Viola Priesemann

Prof. Dr. Viola Priesemann is a Professor of Physics at the University of Göttingen and leads a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation. Her work investigates the principles of dynamics, learning, and intelligence within neural and social networks, with a particular focus on self-organisation and emergence. To this end, she employs and develops methods from information theory, statistical physics, and data science. She leads research projects within several Collaborative Research Centers (SFBs) and coordinates a project—funded by the BMBF/BMFTR—that addresses the dynamics of pandemics and "infodemics." She serves as a board member of the Campus Institute for Data Science and is a member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the "Young Academy" (2021–2026), and the Complexity Hub Vienna. Her research and efforts in science communication have received numerous awards, including the Max Planck Society’s Communitas Prize, the Lise Meitner Lecture (presented by the German and Austrian Physical Societies), and the Lower Saxony Science Award