Benjamin Steininger

Dr. Benjamin Steininger is a cultural and media theorist, historian of science and technology, and curator based at the Exzellenzcluster UniSysCat of Technische Universität Berlin (2019-2025) and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology (since April 2024). Previously affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, he investigates the cultural history of industrial catalysis, fossil resources, and chemical technologies in the Anthropocene, bridging material science and cultural critique.

• Education: Magister from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (cultural studies, media theory, philosophy) and PhD in history and philosophy of science from the University of Vienna.
• Key Collaborations: TU Berlin, HU Berlin, University of Halle, Petrocultures Network, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Geologische Bundesanstalt, OMV AG, Technisches Museum Wien.

His research explores the interplay between fossil energy systems, chemical technologies, and cultural modernity, focusing on petromodernity’s contradictions. He employs atlas-making as a methodological tool to map material-cultural interactions across scales, contributing to debates on “geoanthropology” as a framework for understanding the Anthropocene’s epistemological and political dimensions.

Steininger co-founded the Beauty of Oil collective, producing exhibitions (e.g., Oil: Beauty and Terror of Petromodernity at Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg), films, and publications like Atlas of Petromodernity (2020–2024). He co-leads the podcast Syntheziser – Listening to the Future of Chemistry with Dr. Nona Schulte-Römer.

Scientific Awards & Fellowships:

• Deutsches Museum München (2006)
• University of Vienna (2007–2009)
• IFK Vienna (2009/2010)
• ZfL Berlin (2010/2011)
• University of Applied Arts Vienna (2013/2014)

He has collaborated on institutionalizing Anthropocene research within the Max Planck Society and co-founded curatorial projects like Petro Noir and Tank oder Teller. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary dialogue between natural sciences, humanities, and cultural institutions.