Award Ceremony Prix Schläfli in Geosciences 2025

Simona Meiler is awarded the Prix Schläfli 2025 in Geosciences for her research into tropical cyclones. The jury was impressed by her publication entitled ‘Uncertainties and sensitivities in the quantification of future tropical cyclone risk’. Her PhD project addressed the overarching question ‘What are the key sources of uncertainty in global tropical cyclone risk assessments, and how does their systematic assessment enhance the value for risk analysis, research, and decision-making?’.

The study presents a robust framework for analyzing different types of uncertainty in tropical cyclone hazard models. The proposed interdisciplinary model considers risks arising from climate models, socio-economic pathways, and vulnerability representations within a single quantitative structure. This approach greatly enhances the transparency of future risk assessments, allowing for much more meaningful intercomparisons of uncertainties and sensitivities in different model setups, ready to be considered in relevant decision making in contexts such as physical climate risk disclosure or (re)insurance pricing. This is also clearly demonstrated by Simona Meiler’s contributions to society through the development of toolkits for decision-makers and the provision of consultancy services.