Brian Dermody

Dr. Brian Dermody is an interdisciplinary Assistant Professor at Utrecht University's Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, positioned within the Environmental Sciences Department. He focuses on complexity science applications to sustainability challenges, particularly food systems and socio-ecological transitions. His work bridges natural and social sciences through systems thinking frameworks.

Education: PhD (2014) in Holocene climate impacts on Roman societies from Utrecht University; MSc Environmental Sciences (2009) from Trinity College Dublin; BSc Geomatics (2005) from Dublin Institute of Technology.

Research emphasizes systems literacy, integrating agent-based modeling, network analysis, and historical data. Key areas include Roman-era water management, Arctic Indigenous food systems resilience, and Dutch dietary behavior modeling. He coordinates transdisciplinary education initiatives like the Future Food Utrecht program and the 'Systems, Stories and Sustainability' course at University College Utrecht.

Outreach includes podcast collaborations, public lectures, and the Tipping the Iceberg project. He co-founded the Complexity Lab Utrecht and maintains interdisciplinary research groups within Utrecht's Center for Complex Systems Studies.