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Dr Ekaterina Vorobeva works as a postdoctoral researcher at NILU since January 2024. Her project is a part of the Copernicus Climate Change Service Evolution (CERISE) project that aims to enhance the quality of the C3S reanalysis and seasonal forecast portfolio. In her postdoctoral research, Ekaterina will analyze snow forecasts produced by several leading meteorological centers in Europe and discuss the role of snow in land-atmosphere coupling.

Ekaterina holds a PhD degree from the Norwegian university of science and technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. Her PhD project had a focus on utilizing ground-based observations of low-frequency sound waves (infrasound) to probe the dynamics of the middle atmosphere. A particular emphasis was put on studying gravity waves activity and the stratospheric polar vortex.

Ekaterina’s main research interests include but are not limited to (i) atmospheric dynamics and chemistry, (ii) middle atmosphere, (iii) remote sensing, (iv) atmospheric modelling.

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Employee

Sam-Erik Walker holds an M.Sc. in Statistics and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Oslo.

He has over 30 years of experience developing and applying air pollution dispersion models for cities and urban areas and analysing air quality data using various numerical and statistical tools and methods. These include deterministic and probabilistic methods for model evaluation and validation, data assimilation, ensemble modelling, and data fusion to combine air quality observations with model results. He is one of the principal authors of several of the present models at NILU, including the urban air pollution dispersion model EPISODE.

He is also the leading developer behind the AirGAM trend and prediction model at NILU. This model enables the estimation of meteorology-adjusted long-term trends of air pollutants such as NO2, O3, PM, and VOCs at air quality stations in Norway and Europe. It has been used to quantify the effects of lockdowns during the recent COVID-19 pandemic and for estimating long-term trends for all EEA stations in Europe.

Recently, he developed the AirRisk model, a risk assessment model to quantify the risk or probability of exceeding limit values of NO2 and PM in connection with recent assessment studies in various Norwegian cities and urban areas, including Lørenskog, Drammen, and Oslo.

He actively disseminates scientific knowledge by writing reports and papers and regularly participates in scientific conferences. His primary motivation for working at NILU is to contribute to a cleaner world.

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Thomas Walmsley works as an engineer at the department of monitoring and instrument technology. He has a master’s degree in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology (MSENVITOX) from NTNU where he in his thesis «Studies of environmental footprint in Brøggerdalen after rocket launching in Ny-Ålesund» did sampling, acid digestion and chemical analysis of trace elements and PCBs in sediment.

He is a part of the group that works on the Medusa GC-MS. He is also responsible for running the EC /OC where he analyses carbonaceous aerosols as a part of the monitoring projects as well as other projects on demand.

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Torleif Weydahl is a senior scientist in the Department of Urban Environment and Industry and has worked at NILU since 2017. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering specializing in energy and process technology and has a doctorate from the University of Trondheim (NTNU) in modeling of turbulent mixing and reactions. 

At NILU, Torleif primarily works on air quality (AQ) assessments related to requirements within Norwegian regulation and in emission permits for Norwegian municipalities and industrial companies. He conducts emission and dispersion calculations for several source sectors, including analyses and the preparation of reports and documentation. He has developed AQ assessment and action plans for several Norwegian municipalities and has led the development of NERVE, an emission model for road traffic. 

Torleif contributes to the European Environment Agency's (EEA) topic centers, focusing on reporting emissions from the industrial sector in EU and EEA member countries. He is also an experienced project manager. 

Before starting at NILU, Torleif gained experience in carbon capture and storage research from SINTEF in Trondheim and in consultancy related to fire and safety at Lloyd's Register. 

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Employee

Silje Winnem is the administration coordinator in the Department of Environmental Chemistry and Health Effects at NILU. She is located in The Fram Centre in Tromsø.

As administrative coordinator, Winnem is responsible for all the administrative work and plays a key role in tying together the various disciplines and departments into one business. She is an active partner and facilitator, and is systematic, service-minded, responsible and proactive.

She is also a member of the User Committee at The Fram Centre, where NILU in Tromsø is located, and is active in the collaboration between the other 20 institutions in the building.

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Assigned roles and positions at NILU Centre for Atmospheric Data

• Monitor operational web services for data bases

Responsibility

• Software developer for a wide range of applications and projects, operation of EBAS data flow and EVDC
• Contribute to data visualization across the entire centre
• EBAS data curation and QA/QC responsible for a range of aerosol components
• Responsible for operations and maintenance of services and web solutions
• Contribute to linking ground based observations in EVDC and EBAS

Employee

Dr. Karl Espen Yttri is a senior scientist at NILU with a Ph.D. in aerosol science. He has extensive expertise in atmospheric aerosols and their chemical composition across diverse environments, ranging from urban areas to the pristine Arctic and Antarctic.

His primary focus is on carbonaceous aerosols, using both on-line and off-line methodologies for the source apportionment of anthropogenic and natural aerosol sources. This includes developing analytical methods for carbonaceous aerosol, including source-specific organic tracers.

As a member of the Chemical Coordinating Centre of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) at NILU, he contributes to research on the long-range atmospheric transport of aerosol particles.

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Rune Ødegård is the Director of Digitalisation at NILU, leading the Digital Technologies Department. He holds a MSc degree in Environmental Pollution Control Management from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Since 1997, Ødegård has been working as an interdisciplinary researcher between environmental science and information technology, building over twenty years of experience in managing, designing, developing, and implementing environmental systems. He has taken on roles as both a participating researcher and project leader across numerous research projects, both national and international.

In 2008, Ødegård became department leader for the Digital Technologies Department, and in 2019, he was appointed Director of Digitalisation.

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Dr. Wenche Aas holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry and specializes in atmospheric composition and the long-range transport of air pollution. She leads the Norwegian monitoring program for long-range transboundary air pollution on behalf of the Norwegian Environment Agency and the Ministry of Climate and Environment.

She coordinates the work under the Chemical Coordinating Centre (CCC) hosted at NILU within the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the UNECE.

Dr. Aas is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Total Atmospheric Deposition (SAG-TAD) and Measurement-Model Fusion for Global Total Atmospheric Deposition (MMF-GTAD) within the WMO/GAW framework. She is a member of the Board of Directors for SIOS (Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System)..