Rate My Professor Sabine Pahl

Sabine Pahl is University Professor (Univ.-Prof.) of Urban and Environmental Psychology in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Vienna, a position she has held since 2020. She also holds the title of Honorary Professor of Applied Social Psychology at the University of Plymouth. Pahl obtained her Diplom in Psychology, majoring in Health Psychology, from the University of Bremen in 1996, followed by an MSc with Merit in Social and Applied Social Psychology from the University of Kent in 1997, and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Sheffield in 2002. Her professional career encompasses roles such as Professor of Applied Social Psychology at the University of Plymouth from 2019 to 2020, Associate Professor (Reader) at Plymouth from 2012 to 2019, Lecturer and Assistant Professor at Plymouth from 2006 to 2012, Assistant Professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg from 2003 to 2006, and ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Sheffield from 2002 to 2003.

Pahl's research specializes in the human dimensions of environmental challenges, examining perceptions and behavioral changes concerning marine conservation, marine litter and microplastics, energy efficiency, and the restorative benefits of natural environments for healthcare. With over 120 peer-reviewed publications and a Google h-index of 52, her influential works include 'Blue space: The importance of water for preference, affect, and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes' (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2010, 1308 citations), 'Nature contact, nature connectedness and associations with health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours' (2020, 1236 citations), and 'Twenty years of microplastic pollution research—what have we learned?' (Science, 2024, 1169 citations). She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Environment & Behavior, and Microplastics and Nanoplastics, and co-edits Global Environmental Psychology. Pahl engages actively in science-policy interfaces, contributing to GESAMP microplastics reports, leading a UNEP global inventory on plastic pollution measures in 2020, co-chairing the SAPEA working group for the EU Scientific Advisors Panel in 2019, and participating in G7 and WHO groups. Her interdisciplinary projects, funded by EPSRC, ESRC, NERC, UNEP, FP7, H2020, and others, include co-directing the University of Vienna's Environment and Climate Research Hub and leading initiatives like 'Source to Seas - Zero Pollution 2030'. Notable honors include the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2020 for plastic pollution research.