Bio

Self portrait 2025.

In 2015, I became the youngest person to graduate in my major at the University of Helsinki (UH). My doctoral dissertation focused on physically based vegetation remote sensing, particularly the development of ground reference methods and the validation of various global satellite-based vegetation products in the boreal region.

Following my PhD, I undertook a short research visit to Duke University in the USA. After returning, I continued working at UH for 1.5 years, during which I expanded my expertise to include the processing and application of airborne laser scanning data for quantifying forest canopy structures. During my time at UH, I also participated in teaching remote sensing courses and led GIS practicals.

In autumn 2016, I began a postdoctoral position at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) in a project aimed at developing methods to account for forest management impacts in land surface model (LSM) simulations using prescribed land cover information. In this role, I developed a forest classification scheme and an associated land cover product to improve the representation of managed Fennoscandian forests in LSMs, utilizing Scandinavian forest inventory data. Additionally, I refined the time-invariant optical properties -table used in these models.

In mid-2019, I returned to Finland and joined the Geoinformatics section at Aalto University. There, my research focused on remote sensing of forest understory, forest land cover classification, and land surface phenology.I was also involved in teaching remote sensing courses and leading/grading GIS practical sessions.

In September 2021, I returned to UH to expand my work into forest biodiversity research. I processed a land cover map series to enable the application of the “ELITE method” for forest biodiversity analysis in Finland from 2000 to 2018. I also developed a simulator to extend the ELITE simulations through 2040, enabling analysis of the impacts of alternative forest-related biodiversity policy decisions.

Between October 2022 and September 2025, I worked on forest dynamics modeling, during which I developed a new scenario framework for the European Forestry Dynamics Model (EFDM). This work aimed to quantify the impacts of future forest management on living biomass carbon. During this period, I also became familiar with the forest summary model FORMIT-M and the soil carbon model Yasso. In addition, I served as a teacher in the Master’s thesis seminar, supporting students in their research and thesis work.

In October 2025, I was granted the title of Docent by the University of Helsinki. Since then, I have been working at the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), where I plan to continue advancing research in biodiversity modeling, ELITE simulations, and scenario development.