Max Falkenberg

Max Falkenberg is a Research Fellow in the Department of Network and Data Science at Central European University (CEU), Vienna, Austria, and holds Visiting Fellow positions at the Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College London (UCL) and the Inverse Complexity Group at IT:U in Linz, Austria. He earned his PhD in Physics from Imperial College London (2022) and completed a postdoc in Mathematics at City, University of London (2024). His research applies network science and computational methods to study political polarization, climate communication, climate finance, and structural dynamics of social systems.

Dr. Falkenberg’s work bridges computational social science with policy analysis. Notable contributions include datasets on Indian microblogging platform Koo, reports on climate tipping points for COP28, and analyses of fossil fuel finance in banking sectors. His findings have been featured in media outlets like The Guardian, Bloomberg, and BBC World Service. He has also advised policy forums such as the UK Parliament’s EFRA Select Committee and presented at institutions like the Bank of England and Spotify.

• Education: PhD Physics (Imperial College London), MSci Physics (Imperial College London)
• Key Projects: Climate finance modeling, Koo dataset analysis, COP28 climate policy report
• Media Contributions: Interviews with The Times, AFP Paris, and TVP World

His policy-oriented research includes op-eds in The Banker (Financial Times) and collaborations with think-tanks. Falkenberg’s interdisciplinary approach integrates network science, statistical inference, and AI to address global challenges in sustainability and governance.