconomicStructural Change Program todevelop a possible explanation oflong waves based on underlyingeconomic processes and com-bining elements of the theories ofgrowth and structural change andinternational trade.

The Mikhalevich Scholarship was established in1995 following the untimely death of AcademicianVladimir S. Mikhalevich, the Council member of theUkrainian Academy of Sciences mainly responsiblefor the Ukraine’s membership in IIASA. AcademicianMikhalevich was associated with IIASA for manyyears in a scientific capacity, as a member of theSystem and Decision Sciences Advisory Committee,

and as chairman of the IIASA Council from 1987 to1992. Perhaps less well known, but equally important,was Academician Mikhalevich’s role in the academicworld of the former Soviet Union. At a time when itwas not popular, he ventured into cybernetics andemployed computers for tackling mathematicalproblems. In addition to his own pioneering work,he unfailingly encouraged young researchers toexplore new avenues and to think creatively andindependently.

In 1995, the first Mikhalevich Scholarship wasawarded to Carina van Vliet (Erasmus University,

Rotterdam). Van Vliet worked inIIASA’s Optimization underUncertainty Project, studyingstochastic modeling for thedevelopment of a micro simula-tion model to help decisionmakers in the struggle against thespread of specific diseases indeveloping countries.

The selection procedureAt the end of the summer, the YSSP supervisorsnominate candidates to be considered for a Pecceior a Mikhalevich Scholarship. A selection committeeconsisting of the director of IIASA, the dean andvice-dean of the YSSP, and internal and externalreviewers assesses the candidates on the basis of thefollowing:

■ Research reports prepared during the summer,evaluated according to the complexity of thesubject, originality of approach, policy relevance,advancement of a theory, the interdisciplinarycharacter of the research, and whether theconclusions are justified and relevant to IIASA’swork

■ Supervisors’ evaluations of the candidates’ workand their professional interactions with otherparticipants and staff, as well as their contributionto the program and to IIASA’s objectives as awhole

Mikhalevich scholars, 1995–2001

Year Winner Country Program/Project

1995 Carina van Vliet Netherlands Optimization under Uncertainty

1996 Oscar De Feo Italy Dynamic Systems

1997 Mikko Heino Finland Adaptive Dynamics Network

1998 Gebhard Banko Austria Forestry

1999 Kevin Wheeler USA Land Use Change

2000 Kalle Parvinen Finland Adaptive Dynamics Network

2001 Elena Moltchanova Russia/Finland Forestry

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Keigo Akimoto, Peccei scholar 1997Yokohama National University, JapanProject: Environmentally CompatibleEnergy Strategies (ECS)

Keigo Akimoto addressed theimpacts of climate model uncer-tainties on future energy sectoremissions profiles for givenclimate stabilization targets (e.g.,temperature or CO2 concen-trations). He found that modeluncertainties exemplified byclimate sensitivity—that is, tem-

perature change for a doubling of CO2 concentrationsand carbon cycle uncertainties (quantified via a CO2

fertilization carbon cycle calibration parameter)—areso large as to preclude the derivation of short- tomedium-term emission limits or carbon tax levels forparticular climate stabilization targets.

Using the energy sector linear programming modelMESSAGE (developed at IIASA) and a climate model(derived from Tom Wigley’s MAGICC model),Akimoto introduced modifications to both models inorder to perform his simulations and documented thework in four papers. Akimoto made a direct contribu-tion to the ECS research program by extending thecapabilities of MESSAGE.

In nominating Akimoto, Dr Arnulf Grübler (TNT)wrote: “Keigo’s findings redress the policy question atstake; the issue is not to agree on quantities or pricesof near-term emission reductions, but rather how bestto use small signals to prepare for possible long-termemission reduction contingencies. Keigo’s resultsindicate that the current debate about the timing ofemission abatement is much of a misnomer, as ‘optimal’emission reductions simply cannot be derived with asingle ‘best guess’ climate model parametrization.”

Mikko P. Heino, Mikhalevich scholar 1997University of Helsinki, FinlandProject: Adaptive Dynamics Network (ADN)

Mikko Heino worked on threestudies, which he documented inthree separate papers. In thefirst, “The enigma of frequency-dependent selection,” he lookedat a long-standing problem inevolutionary theory. It departsfrom the classical populationgenetic concept of frequency-

dependent selection. With the advent of the newadaptive dynamics framework, it has becomeincreasingly evident that the classical definition mustbe expanded in order to encompass a more realisticsystem of limited growth.

In his second paper, “Management of evolvingfish stocks,” Heino addressed the problem of theevolution of fish stocks in a managed system. Whereascontemporary management strategies assume that fishlife histories remain constant, empirical studiesdemonstrate that stocks respond to the selectivepressures imposed by commercial exploitation.

In his third paper, “Evolution of mixed reproductivestrategies in simple life-history models,” Heino reviewedan emerging theory in adaptive dynamics. Concepts of“limiting similarity” and “competitive exclusion” havebeen central to our understanding of coexistence anddiversity in ecological habitats, but the new notion of“effective environmental dimensionality” puts theseapproaches into a broader and unified context. Heinodemonstrated how this insight could be utilized to predictthe evolution of stable polymorphism or mixed strategiesin life-history traits—issues that theoretical ecologistshave pondered for decades.

In his nomination, Dr Ulf Dieckmann (ADN)wrote, “What really impressed me about Mikko’sresearch is the breadth of his competence. The threepapers…touch on very different and equally demandingaspects of ecological and evolutionary research.”According to Professor J.A.J. Metz (University of Leiden,the Netherlands), who worked with Mikko on twoprojects, “He is very sharp and efficient…willing tospend time on getting his ideas across. Mikko clearlytook the lead. He identified the questions, and the linesalong which we were going to proceed.”

Anton Dobronogov, Peccei scholar 1998University of Kiev, UkraineProject: Social Security Reform (SSR)

Anton Dobronogov analyzed socialsecurity systems in transitioneconomies, and adapted the SSRProject’s economic–demographicmodel to simulate the Ukrainiancase. He introduced two new ele-ments into the model, includingthe informal sector of the econ-omy and public-sector debt

dynamics. His simulations for a period of 30 yearsindicate the near impossibility of introducing effectivesocial security reforms without reducing the share ofthe informal sector.

In his nomination, Dr Landis MacKellar (SSR)noted, “What was most striking to me about Antonwas the facility with which he picked up the logic ofmodel-based policy analysis. This is as much an art asa science, and it is surprising how many otherwiseanalytically gifted scientists have no knack for it.”Professor Andries Nentijes (University of Groningen,the Netherlands) wrote in his review, “This is a paperof good quality. I appreciate the formulation of the

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research question: concentrating on government debtas the balancing item. The originality is in theadjustment of an existing model to take account ofthe specific situation of the Ukraine.”

Lily Panyacosit, Peccei scholar 1999University of California at Berkeley, USAProject: Transboundary Air Pollution (TAP)

Lily Panyacosit conducted acritical review of health-impactstudies focusing on the effects offine particulate matter (PM),including size fraction characteris-tics and their chemical properties.She evaluated various sources ofPM and the differences in indoor/outdoor exposure in developed

and developing countries. Focusing on developingcountries (including megacities), Panyacosit reviewedstudies analyzing the acute and long-term health effectsof PM and the biological plausibility, as well asexposure–response curves. The paper formed the basisfor further work linking PM emissions and controlstrategies (prepared in the RAINS model) and theirhealth impacts. This work is being continued in theTAP Project.

Dr Jocelyne Clench-Aas (Norwegian Institute forAir Research) wrote in her review, “Expanding the topicof health effects of exposure to particulate matter toinclude differences between developed and developingcountries was a useful concept.” Dr Mike Holland(AEA Technologies, UK) commented, “I was veryimpressed by this paper, which I will certainlyrecommend to others. The paper provides an extremelywell balanced account—better than I have seen fromsome acknowledged health experts!”

Janica Ylikarjula, Peccei scholar 1999Helsinki University of Technology, FinlandProject: Adaptive Dynamics Network (ADN)

Janica Ylikarjula worked on twoprojects during her summer withthe YSSP. In the first , shederived a population dynamicsmodel for fish populations,parametrized the model on thebasis of published studies ofperch populations, introducedmodifications necessary for

conducting the evolutionary part of the study, andthen analyzed the model and extracted the results.Ylikarjula’s work was the first theoretical analysisof stunted growth in fish—an important phe-nomenon in both applied and theoretical marine andfreshwater biology. As a consequence of her work,

the occurrence of stunted growth in fish is nowtheoretically well understood.

Ylikarjula also successfully completed a secondstudy by utilizing the model developed in the first partof her project to study the impacts of resourcelimitations (modeled as density-dependent individualgrowth) on complex population dynamics.

Dr Mikko Heino (University of Helsinki) wrotein his nomination, “This is an important contributionto current research in evolutionary ecology.…Janica’sfindings are likely to change the way ecologists thinkabout complex dynamics in age-structured popula-tions.” In his review, Dr Per Lundberg (Lund University,Sweden) commented that her paper “has great noveltyin its approach and is a nice example of how relativelysimple models can explain rather complex phenomenain ecology.”

Odd Godal, Peccei scholar 2000University of Bergen, NorwayProject: Risk, Modeling and Society (RMS)

In his project, Odd Godal built amodel that simulates a permittrading scheme taking intoaccount uncertainties with regardto emissions. The approach isextremely complex, combiningboth theoretical proof of con-vergence, given the uncertainty inreported carbon emissions, with

empirical simulations of the carbon permit market. Incontrast with the standard theory, the players have theoptions to reduce carbon emissions or to buy emissionpermits to meet the (Kyoto) carbon constraints, butcan also improve their emissions monitoring in orderto reduce the uncertainty. Godal proved that in thiscase, bilateral sequential trading converges to a marketequilibrium, and he derived the conditions for thisoptimum.

In their nomination, Dr Yuri Ermoliev (RMS) andDr Ger Klaassen (ECS) noted that, “To our knowledgethis is the first time that uncertainty on reportedemissions and the possibility to invest in monitoringto reduce this uncertainty has been introduced in asystem of bilateral, sequential emission trading.” Inhis review, Dr Mark Smith (Colorado College, USA)wrote: “I was impressed with this paper. It is extremelywell written—better than most of the other papersI have read on emission trading. The problem is clearlymotivated, the methodology is lucid, and results andconclusions flow convincingly from the method anddata.” Godal’s work was relevant to three IIASAprojects (ECS, FOR, and RMS) and offers a goodillustration of the strengths of IIASA’s approach—systems analysis combined with policy-relevantapplications.

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About the YSSPThrough the YSSP, IIASA aims to contribute to thedevelopment of a cadre of specialists with broad inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives, and theworldwide network of such specialists for collaborativework. It also aims to groom future staff for IIASA andother national and international research organizationsdealing with global issues.

For three months—from the beginning of June tothe end of August—the YSSP participants work withinIIASA’s existing research projects under the supervision

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and guidance of senior scientists. The supervisors andparticipants together determine the scope of theresearch, the areas of responsibility, and the extent ofindependent work. The proposed research should befocused so that it can be supervised and completedduring the summer. At the annual midsummerworkshop, the participants make brief presentationssummarizing their research. All participants areexpected to produce, individually or jointly, reports orarticles that may be published in IIASA’s InterimReport series.

Who is eligible?Predoctoral students from all countries may participatein the YSSP and are encouraged to apply. Applicantsshould be second- or third-year predoctoral candidates,aged between 22 and 35 years, who expect to beawarded a PhD or equivalent within the next two years.All efforts will be made to satisfy the preferences andacademic interests of the participants, and to ensure abalance of nationalities, genders, and disciplines.

The Institute’s working language is English, so anacceptable working level of written and spoken Englishis required. Candidates who are not native Englishspeakers should provide a certificate or some other officialdocument as proof of their proficiency in English.

FundingMany IIASA NMOs provide special stipends to enableyoung scientists to participate in the YSSP. Details forcontacting NMOs are available under “MemberCountries” on IIASA’s Web site: www.iiasa.ac.at

How to applyApplications for the summer program must be submittedby the end of the preceding January. Please use theelectronic registration form at: www2.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/yssp/registration

For further information, please contact IIASA’sYSSP coordinator (ysspinfo@iiasa.ac.at).

About IIASA

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is aninterdisciplinary, non-governmental research institution sponsored by aconsortium of National Member Organizations (NMOs) in 17 nations inAsia, Europe, and North America. The Institute’s strategic goal for the21st century is to conduct international, interdisciplinary scientific studiesto provide timely and relevant information and options concerning criticalissues of global environmental, economic, and social change for thebenefit of the public, the scientific community, and national andinternational institutions.

IIASA’s core research themesEnergy and Technology

Energy and technology are fundamental drivers of development and arecentral elements of globalization. The development of energy resourcesand the introduction and distribution of energy and other newtechnologies can control the future growth and distribution of economicopportunities in much of the world. Research focuses on expanding long-term global energy modeling frameworks and infrastructure models,developing a better understanding of the relationship between innovationand R&D, and applying new insights and methods to analyze the diffusionof new technologies in time and space, including their economic andsocial implications as well as possible environmental impacts.

Environment and Natural ResourcesThe environment and natural resources are among the most pressingglobal issues, as the human capacity to alter and manipulate the naturalenvironment grows with economic and technological development, anddemographic and socioeconomic changes. IIASA’s research on the impactsand linkages between global change and the environment and naturalresources focuses on air pollution and climate change, forestry, land use,and freshwater systems. Other selected ecosystems and managementissues are analyzed through adaptive dynamics—a tool for linking theecological and evolutionary consequences of environmental change.

Population and SocietyWith population being recognized as a driving force of global change, thistheme deals with both the determinants and consequences of various popu-lation trends. Methodological work on population dynamics and projectionsfeeds into other IIASA research on how such alternative future trends mayinfluence global change concerns such as climate, forestry, air pollution,and freshwater systems. In turn, research also focuses on the social andeconomic risks associated with global change, including weather-relateddisasters, and the social risks associated with aging and health issues.

Further information on individual projects can be found on the IIASAWeb site: www.iiasa.ac.at

YSSP participants by gender, 1977–2002.

Special Thanks to MaggieSome YSSP alumni probably best remember her for her help inadjusting to life in Austria; others, for her kindness and her readylaugh. Still others remember her as a traveling companion duringthe many weekend trips she has planned to places such as Budapestand Hallstatt. As program coordinator, Margaret (Maggie) Traberhas become, for many of us, the heart and soul of the YSSP.

Margaret began her IIASA career in 1978 in the office of scientificrecruitment. In 1985, she was appointed coordinator of the YSSP,at that time with 56 participants. Her role as program coordinatorkeeps her occupied year-round: processing the applications inthe winter, notifying successful applicants and arranging theiraccommodation in the spring, overseeing the program in thesummer, and organizing the Peccei and Mikhalevich awards inthe autumn. Her job, however, goes far beyond coordinating andrunning the program—she devotes many unpaid hours to planningand accompanying the young scientists on trips in and aroundAustria, and many weekends showing them the sights of Vienna.And, of course, keeping in touch for years afterward. Margaret’sattachment to her “YSSPers” has always run deep, and every yearshe finds it difficult to say good-bye, as one alumnus witnessedfirsthand:

The lion’s share of the “YSSPers” had already left, and I wastalking with [Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer] in her office. Maggieentered, a little shy, with tears in her eyes. We immediatelyknew what it was about: yet again, her “YSSPers” were gone.The research we had been discussing suddenly seemed sounimportant…

The upcoming 2003 summer program will be Margaret’s lastbefore her retirement. As with the “YSSPers” at each summer’send, it will be difficult to say good-bye. With her departure, shewill enter the ranks of the IIASA alumni who have made IIASAand the YSSP what it is today. The IIASA staff and all past YSSPparticipants thank Margaret for her many years of service to theYSSP, and for just being Maggie. JLB

International Institute for Applied Systems AnalysisSchlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, AustriaTel: +43 2236 807 Fax: +43 2236 71313www.iiasa.ac.atI I A S A

IIASA National Member Organizations

Austria The Austrian Academy of SciencesBulgaria* The Ministry of Environment and WatersChina The National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaCzech Republic The Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicFinland The Finnish Committee for IIASAGermany** The Association for the Advancement of IIASAHungary The Hungarian Committee for Applied Systems AnalysisJapan The Japan Committee for IIASAKazakhstan* The Ministry of Science—The Academy of SciencesNetherlands The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)Norway The Research Council of NorwayPoland The Polish Academy of SciencesRussian Federation The Russian Academy of SciencesSlovak Republic The Executive Slovak National Committee for IIASASweden The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)Ukraine The Ukrainian Academy of SciencesUnited States of America The American Academy of Arts and Sciences

*Associate member**Affiliate

IIASA National Member Organizations

Austria The Austrian Academy of SciencesBulgaria* The Ministry of Environment and WatersChina The National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaCzech Republic The Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicFinland The Finnish Committee for IIASAGermany** The Association for the Advancement of IIASAHungary The Hungarian Committee for Applied Systems AnalysisJapan The Japan Committee for IIASAKazakhstan* The Ministry of Science—The Academy of SciencesNetherlands The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)Norway The Research Council of NorwayPoland The Polish Academy of SciencesRussian Federation The Russian Academy of SciencesSlovak Republic The Executive Slovak National Committee for IIASASweden The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)Ukraine The Ukrainian Academy of SciencesUnited States of America The American Academy of Arts and Sciences

*Associate member**Affiliate