Research portraits

Here we introduce some of the department's researchers.

Valentin Troll, professor in petrology

"I've never stopped speaking to rocks", says Valentin Troll. When as a young physics student Valentin Troll caught sight of a volcanic rock during a geology course, something strange happened. “The rock started to at first gently, then more and more clearly, answer my questions in a language I could suddenly understand.”

Jorijntje Henderiks, professor in palaeobiology

"Already in high school I had a very broad interest in the natural sciences—and traveling the world! During those years I learned more about geology from a dear family friend, who talked enthusiastically about his research that bridged the fields of geology and biology."

Magdalena Kuchler, senior lecturer in natural resources and sustainable development

“Climate change demands collaboration across borders”

Gabriele Messori, professor in meteorology

"One future scenario is that we in the Nordic countries are in danger of getting a completely different climate, with extreme summer heatwaves and heavy downpours, similar to Southern Europe.”

Giuliano Di Baldassarre, professor of hydrology and environmental analysis

"Hydrological processes have always fascinated me. My mother often reminds me that when I was a child I would put pieces of wood on the river to measure water velocity."

Ian Snowball, professor in quaternary geology

"With the help of many different competences, we have succeeded in opening a new chapter in the history of evolution."

Cecilia Johansson, senior lecturer in meteorology

Uppsala has become 1.5 degrees warmer on average over the past 30 years and is now moving from being defined as a cold-temperate climate to a warm-temperate climate. "It's a huge increase and it means a climate zone shift,"

Stefan Ivanell, professor in wind energy

“We’re working with wind power planning and design from various angles, everything from how wind power can be linked to the grid and balancing the grid to where the wind blows best".

Hemin Koyi, professor in structural geologiy

At the Department of Earth Sciences in Uppsala is one of the world’s foremost tectonic laboratories. Here, millions of years of geological processes such as volcanoes, faults, landslides and mountain formation are examined.

Alireza Malehmir, professor i geofysik

Many so-called critical raw materials, metals and minerals, are part of key technologies for the green transition. A new centre, 'Smart Exploration Research', will now look at ways to secure the supply of strategic and critical metals and minerals. Alireza is leading the work.