She received the award at a ceremony on May 20.
The work was carried out at the Institute of Psychology at Osnabrück University in collaboration with the "Laboratory for the computational analysis of egonetworks, social cohesion, and exclusion" (COALESCE) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Maarten van Zalk, developmental psychologist at Osnabrück University. "Sophie de Lede's study is characterized not only by its remarkable scientific rigor, but also by its courageous commitment to an important social issue. She approaches the challenge of climate change with both conviction and creativity and dares to experiment with methods that others might avoid," says the scientist.
Sophie de Lede, born in Solingen, initially studied Cognitive Science and began her Master's degree in Psychology in 2021. Her particular research interests are relationships between individuals and groups as well as climate action and conspiracy beliefs. Now, after graduating, she wants to work on socially relevant research. "People are fascinating in their complexity and contradictions. By investigating and thus better understanding the processes of human feeling, thinking and acting, we open up countless opportunities to bring about positive change in society," says the 31-year-old.
In total, the OLB Foundation has honored six particularly outstanding theses, three dissertations and three theses, which are endowed with a total of € 22,000. "I am delighted that such a promising young scientist has been honored by Osnabrück University and once again demonstrates the high quality of our scientific education," said Vice President for Studies and Teaching at Osnabrück University, Prof. Dr. Jochen Oltmer. "I congratulate Ms. de Lede from the bottom of my heart."
The OLB Science Prize has been awarded since 2000. The prizewinners are selected by an independent jury made up of renowned experts. Graduates of state-recognized universities and colleges in the Northwest who have submitted a scientific thesis were eligible to apply. This had to be of outstanding quality in the opinion of the university and college.
Further information for the media:
Dr. Oliver Schmidt, Osnabrück University
Communications and Marketing Office
oliver.schmidt@uos.de
