I am genuinely interested in ice, its physics and role in the environment. Educated as physical oceanographer (University of Hamburg, Germany) I have approached sea ice from the ocean and based on topics related to sea ice physics in the climate system. For my Phd (University Bergen, 2007) I studied sea ice microstructure and crystal growth to improve the understanding of sea ice properties on a fundamental level. During the following years as Researcher and associate Pofessor (University Bergen, 2007-2013) I started working with X-ray imaging of ice and snow, in the lab and at synchrotron radiation facilities. This research has always been guided by the challenge to incorporate micro-scale sea ice physics into larger scale models of ice-atmosphere-ocean interaction, climate and engineering applications.
In the coming years I had a short break from research as a consultant (2013-2014, www.sea-ice.no) and have since 2015 been working at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (IBM) of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Here I extended my expertise to applied engineering problems where ice and sea ice microstructure is relevant, e.g. sea-ice-oil interaction, sea spray icing, frost-concrete interaction, as well as sea ice microphysics related to Arctic climate (MOSAiC expedition, https://mosaic-expedition.org/). I am currently coordinating the MICROSPRAY project (Microstructure of sea spray ice, RCN-Norway, 2020-2025, with industrial partners like Equinor), where synchrotron-based results have opened new paths in understanding the formation and properties of sea spray ice.
My personal interests are hiking, cross-country skiing, music and cooking. I am engaged in disseminating ice and climate research to school kids and the general public, and convinced that human being in the richer states of the world need to change consumption and life style to create a better and sustainable world.