Success Stories
Real Impact, Real Change
At Effective Thesis, we're proud to have supported numerous students in conducting research that makes a tangible difference in the world. These success stories demonstrate the power of targeted, impactful research in addressing global challenges.
Check out more finished theses here.
Featured Stories
These diverse projects demonstrate the wide range of important topics that Effective Thesis students are tackling, from philosophical foundations to pressing global challenges. Each contributes to our understanding of critical issues and has the potential to inform future research and real-world applications.
Foundational Research in Ethics and Philosophy
Silvana Hultsch - now Ph.D. student in Philosophy
"Avoiding moral wrongs under normative uncertainty: biases involved in maximising expected choice worthiness"
Silvana's work contributes to our understanding of ethical decision-making under uncertainty, providing insights into potential biases in moral reasoning.
Siebe Rozendal - Philosophy
"Uncertainty about the expected moral value of the long-term future: is reducing human extinction risk valuable?"
Siebe's research explores the challenging question of how we should value the long-term future, particularly in the context of existential risk reduction.
Rafael Ruiz de Lira - Philosophy
"Moral Uncertainty and Value Incomparability: Generalizing the Expected Choice-Worthiness Approach"
Rafael's thesis extends our understanding of moral uncertainty, particularly in cases where values may be incomparable.
AI Safety and Policy
Stephen Casper - Computer and Information Sciences
"White-Box Adversarial Policies in Deep Reinforcement Learning"
Stephen's research contributes to AI safety by exploring potential vulnerabilities in reinforcement learning systems.
Lara Lawniczak - Sociology
"Normative universals for intelligent machines: are there universal values by which researchers can align artificial intelligence?"
Lara's work investigates the challenging question of whether there are universal values that could guide AI alignment efforts.
Brandon Perry - Political Science
"The international governance of artificial intelligence - problems and potential solutions"
Brandon's thesis explores the complex landscape of AI governance, proposing potential solutions to current challenges.
Global Health and Development
Miranda Zhang - Political Science
"What did Americans tweet about the TRIPS Waiver? U.S. Policy Narratives & Global Public Goods"
Miranda's study provides insights into public discourse around global health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sebastian Schmidt - Health Sciences
"All-cause versus cause-specific excess mortality for the estimation of influenza-associated mortality in Denmark, Spain and the United States"
Sebastian's research contributes to our understanding of how to accurately measure the impact of influenza on mortality rates.
Hannah Greene - Sociology
"Shopkeeper Stewardship & Anticipating Antimicrobial Resistant Pathogens in Accra, Ghana"
Hannah's work explores an innovative approach to addressing the challenge of antimicrobial resistance in a developing country context.
Animal Welfare and Advocacy
Tomáš Petr - Sociology
"The effect of global poverty reduction on wild animal welfare"
Tomáš's research investigates the complex relationship between human development and animal welfare.
Rakefet Cohen - Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
"Giving Lucky a name and face: increasing animal advocacy activism among meat-eaters using the identifiable victim effect"
Rakefet's study applies psychological principles to animal advocacy, exploring ways to increase engagement among meat-eaters.
Existential Risk and Global Catastrophic Risks
Jia Yuan - Political Science, Sociology
"Beyond the ban: a comprehensive approach to the governance of autonomous weapons"
Jia's thesis proposes a comprehensive framework for governing autonomous weapons, addressing a critical area of technological risk.
Tom Houlden - Economics
"Existential Risk and Pandemic Preparedness Spending"
Tom's research examines the economic aspects of pandemic preparedness in the context of existential risk.
Altruism and Effective Altruism
Marisa Jurczyk - Sociology
"Value drift in the Effective Altruism movement: a qualitative analysis"
Marisa's work provides insights into the phenomenon of value drift within the Effective Altruism community.
Alexandra Bos - Economics
"The Scope Insensitivity Bias: The Effects of Debiasing Interventions and a Range of Factors on How Insensitive We Are to the Size of Problems"
Alexandra's research explores psychological biases that affect our ability to respond proportionately to large-scale problems.
Alternative Proteins
Chloe Dempsey - Economics, Business "Cultured meat: do Chinese consumers have an appetite?"
Chloe's research explores the potential market for cultured meat in China, providing valuable insights for the future of sustainable protein sources.
Altruistic Decision Making
Gideon Lim - Philosophy and Ethics, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences "Rethinking altruism: altruism born of suffering and its unique potential for inclusivity"
Gideon's work investigates how personal experiences of suffering can influence altruistic behavior and promote inclusivity.
John Öberg and Kiryl Shantyka - Business, Economics "Doing Better by Doing Good: A Qualitative Study on the Pro Bono Projects of Management Consulting Companies in Sweden"
This collaborative thesis examines how pro bono work in management consulting can create positive social impact.
Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness
Sebastian Schmidt - Health Sciences "All-cause versus cause-specific excess mortality for the estimation of influenza-associated mortality in Denmark, Spain and the United States"
Sebastian's research contributes to improving methods for estimating the true impact of influenza on mortality rates across different countries.
Existential Risk Research
Joris Pijpers "How to Save the World: Identifying Key Characteristics in Risk-Related Policy Progress"
Joris's thesis analyzes successful risk mitigation policies to identify key factors for addressing global catastrophic risks.
Nuclear Risk
Tao Burga "Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Command and Control"
Tao's work examines the critical intersection of AI and nuclear weapons systems, exploring potential risks and safeguards.
Impact by the Numbers
500+ Students supported in impactful research
30+ Countries where our students' research has been implemented
8+ Different academic disciplines represented in our supported thesis research
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