Dr Tobias Ruttenauer is Associate Professor in Quantitative Social Science at UCL’s Social Research Institute, researching climate justice and environmental inequality. Read on to discover the CLEAN seminar series and a joke that captures the perils of incomplete data!
What is your role and what does it involve?
I’m an Associate Professor in Quantitative Social Science at the Social Research Institute (SRI). My research uses causal inference and advanced computational techniques to explore policy-relevant questions around climate justice, residential segregation, and environmental behaviours - issues that connect social inequality, environmental problems, and climate change. I teach specialised methods courses such as Advanced Computational Techniques for Data Science as well as broader courses like Environment and Climate Change.
How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?
I’ve been at UCL since 2022. Before that, I was a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. I originally came to the UK in 2019 after completing my PhD at the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany. Across those positions, I mainly worked on quantitative research on the intersection between environmental sociology and demography.
What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?
I’m proud of building bridges between social science and environmental research. Creating spaces where quantitative methods meet pressing societal challenges like climate justice and segregation has been a key part of my work and something I value deeply. What’s most rewarding, though, is seeing students actively engage with these topics and contribute to tackling these issues -whether through their own research or through civic engagement. This is also something we aim to foster in the Climate, Learning and Environment Academic Network (CLEAN) , an interdisciplinary community dedicated to innovative research and dialogue on the climate crisis and its social impacts.
Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list
I’m currently setting up SOCIO-CLIMP, a ¤1.5 million project that examines socio-demographic inequalities in climate change impacts across Europe. The goal is to provide new insights into how climate-related risks and vulnerabilities are unevenly distributed, how these inequalities differ across European regions, and which policies are suitable to tackle such environmental inequalities. Alongside this, I’m helping to organise the CLEAN seminar series , which brings together researchers from across disciplines to highlight the crucial role of social sciences in understanding and addressing the climate crisis. Both initiatives aim to foster dialogue and collaboration on one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
What is your favourite album, film and novel?
My favourite album is Demon Days by Gorillaz - every song feels like part of a perfectly crafted whole, and the album works beautifully together. For film, I’d choose In Bruges; its dark humour makes me laugh every single time. And for a novel, it has to be George Orwell’s 1984, a classic that remains, unfortunately, as relevant today as when it was written.
What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?
There are two kinds of people: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Who would be your dream dinner guests?
I would have loved to have dinner with W.E.B. Du Bois. His pioneering work in combining sociology and demography to investigate spatial inequalities was decades ahead of its time and continues to inspire research today. I imagine the conversation would be fascinating - about data, justice, and how social science can identify the structures shaping inequality (and its persistence).
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t worry so much about making the wrong decisions. There’s plenty of time to adjust, and even enough to make new mistakes.
What would it surprise people to know about you?
It might surprise people to know that I have an absolutely terrible memory for facts. I can never remember the dates of major events -like when Bayern Munich last won the Champions League - or even song titles and artist names. This makes me hopeless at games like Hitster, but on the bright side, it means I’m always pleasantly surprised when I hear a great song or learn a fun fact... again.
What is your favourite place?
Anywhere sunny with a good cycling route - whether it’s a winding mountain trail or a smooth road. If there’s sunshine and two wheels involved, I’m happy.
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
