Niklas Boers

Prof. Niklas Boers is a Professor of Earth System Modeling at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), affiliated with the TUM School of Engineering and Design. His research focuses on extreme climate events, abrupt state transitions (tipping points), and hybrid Earth system modeling combining physical models with machine learning. He leads the TUM Professorship for Earth System Modeling, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to predict climate phenomena and improve climate models.

Boers' academic career includes a PhD in Theoretical Physics from Humboldt University Berlin, postdoctoral work at institutions like the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Imperial College London, and a Volkswagen Foundation-funded junior research group. He also holds a part-time Senior Lecturer position at the University of Exeter (not part of his TUM role).

His research interests span critical transitions in ice sheets, Amazon rainforest resilience, and dynamical systems approaches. Notable achievements include developing network theory frameworks for extreme event analysis, discovering early warnings for glacial climate shifts, and advancing machine learning applications in climate science.

Awards include the 2021 EGU Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award and the 2019 Freigeist Fellowship. His work has been featured in high-impact journals like Nature Climate Change and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Current projects include the ESA-funded SIRENE initiative for global vegetation resilience monitoring and collaborations on AMOC tipping points and climate model improvements via AI.