Heli Huhtamaa

Heli Huhtamaa is an Assistant Professor at the University of Bern, affiliated with the Department of Economic, Social and Environmental History. Her research bridges historical and climate sciences, focusing on the interplay between climate variability and societal dynamics.

• Research Focus: Climate history, historical climatology, environmental history, and interdisciplinary studies linking past climate changes to socioeconomic impacts.
• Key Projects: Leading the VolCOPE (ERC Starting Grant) and DEBTS (SNSF Ambizione) projects, analyzing volcanic eruptions' long-term effects on agrarian economies.
• Awards: Recognized with the Prize for the Humanities (Finnish Academy of Science), Young Researcher Award 2018 (University of Eastern Finland), and a Highly Commended honor from the Journal of Historical Geography.

Publications highlight her work on climate extremes, tree-ring analysis, and socioeconomic resilience in pre-industrial societies. Her 2022-2023 articles explore eruption clusters, harvest failures, and methodological innovations in climate-society nexus studies.