Max develops and tests novel theory for tipping points and spatial pattern formation in ecosystems based on spatial ecology. His approach is a combination of ecosystem modelling, data gathering and analysis. He uses and validates spatial models with experiments, data collection and existing data sets. Highly cited key results include the discoveries of universal spatial organization in ecosystems associated with tipping points as well as with evasion of them. Also, he discovered the principle of scale-dependent feedback, underlying emergent spatial self-organization in many ecosystems. He is coordinating PI of the ERC-Synergy project RESILIENCE: “Pathways of resilience and evasion of tipping in ecosystems”. He is interested too in climate tipping points as large parts of the theory developed is also relevant for those tipping points.