The life course of a sociologist: Celebration in honor of Karl Ulrich Mayer’s 80th Birthday 

Commemorative publication highlights Karl Ulrich Mayer's influential role in international life course sociology 

To mark his 80th birthday, this commemorative volume honors the academic career of Karl Ulrich Mayer and documents the speeches delivered at the formal celebration held on June 13, 2025, at the Max-Planck Institute for Human Development. 

Karl Ulrich Mayer is an emeritus director at the Max-Planck Institute for Human Development, Stanley B. Resor Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Yale University, and former president of the Leibniz Association. At the Max-Planck Institute, he was heading the Center for Sociology and the Study of the Life Course. His research focused on the analysis of life courses as intersections of institutional environments, human development, and socio-economic change. The empirical basis of the project work was mainly the Institute’s German Life History Study (GLHS). Mayer is among the founders of life course sociology as a scientific paradigm.

He is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Academia Europaea, the European Academy of Sociology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Most recently, he was honored by the German Sociological Association (GSA) with the 2026 Prize for an Outstanding Scientific Career.