Dr Matthias Ruth is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of York.
Matthias holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and a PhD in Geography from the University of Illinois, where he also received training in engineering and biology. Matthias spent almost a decade at Boston University and more than a decade at the University of Maryland where he was the Roy F Weston Chair in Natural Economics and Policy Advisor on Sustainability to the Chancellor. Following his tenure at Maryland, Matthias joined Northeastern University, Boston, USA, where he served as Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and as the Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, as well as Founding Director of the University’s Resilient Cities Laboratory. He joined the University of York after serving first as Vice-President for Research and then as Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Alberta, one of Canada’s top-five comprehensive, research-intensive universities. There he oversaw a research budget of over £300 million annually and administrative staff of more than 220 individuals across the University’s central research and innovation operations.
Matthias’s research focuses on dynamic modeling of natural resource use, industrial and infrastructure systems analysis, and environmental economics and policy. His theoretical work heavily draws on concepts from engineering, economics and ecology, while his applied research utilizes methods of non-linear dynamic modeling as well as adaptive and anticipatory management. Applications of his work cover the full spectrum from local to regional, to national and global environmental challenges, as well as the investment and policy opportunities these challenges present. Matthias has published 20 books and over 150 papers and book chapters in the scientific literature. He is a founder of Ecological Economics and founding Editor-in-Chief of the science journal Urban Climate, serves on the boards of numerous academic journals, scientific organizations and companies, and collaborates extensively with scientists and policy makers worldwide.