Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

Image of Prof. Dr. Jürgen Renn

© Hans Sell

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Renn

Director
Founding Director

Department Structural Changes of the Technosphere
+49 3641 686-611

113

Publication References

Curriculum Vitae

Jürgen Renn is Founding Director at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. His research concerns the long-term developments of knowledge in consideration of processes of globalization and the historical dynamics that led to the Anthropocene.

Prior to this, he was founding director and director of Department I of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin. In almost three decades at the MPIWG, his numerous research projects in knowledge development in relation to different cultures and historical periods have opened up new approaches, especially in the digital humanities. Jürgen Renn has authored, co-authored, and edited over 60 books, 200 book chapters and articles on topics ranging from the history of mechanics in antiquity and the early modern period to quantum physics and the theory of general relativity. His most recent publications look at the role of knowledge in global historical transformations, and explore how this knowledge can help us to confront the complexities of the Anthropocene age.

He is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, acatech – the National Academy of Science and Engineering, the International Academy of the History of Science, and is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Istituto Veneto. In 2019, he was elected a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute.

Jürgen Renn serves as a member of the Board of Directors of ESYS – Energy Systems of the Future and the Supervisory Board of the Futurium. In recognition of his contributions to the history of science, he has received numerous awards, including the Gustav Neuenschwander Prize, the Francis-Bacon Award and the Medaglia Commandiniana. He received the Pais Prize for his works in the field of history of physics and was NOMIS-fellow for his research on Leonardo da Vinci. Furthermore, he was awarded Honorary Doctorates by Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University Jerusalem.

Journal Article (8)

1.

Journal Article

Russell, C.; Renn, J.; Zalasiewicz, J.: Discorditarianism: a new paradigm for geological interpretation. GSA today 36 (1), GSATG626GW, pp. 12 - 13 (2026)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

2.

Journal Article

Zalasiewicz, J. A.; Head, M. J.; Waters, C. N.; Summerhayes, C. P.; Turner, S.; Wagreich, M.; Aquilina, L.; Cearreta, A.; Chakraborty, A.; Gałuszka, A. et al.; Hajdas, I.; Sul, J. I. d.; Leinfelder, R.; Magny, M.; McCarthy, F. M.G.; McNeill, J. R.; Park, B. S.; Pöschl, U.; Renn, J.; Robin, L.; Saito, Y.; Sörlin, S.; Thomas, J. A.; Trischler, H.; Williams, M.; Wallenhorst, N.; Will, F.: Reply to Edgeworth et al. 2024: The Anthropocene is a time interval, and more besides. Earth's Future 13 (9), e2024EF005612 (2025)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

3.

Journal Article

Stokes, F. J.; Benites, S.; Ekman, A.; Suruí, U. A.; Furquim, L.; Winkelmann, R.; Renn, J.; Roberts, P.: Tropical deforestation and Indigenous resistance over the longue durée in South America. Journal of global history 20 (2), S1740022825000051 , pp. 121 - 142 (2025)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

4.

Journal Article

Carleton, W. C.; Elton, H.; Miranda, W.; Work, I.; Safarik, D.; Winkelmann, R.; Laubichler, M. D.; Renn, J.; Roberts, P.: Parallel scaling of elite wealth in ancient Roman and modern cities with implications for understanding urban inequality. Nature cities, s44284-025-00213-1 (2025)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

5.

Journal Article

Roberts, P.; Carleton, W. C.; Amano, N.; Findley, D. M.; Hamilton, R. J.; Maezumi, S. Y.; Winkelmann, R.; Laubichler, M. D.; Renn, J.: Using urban pasts to speak to urban presents in the Anthropocene. Nature cities 1 (1), s44284-023-00014-4, pp. 30 - 41 (2024)

MPG.PuRe

6.

Journal Article

Roberts, P.; Kaplan, J.; Findley, D. M.; Hamilton, R. J.; Caetano Andrade, V. L.; Amano, N.; Kay, A.; Renn, J.; Winkelmann, R.: Mapping our reliance on the tropics can reveal the roots of the Anthropocene. Nature Ecology & Evolution 7, s41559-023-01998-x, pp. 632 - 636 (2023)

MPG.PuRe

7.

Journal Article

Rosol, C.; Schäfer, G. N.; Turner, S. D.; Waters, C. N.; Head, M. J.; Zalasiewicz, J.; Rossée, C.; Renn, J.; Klingan, K.; Scherer, B. M.: Evidence and experiment: curating contexts of Anthropocene geology. The Anthropocene Review 10 (1), 20530196231165621, pp. 330 - 339 (2023)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

8.

Journal Article

Creutzig, F.; Acemoglu, D.; Bai, X.; Edwards, P. N.; Hintz, M. J.; Kaack, L. H.; Kilkis, S.; Kunkel, S.; Luers, A.; Milojevic-Dupont, N. et al.; Rejeski, D.; Renn, J.; Rolnick, D.; Rosol, C.; Russ, D.; Turnbull, T.; Verdolini, E.; Wagner, F.; Wilson, C.; Zekar, A.; Zumwald, M.: Digitalization and the Anthropocene. Annual review of environment and resources 47 (1), 120920-100056, pp. 479 - 509 (2022)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

Book (4)

9.

Book

Gutfreund, H.; Renn, J.: Dialectical materialism and quantum physics: the unpublished 1957 lectures of David Bohm in Israel. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2026), 256 pp.

MPG.PuRe

10.

Book

Gutfreund, H.; Renn, J.: 爱因斯坦革命：相对论的历史根源. 中国科学技术出版社, Beijiing (2025), 296 pp.

MPG.PuRe

11.

Book

Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J. (Eds.): Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024), 992 pp.

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

12.

Book

Renn, J.; Gutfreund, H.: The Einsteinian Revolution: the historical roots of his breakthroughs. Princeton University Press, Princeton ; Oxford (2024), XVIII, 249 pp.

MPG.PuRe

Book Chapter (12)

13.

Book Chapter

Renn, J.: Corona und die multiplen Krisen des Anthropozäns. In: Multiple Krisen der Gegenwart, Kapitel 2, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 43 - 56 (Eds. Markschies, C.; Haug, G.). Herder, Freiburg, Basel, Wien (2025)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

14.

Book Chapter

Burchardt, A.; Büttner, J.; Renn, J.: Zukunftsszenarien für alle: demokratisierte Vorausschau und Teilhabe durch menschliche Vermittler und künstliche Intelligenz. In: Regenerative Zukünfte und künstliche Intelligenz: PEOPLE, Vol. 2, 19, first edition Ed., pp. 271 - 284 (Eds. Gondlach, K.; Brinkmann, B.; Brinkmann, M.; Plath, J.). Springer VS, Wiesbaden (2024)

MPG.PuRe

15.

Book Chapter

Balcar, J.; Renn, J.: Das Ringen um die Steuerbarkeit der MPG. In: Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005, Vol. 1, IV, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 516 - 549 (Eds. Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

16.

Book Chapter

Brandt, C.; Klassen, A.; Lax, G.; Renn, J.; Sachse, C.; Schlünder, M.; Schmaltz, F.; Scholz, J.; von Schwerin, A.; Turnbull, T.: Politische und ethische Herausforderungen der Forschung. In: Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005, Vol. 1, IV, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 726 - 788 (Eds. Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

17.

Book Chapter

Buarque, B. S.; Friedrich, M.; Kolboske, B.; Renn, J.; Schemmel, M.; Scholz, J.; von Schwerin, A.; Topp, S.; Vogl, M.: Dimensionen wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens. In: Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005, Vol. 1, IV, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 616 - 666 (Eds. Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

18.

Book Chapter

Kocka, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Renn, J.: Metamorphosen und Kontinuitäten. In: Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005, Vol. 1, V, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 791 - 832 (Eds. Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

19.

Book Chapter

Kocka, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Renn, J.; Schmaltz, F.: Einleitung [zu Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005]. In: Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005, Vol. 1, I, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 15 - 23 (Eds. Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version

20.

Book Chapter

Kraft, A.; Renn, J.; Sachse, C.; Schöttler, P.: Die MPG in der Welt. In: Die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: Wissenschafts- und Zeitgeschichte 1945–2005, Vol. 1, IV, 1. Auflage Ed., pp. 685 - 725 (Eds. Renn, J.; Reinhardt, C.; Kocka, J.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (2024)

MPG.PuRe

publisher-version