We are happy to announce that two new members joined MSCJ: Dr. Dana Schneider (FSU: Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, right) and Prof. Dr. Christian Thiel (DLR Institute for Data Science, left). Welcome on board!
Dr. Dana Schneider studied Psychology in Berlin and Brisbane and was awarded her PhD on the topic of ‘Automatic mental perspective taking in adults’. In 2014, she started to run the research unit ‘Social Potentials in Autism’ at Friedrich Schiller University Jena to better understand the social-cognitive processes and mechanisms in adults with autism. The research focus within the last years was dedicated to concepts like ‘Theory of Mind/Perspective Taking’, ‘Empathy’, and ‘Helping Behavior’. For matters of societal integration, her group studies the constructions of social reality and the influence of others on thoughts, feelings and actions. Dana Schneider is the speaker of the interdisciplinary scientific network “Understanding Others” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). She is also the Speaker for Early Career Researchers of the German Psychological Society (DGPs)-Chapter: Social Psychology.
Since June 2018, Prof. Dr.Christian Thiel is member of the Citizen Science Department at the DLR Institute of Data Science in Jena. In 2020 he was awarded the dignity of an associate (apl.) professor in the thematic field of citizen science at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. His overarching research interest is the involvement of citizen scientists in an integrative approach of Earth observation to support the understanding of biophysical processes. His specific interests lie in the use of low cost equipment such as smartphones and drones for mass data generation, in psychological aspects of the motivation of citizen scientists and in the integration of citizen science in learning practices.
