Simon Richter

Simon Richter, Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, is the Class of 1965 Term Professor of German. His research focuses on cultural aspects of the climate emergency in Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and the United States. As an environmental humanist, Richter engages in activities that blur distinctions between traditional scholarship, urban design, and environmental activism. He was instrumental in establishing the Penn 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures and Climate Week at Penn. With Joshua Mosley, Richter directs the Penn Animation as Research Lab, which produces the popular Project Poldergeist series of videos about climate adaptation in the Netherlands. Professor Richter is a faculty fellow of Perry World House and the Penn Institute of Urban Research, a faculty advisory board member of the Water Center at Penn, and affiliated with Cinema and Media Studies and the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities. His exemplary teaching has been recognized with the Ira H. Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Dennis M. DeTurck Award for Innovation in Teaching.