KLI Colloquia are invited research talks of about an hour followed by 30 min discussion. The talks are held in English, open to the public, and offered in hybrid format.
Fall-Winter 2025-2026 KLI Colloquium Series
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5881861923?omn=85945744831
Meeting ID: 588 186 1923
25 Sept 2025 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
A Dynamic Canvas Model of Butterfly and Moth Color Patterns
Richard Gawne (Nevada State Museum)
14 Oct 2025 (Tues) 3-4:30 PM CET
Vienna, the Laboratory of Modernity
Richard Cockett (The Economist)
23 Oct 2025 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
How Darwinian is Darwinian Enough? The Case of Evolution and the Origins of Life
Ludo Schoenmakers (KLI)
6 Nov (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Common Knowledge Considered as Cause and Effect of Behavioral Modernity
Ronald Planer (University of Wollongong)
20 Nov (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Rates of Evolution, Time Scaling, and the Decoupling of Micro- and Macroevolution
Thomas Hansen (University of Oslo)
4 Dec (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Chance, Necessity, and the Evolution of Evolvability
Cristina Villegas (KLI)
8 Jan 2026 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Embodied Rationality: Normative and Evolutionary Foundations
Enrico Petracca (KLI)
15 Jan 2026 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
On Experimental Models of Developmental Plasticity and Evolutionary Novelty
Patricia Beldade (Lisbon University)
29 Jan 2026 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Jan Baedke (Ruhr University Bochum)
Event Details

IN-PERSON EVENT!
PARTICIPATION VIA ZOOM IS NOT POSSIBLE!
Topic description / abstract:
Both health promotion research (HPR) and transdisciplinary sustainability research (TSR) are research fields that address grand societal challenges that affect not only the health of humans but also the natural life-support systems on earth on which we all depend. Further, both fields highlight the intertwining of health and environment at the center of these societal challenges. This leads to a mandate for science to not only better understand the interconnectedness of health and environment in various contexts at local, national and global levels, but also to develop and implement viable fair solution options at an increased pace to support fundamental transformations at the individual and societal level. In response to these demands, HPR and TSR have developed largely in parallel over the past more recently decades, without a more intensive exchange with regard to research objects, ethical and epistemological foundations. In my talk I aim to contribute to bridging HPR and TSR. In the first part, I will briefly introduce the historical roots of HPR. I will also present more recently developed key characteristics of HPR and compare them with some key characteristics of TSR. And then I will show some preliminary thoughts developed in the tdAcademy Fellow group "Transdisciplinary Research and its Scientific Impact" on the interconnection of health and environment. In the second part, I will engage with the participants more actively and conduct a moderated interactive group exchange based on selected key questions related to the topics presented.
Biographical note:
Jana Semrau is research Associate at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Department of Sport Science and Sport (DSS), Germany. Jana‘s research focuses on the sustainable implementation and scaling up of population-based health promotion interventions in local communities with a specific focus on health equity. Her current work is located at the intersection of health promotion science and practice related to the nationwide implementation of the German Prevention Act in local communities.Jana coproduces her work in collaboration with transdisciplinary groups consisting of actors from research, politics, and practice as well as with citizens.