iC3 postdoc selected to join the national Academy of Young Researchers

Laura Rasmussen, a postdoctoral researcher at the iC3 Polar Research Hub, has been selected as one of only ten new members of the national Academy of Young Researchers (Akademiet for yngre forskere, AYF) in Norway.

Founded in 2015, AYF is an independent, interdisciplinary network of young researchers and a platform for research policy and academic debate. 

Its members work to promote the value of knowledge and free research in society, strengthen science communication, and contribute the perspectives of early-career researchers to discussions about the future of research and academia.

Over the next four years, Laura will take part in AYF’s interdisciplinary activities and contribute to its work on research policy and science communication. The Academy’s members engage with policymakers, researchers and the wider public, and work together on initiatives that strengthen the role of research in society.

For Laura, this provides an opportunity to bring her experience as an Arctic researcher into broader conversations about science and its role in addressing societal challenges.

Laura’s research focuses on one of these challenges: how a changing Arctic affects nutrient cycling and ecosystems. At iC3, she investigates nitrogen dynamics in soils and sediments around glacial rivers. As glaciers retreat, newly exposed soils and sediments may become important sources of nitrogen to rivers and fjords, potentially affecting Arctic ecosystems.

Laura’s research is part of iC3’s broader effort to understand how changes in the Arctic affect biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems.

Laura Rasmussen is an MSCA postdoc working at the iC3 Polar Research Hub, based in the Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø. She is part of Research Unit 2: Methane, nutrients and carbon. To find out more about her work, please check out her interview, her list of publications, or contact her by email.