Biography
Prof. Dr. Cyrus Samimi holds a professorship of climatology at the University of Bayreuth since 2013. Since 2019 he also serves as Vice Dean of Digital solutions in the Cluster of Excellence Africa Multiple at the University of Bayreuth. His MSc., PhD and Habilitation all had a focus on drylands with a broad range of topics, from pedology, biogeography and climatology. Before joining the University of Bayreuth, Prof. Samimi held the professorship of geoecology at the University of Vienna, first as visiting then as full professor. His research projects have regional foci in Southern Africa, the Sahel and Central Asia. In his research links between climate change, environmental change and human activities are analysed with strong empirical work in the project regions, remote sensing, and modelling approaches. Most of his projects are interdisciplinary and partly transdisciplinary, the later with the aim of joint knowledge production. He published more than 60 papers, the majority in international peer reviewed journals and book chapters. The main focus of the publication is on drylands. Selected projects are “Socio-ecological drivers of movements into and out of African Woodlands”, “Ecological Calendars and Climate Adaptation in the Pamirs” and “Climate Change, Environmental Changes and Migration – Social-Ecological Conditions of Population Movements: The Example of the Sahelian Countries Mali and Senegal”.