Graduating from the CLEWS program opens doors to all kinds of exciting and impactful career paths. Some alumni are diving headfirst into research, while others are working across different sectors on environmental and climate projects to shape a sustainable future... whether it's pursuing a PhD, advancing cutting-edge climate research, or contributing to diverse environmental projects. Here you can explore their journeys: Master's thesis topics, current work positions, and interviews where alumni share their paths, insights, and advice for future CLEWS students. Ready to see where your CLEWS degree can take you?
And if you're interested in learning more about a specific topic or career path, don't hesitate to contact our CLEWS graduates individually. The CLEWS family is connected and supportive!
List of our graduates
Graduates in 2026
Alumni
Topic master thesis
Current work
Jakob Terschlüsen
Germany
Predictablility of Flash Floods in a Semi Urban Catchment Using Different Precipitation Products
Supervisors: Dr.-Ing. Bora Shehu, Prof. Dr. Axel Bronstert
just finished
Mona Horn
Germany
The Role of Agriculture in Achieving Net Zero Methane: Analyzing the GWP* Debate in the Livestock Sector
Supervisors: Prof. Mark Lawrence, Dr. Kathleen A. Mar
just finished
Hadia Shuja Malik
Pakistan
Reconstructing Holocene Fire Activity in the Siberian Far East Using Lake Sediment Charcoal as a Proxy and Comparison with Climate and Vegetation Records
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Herzschuh, Dr. Ramesh Glückler
just finished
Franziska Schwab
Germany
Assessing Drought Stress in Boreal Forests of Northwestern Canada Using Point Dendrometer and Soil Moisture Data
Supervisors: Dr. Stefan Kruse, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Herzschuh
just finished
Tilo Scheffold
Germany
Active layer soil carbon stocks across vegetation, climate and topographic gradients in Northern America
Supervisors: Dr. Stefan Kruse, Prof. Dr. Guido Grosse
just finished
Antonia Jost
Germany
On the Suitability of ArchesWeatherGen for Climate Projections
Supervisors: Prof. Christian Lessig, Prof. Jakob Runge
just finished
Selin Yüksel
Turkey
Global Patterns of Flood and Landslide Fatalities: A Comparative Analysis Across Temporal, Spatial, Seasonal and Socioeconomic Dimensions
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Oliver Korup, Dr. Joaquin Vicente Ferrer
just finished
Olivia Kirby
Canada
Assessing Future Water Availability in the Seman River Basin, Albania, Using the WASA-SED Hydrological Model
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Axel Bronstert, Doko Alban
just finished
Mai-Britt Berghöfer
Germany
Nowcasting Precipitation for Dakar, Senegal
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Jan Härter, Diana L. Monroy
just finished
Graduates in 2025
Alumni
Topic master thesis
Current work
Katharina Matthes
Germany
How effective will protected areas be under climate and land use change in the future? A case study of Carabidae in Switzerland
Supervisors: JProf. Bertrand Founrier, Dr. Kolja Bergholz
just finished
Samuel Bien
Germany
Conceptual regimes of flexible vs. fixed-route puplic transport based on practicality and sustainability
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Karoline Wiesner, Dr. Nora Molkenthin
Expert in the field of industry, mobility and energy efficiency at the German Energy Agency
Kobe De Maeyer
Belgium
Detect, Cluster, Aggregate: methods to study tipping in vegetation model output
Supervisors: Dr. Sina Loriani, Prof. Dr. Ricarda Winkelmann
(focus on carbon accounting, CSRD reporting, building structured ESG data processes for companies)
Frieder Tautz
Germany
Precipitation, landslide activity and river discharge in seismic records
Supervisors: Prof. Oliver Korup, Dr. Michael Dietze
just finished
Nirmal Kularathne
Sri Lanka
Developing a Minimal Complexity Conceptual Catchment Model for Flood Process Analysis
Supervisors: Dr. Lina Stein, Prof. Thorsten Wagener
just finished
Maria Garcia
Peru
Linking soil moisture, irrigation adequacy, and crop performance in cereal crops using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensors (CRNS) and a water balance approach. A case study in Brandenburg, Germany
Supervisors: Dr. Lena Scheiffele, Prof. Sascha Oswald
just finished
Carolin Frauhammer
Germany
Deciphering organic matter degradation in the continuous permafrost zone of Alaska based on biomarker analyses
Supervisors: Dr. Jens Strauss, Prof. Guido Große
PhD in the PeTCaT project (Rapid Permafrost Thaw Carbon Trajectories)
All CLEWS graduates can sign up here for our alumni mailing list to stay connected to the CLEWS family and receive information, occasional updates, and invites to (alumni) events. In addition, you can always reach us at clews@uni-potsdam.de