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The Academy of Finland has awarded Academy Research Fellow Eliisa Lotsari, who works Assistant Professor of water engineering at Aalto University, for an excellent multidisciplinary approach to understanding changes in water systems.

Eliisa Lotsari’s study on the impact of climate change on water systems combines spatial data, natural geography, physical sciences and engineering sciences. In her research, Lotsari sees the impacts of climate change and natural engineering by humans in close proximity, the says.

”Understanding the current state of water systems and the changes that are underway is of paramount importance to societies. Authorities such as municipalities need up-to-date information on the status of water systems in order to be able to prepare for floods in their areas. Understanding the state of water systems facilitates the preparedness of municipalities and supports decision-making,” Lotsari says.

Lotsari’s research focuses above all on cold northern conditions

”Cold northern conditions haven’t been sufficiently studied. Finland is at the very centre of the change, as northern regions are the planet’s fastest-warming areas, but the impacts of climate change on frozen river environments in winter aren’t well understood,” Lotsari adds.

Lotsari sees a particular importance in ensuring that as much information as possible is acquired right now and that knowledge is shared as efficiently as possible.

”We still have an opportunity to gain information about water systems before it’s too late. We must also digitise the information and make sure that it’s available to everyone,” she says.

For a young researcher, Lotsari has a good amount of international research and networking under her belt. In her field, she is an excellent example of young women’s success in natural and engineering sciences.

Eliisa Lotsari completed her doctoral degree at the University of Turku in 2012. Between 2013 and 2016, she had Postdoctoral Researcher funding from the Academy of Finland. She received the title of docent from the University of Turku in 2016. Between 2016 and 2021, Lotsari worked as a university lecturer in geoinformatics at the University of Eastern Finland. In 2021, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Water Technology at the Aalto University School of Engineering, Department of Built Environment.

Academy of Finland Awards encourage researchers

The Academy of Finland presents awards to researchers who have demonstrated exceptional scientific audacity, creativity or open-mindedness in their work or have significantly promoted scientific research or the work of a researcher, increased the public’s interest in science, contributed to public debate in society or otherwise promoted the significance, utilisation and impact of research in society, and whose scientific careers are still mostly ahead of them. This is the nineteenth time that the Academy of Finland Awards are presented.