Dr. Michael Hauser is an Associate Professor at BOKU University, Vienna. He is also a Senior Associate at World Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Nairobi and a Research Affiliate with the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Previously, Dr Hauser was a Principal Scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics where he was theme leader for Markets, Institutions, Nutrition and Diversity (MIND). Between 2009 and 2017, Dr Hauser served as board member in funding agencies, executive director for a research center and president of a European research network. Trained in agroecology and social sciences, his research helps scaling nature-based solutions to support adaptation to extreme events in agriculture, with a special focus on drylands. Together with partners, Dr Hauser runs The Optimism Lab, a global design and innovation firm based in Nairobi. Through their Lab, they help the public sector, private companies and humanitarians to navigate some of their most complex changes.