Master student profiles

Hi, I am Michael

My background:
BSc Economics
BSc Business Administration FH

My field of interest:
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

• Climate Economics
• Environmental Economics: Introduction
• Climatology I-III
• Energy Economics and Policy
• Climate Change Uncertainty and Risk
• Political Economy of Climate Change
• The International and European Law on Climate Change
• Climate Risk Assessment

My research focus:
Economical means to encourage ecologically sustainable behaviour.

Hi, my name is Eva

My background:
BA Environmental Studies (with focus on human and societal aspects)

My field of interest:
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS

• Climate and Energy Policy
• Water Policy
• Political Economy on Climate Change
• Environmental Economics
• Statistics in Climate Sciences
• Policy Analysis I
• Palaeoclimatological and Palaeoecological Excursion

My master thesis:
"Cantonal Climate Adaptation Policies: How to explain differences regarding political answers in order to confront climate change consequences in their various forms?"

My internship ...
is with WWF Switzerland, division for politics. This practical experience builds on knowledge I have gained through my thesis and key courses such as Climate and Energy Policy or Policy Analysis I.

My affiliation:
Policy Analysis and Environmental Governance (PEGO) research group

I am Thomas Roelli

My background:
BSc Geosciences

My field of interest:
CLIMATE IMPACTS AND ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS

• Introduction to Climate and Environmental Physics
• Climate Risk Assessment
• Dynamics of Large-Scale Atmospheric Flow
• Statistical Methods for Climate Sciences I+II
• Environmental Economics
• Cloud Dynamics: Hurricanes

My research focus:
Modelling of natural hazards and their impact on infrastructure and humans. The models should be applicable with little professional knowledge and data input.

My master thesis:
"Implementation of a global shallow landslide model in CLIMADA: feasibility and reliability"

My affiliation:
Climate Impact research group

Hi, I am Ursula.

My background:
BSc in Environmental Sciences, Minor in Meteorology and Climatology

My field of interest:
PALEOECOLOGY

• Advanced Plant Biology: Paleoecology
• Paleoecology and Paleoclimatology of the Alps and their Forelands
• Holocene Vegetation History of the Central and Southern Alps
• Palaeoclimatological and Palaeoecological Excursion
• Quaternary Climate Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Statistical Methods for Climate Sciences

My research focus:
Reconstruction of the vegetation and treeline dynamics during the Late Glacial and Holocene. I am particularly interested in vegetation responses to changing climatic conditions.

My master thesis:
“Mountain forest dynamics in Central Switzerland. A multi-proxy vegetation reconstruction of Golzerensee”

My affiliation:
Institute of Plant Sciences - Population Dynamics Group

Hi, I'm Duncan

My background:
MA in Social History

My field of interest:
HISTORICAL CLIMATOLOGY

• Introduction to Historical Climatology
• Climatology III
• Climate Risk Assessment
• Climate and Environmental Physics
• Introduction to Atmospheric Circulation and Modes of Variability
• Statistical Methods for Climate Sciences

My research focus:
Reconstruction of past weather and climate. I aim for a dynamical interpretation of past extremes and natural disasters, as well as an understanding of their link to society. Early instrumental data are of special interest.

My affiliation:
Department of Economic, Social, and Environmental History at the Institute of History

Hi, my name is Heather.

My background:
BA Hons Natural Sciences (Physics)

My field of interest:
ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS

• Weather and Climate Models
• Meteorology 3
• Cloud Microphysics
• Boundary Layer Meteorology
• Dynamics of Large-Scale Atmospheric Flow

My research focus:
Investigating the height of the planetary boundary layer. My project is linked to a cloud microphysics field campaign organised by ETH Zürich. We compare measurements from radiosondes, drones, a microwave radiometer and a ceilometer. After assessing different methods for determining the boundary layer height, we look into how this height changes over the course of the day and under different weather conditions.

My master thesis:
“Investigating the Planetary Boundary Layer Height at the CLOUDLAB Field Campaign Site”

My affiliation:
Institute of Applied Physics - Atmospheric Dynamics and Meteor Physics

Hi, I am Sabine

My background:
BSc Geosciences

My field of interest:
CLIMATE IMPACTS AND FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

• Dendroecology
• Methods of Climate Reconstruction
• Stable Isotopesy
• Holocene Vegetation History of the Central and Southern Alps
• Quaternary climate change
• Statistical Methods for Climate Sciences

My research focus:
The application of dendrological (tree-rings) methods to study the reaction of trees to the environment, especially the impact of drought on tree mortality.

My master thesis:
Assessing drought-induced mortality of Pine and Beech

My affiliation:
Institute of Plant Science, Univ. Bern, and Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf

Hi, I'm Nils

My background:
BSc in Geography, Minor in Astronomy and Sustainable Development

My field of interest:
REMOTE SENSING OF THE CRYOSPHERE

• Remote Sensing in Climatology
• Microwave Remote Sensing
• Glaciology and Ice Cores
• Applied Glaciology
• Quantification and Modeling of the Cryosphere: Dynamic Processes
• Climate Risk Assessment
• Statistical Methods for Climate Sciences

My research focus:
Linking remote sensing and glaciological modeling. I am using >30 years of AVHRR data, collected at the University of Bern, to model glacier mass balance in the past and present.

My affiliation:
Remote Sensing Group at the Institute of Geography

Hi, I am Dalila

My background:
BSc Geosciences and Environment (with a focus on human and societal aspects)

My field of interest:
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

• Climate Sciences in Conversation with Climate Law
• Political Economy of Climate Change
• Environmental Policy 1 - Intellectual Roots of Environmental Protection
• Climate Economics: International Cooperation
• Energy Economics
• Philosophical issues in understanding climate change

My research focus:
The growing numbers of withdrawals by European Union Member States from the Energy Charter Treaty, a trade and investment agreement in the energy sector, increasingly viewed as a hindrance to the Paris Agreement and Net-Zero Goals. Through case studies of the European Union, Poland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, my research identifies the role of key state and non-state actors in shaping climate governance. It also highlights the urgent need to rethink international treaties in a context of a climate crisis and offers insights into the interplay between trade and climate field.

My master thesis:
The Role of Non-Conventional Actors in Shaping Climate Governance: Cases Studies of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).

Hi, my name is Carole

My background:
BA International Relations

My field of interest:
ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

• Environmental Epidemiology applied to Climate Sciences
• Environmental Policy I & II
• International Environmental Law
• Economic Analysis of Extreme Weather Events
• Climate and Agriculture: Impacts and Adaptations
• Climate Solutions

My master thesis:
"Climate change and maternal health: modelling the impact of heat stress among subsistence farmers in The Gambia"

My internship:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva

My affiliation:
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM); Research Group Climate Change and Health

Hi, I am Antoine Thévénaz

My background:
BSc Geosciences

My field of interest:
PALEO-CLIMATE AND PALEO-OCEANOGRAPHY

• Quaternary paleoclimate
• Carbon cycle
• Quaternary climate change
• Global biogeochemical cycles and climate
• Paleosols, sediments and Paleolimnology
• Statistical Methods for Climate Sciences

My research focus:
Long term carbon storage in deep ocean and variations in marine biogeochemistry during glacial cycles.

My master thesis:
"Constraining the vertical particle export during the last glacial cycle in Southern Indian Ocean sediment cores"

My affiliation:
Paleoceanography and marine biogeochemistry research group

Hi, my name is Isabelle

My background:
BA History, Minor Sustainable Development

My field of interest:
CLIMATE HISTORY

• Introduction to Historical Climatology
• Methods of Climate Reconstruction
• Climatology I-III
• Meteorology I
• Climate Risk Assessment
• Quaternary Paleoclimate and Paleoenvironment
• Earthquakes and Tsunamis: History, Theories and Perception in the 16th-21th centuries

My research focus:
Occurrence of weather- and climate-related data in one of the worlds first mass media - the Volkskalender, and changes of perception of natural catastrophes over time.

My master thesis:
"Swiss Volkskalender of the 18-19th Century – A New Source of Climate History".

My affiliation:
Department of Economic, Social, and Environmental History at the Institute of History

Hi, I am Anna Kulakovskaya

My background:
BA in World Economy and International Affairs

My field of interest:
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

• Environmental Economics
• Energy Economics and Policy
• Political Economy of Climate Change
• Energy Economics and Policy
• Resource Economics
• Climate and Energy Policy

My research focus:
Modelling of endogenous technological change in economic models of climate change and analyzing its impact on countries’ greenhouse gas emissions.

My affiliation:
Department of Economics

Hi, I am Moritz

My background:
BSc Environmental Science

My field of interest:
ATMOSPHERIC AND CLIMATE DYNAMICS

• Introduction to Climate and Environmental Physics
• Introduction to Climate Modelling
• Environmental Fluid Dynamics
• Introduction to Atmospheric Ciruclation and Modes of Variability
• Climate Risk Assessment
• Dynamics of Large-Scale Atmospheric Flow

My research focus:
Past and future changes of atmospheric dynamics and modes of variability in the Atlantic region (North Atlantic Oscillation, West African Monsoon). To investigate this, I use millenia-scale simulations of coupled atmosphere-ocean global circulation models (AOGCM).

My master thesis:
"Changing teleconnection patterns in the Atlantic from 850-2100 AD - Seasonality and the role of atmosphere-ocean-sea ice interaction"

My affiliation:
Climate and Environmental Physics