Detlef van Vuuren has been active in various research projects and assessments, leading several EU funded projects. He had a coordinating role in the development of the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) now used in the IPCC’s assessments. Detlef van Vuuren has participated as (Coordinating) Lead Author in various assessments such as those of IPCC, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook. Detlef van Vuuren has also a member of the scientific boards of several DG Research projects. For this work, Detlef van Vuuren was awarded the first IAMC Annual Award of Excellent Contributions to Integrated Assessment and in 2018, the Huibregtsen prize , the annual price for outstanding research in the Netherlands with high societal relevance. He also received an personal ERC Research Grant focused on pathways to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).