Built around a core of his sabbatical Karl is conducting research and teaching with Harvard University and with Humboldt and Free Universities in Berlin during 2015-2017. Karl’s Harvard research is supported through his appointment as the 2016 Custer Visiting Scholar at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). His research and teaching with Humboldt and Free Universities are coordinated with the geography departments and interdisciplinary groups that include IRI THESys (Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems, https://www.iri-thesys.org/). IRI THESys support will enable GeoSyntheSES lab members to participate in advanced study at Humboldt University.