POTSDAM - Clarkson University Chair and Professor of Psychology Andreas Wilke recently attended and presented a talk at the 20th anniversary of the International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course (LIFE) in Berlin.

Wilke was a fellow of the school's first cohort, which graduated in 2005 and was invited back for the special anniversary celebration.

The goal of LIFE is the study of systematic changes in human behavior over evolutionary and ontogenetic time. Aspects of these changes have been taught to students around the world from the point of view of one or another sub-discipline.

LIFE was founded in 2002 by Paul B. Baltes of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Jacquelynne S. Eccles of the University of Michigan. In Berlin, the Freie Universität and the Humboldt-Universität joined as partner universities. The University of Virginia joined in 2004 with John R. Nesselroade as its speaker, as did the University of Zurich in 2008 with Alexandra M. Freund as its speaker.

During the anniversary celebration, LIFE Fall Academy 2022, Wilke and fellow cohort alumnus Rui Mata delivered a talk to about 30 doctoral students on career development, including postdoctoral scholarships, finding a junior faculty member job, etc. Mata is a professor of cognitive and decision sciences at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

"It was a pleasure to return to my former Ph.D. graduate cluster and be able to pass along career advice to its current generation of graduate students," said Wilke. "I utilize my training along with my postdoctoral experiences every day in my research and in my work at Clarkson University. I am very grateful for this opportunity."

Wilke received his master of arts degree and Ph.D. in psychology from the Freie Universität. Before coming to Clarkson, he worked as a pre-doctoral researcher at the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The LIFE community currently consists of more than 90 faculty members and over 50 fellows at the four sites in Berlin, Ann Arbor, Charlottesville, and Zurich. To support international coursework and research collaborations, four coordinators are responsible for the development and organization of the graduate training and the exchange between LIFE faculty and fellows. More than 120 alumni complement the LIFE community.

The Harnack House was the venue for LIFE Fall Academy 2022. Established in 1929 as the guest house and conference venue of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in Berlin-Dahlem, it distinguished itself, particularly in the early years, quickly as an international scientific club. The house has been the conference venue of the Max Planck Society since 2000.