10:00 – 12:00 Uhr     Talk and Discussion: Katherine Dennis on “Working Without Certainty: Resilience, Capacity and the Research Brain” (AH-A 217/18)

12:00 – 14:00 Uhr     Lunch (AH-A 210/11)

The event will be in English

We kindly ask you to register via e-mail to Selina Seibt by 23 Oct 2026.

About the talk “Working Without Certainty: Resilience, Capacity and the Research Brain”

Research asks people to invest years of effort in questions whose answers are unknown, while funding and career progression stay uncertain too. The session introduces the neurocognitive foundations of stress, capacity and adaptation in academic work, and how prediction, perceived control, belonging and meaning shape a researcher’s ability to sustain effort. Participants leave with a clearer understanding of their own responses, practical ways to protect their attention and recovery, and a sense of where they can act.

Psychologist and neuropsychologist Katherine Dennis González, co-founder of Expanding Circles, introduces the neurocognitive foundations of stress, capacity and adaptation in academic work. She explores how prediction, perceived control, belonging and meaning shape a researcher’s ability to sustain effort, and how unevenly some of these are shared across academia. Participants leave with a clearer understanding of their own responses, practical ways to protect their attention and recovery, and a sense of where they can act. With over 12 years of clinical practice, she works at the intersection of nervous system science and human behaviour. She leads individual and corporate programmes and works with film festivals and institutions across Europe. She is currently completing research at Sigmund Freud University Berlin, examining how people make sense of stress, and how those explanations influence self-blame, agency and adaptive action.

Expanding Circles is a Berlin-based psychological education and movement company, founded by psychologist Katherine Dennis González and training scientist Sillse Giesen. We teach people how the nervous system works under pressure, uncertainty and change, and help them turn that understanding into practical tools for sustaining their capacity. We work with organisations, cultural institutions, film festivals and individuals across Europe.

www.expandcircles.com

www.katherinedgonzalez.com 

About the series

The “Diversity Lunch” series is a cooperation between the CRCs “Media of Cooperation” and “Transformations of the Popular” and invites all members and interested people to discuss current topics and issues relating to diversity in science.

Participation is possible online as well as in presence in the Herren­garten. After the event, we invite you to a small snack/lunch in the Herren­garten (AH-A 208/209)!