Karl Ulrich Mayer receives the 2026 DGS Award for his Outstanding Scientific Lifetime Achievement
The German Sociological Association (GSA) honors his outstanding contributions to sociological research, particularly to life course research
Karl Ulrich Mayer, Director Emeritus, has been awarded the 2026 Prize for an outstanding scientific lifetime achievement by the German Sociological Association (GSA). This award recognizes in particular his exceptional contributions to the field of life course research.
He has had a lasting impact on sociological research through the large-scale longitudinal studies he initiated and inspired, which have had an effect far beyond Germany. The GSA explains its decision, stating that his scientific work is characterised by a consistent combination of theory and empiricism, as well as numerous international collaborations.
Karl Ulrich Mayer was the Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB) from 1983 to 2005, heading the Center for Sociology and the Study of the Life Course. The GSA emphasises that under his leadership, the MPIB played a central role in integrating colleagues from the former East Germany after reunification. He ensured that life courses in East Germany were included in ongoing surveys without delay. Consequently, the institute became a place of open exchange between different theoretical and methodological perspectives.
In addition to his work at the MPIB, Karl Ulrich Mayer held numerous national and international leadership positions, including a professorship at Yale University and serving as President of the Leibniz Association. He is a member of several academies, among them the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the British Academy, and he is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The award will be presented during the closing ceremony of the GSA Congress on October 2, 2026, at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. With this prize, the GSA honors individuals whose lifetime work has made an exceptional contribution to the scholarly development of sociology. The focus may lie on theoretical, empirical, or methodological achievements.
