About

Short Bio

Gerd Gigerenzer, long-time director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, is currently director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the University of Potsdam and vice-president of the European Research Council (ERC). He is former Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and John M. Olin Distinguished Visiting Professor, School of Law at the University of Virginia. In addition, he is member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the German Academy of Sciences, and honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Basel, the Open University of the Netherlands, and the University of Southampton, and is Batten Fellow at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia. Awards for Gigerenzer’s work include the AAAS Prize for the best article in the behavioral sciences, the Association of American Publishers Prize for the best book in the social and behavioral sciences, the German Psychology Award, and the Communicator Award of the German Research Foundation. His award-winning popular science books Calculated Risks, Gut Feelings, Risk Savvy, and How To Stay Smart In A Smart World  have been translated into more than 20 languages. His academic books include Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart, Rationality for Mortals, Simply Rational, and Bounded Rationality (with Reinhard Selten, a Nobel Laureate in economics). In Better Doctors, Better Patients, Better Decisions (with Sir Muir Gray) he shows how better informed doctors and patients can improve healthcare while reducing costs. Together with the Bank of England, he is working on the project “Simple heuristics for a safer world.” He has trained U.S. federal judges, German physicians, and international top managers in decision making and understanding risks and uncertainties. The Duttweiler Institute has distinguished Gigerenzer as one of the top 100 global thought leaders worldwide.