Alena Thiel is an Associate Professor at the Centre of African Studies within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. Her research examines digital technologies' impact on state formation and knowledge systems across Africa, with primary field sites in Ghana, Senegal, Botswana, and Kenya. Her core research areas include: State knowledge systems (biometric ID, census histories, DHIS2 health records) Digital governance (addressing systems, payment solutions, disaster risk datafication) African/feminist AI development and implementation Anthropology of the state through Science and Technology Studies (STS) frameworks Recent publications (2024-2025) reveal concentrated analysis of health data infrastructures in Ghana, trust dynamics in Africa's global networks, and critical sociological examinations of digital identification. Her work consistently bridges anthropological theory with practical governance challenges in African contexts. As an active member of the Centre of African Studies, she maintains interdisciplinary collaborations across multiple African countries and European institutions, with particular emphasis on Ghanaian research partnerships and editorial leadership for Africa Spectrum journal.
Rashmi Gottumukkala is a PhD Fellow at the Niels Bohr Institute , University of Copenhagen, affiliated with the Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN). Her research focuses on galaxy formation and evolution during the early universe (z > 3), utilizing data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Key areas include stellar mass functions, cosmic star formation rate density, and dust-obscured galaxy populations. Key Research Threads: High-redshift galaxy evolution (z=4–9) Dust-obscured systems in cosmic history Starburst and quenching mechanisms Instrumentation Expertise: JWST/NIRCam, JWST/NIRSpec. Collaborates with international teams on galaxy surveys like COSMOS-Web and RUBIES.
Henrik Carl is a Researcher at The Natural History Museum, which is part of the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Science. His work focuses on aquatic ecosystems, with particular emphasis on marine and freshwater environments in Denmark and the Baltic Sea region. Dr. Carl's research spans multiple ecological domains with a strong focus on fish diversity, ecosystem dynamics, and innovative monitoring techniques. His work addresses critical environmental challenges including lake eutrophication, invasive species impacts, and biodiversity assessment in changing aquatic environments. He frequently employs interdisciplinary approaches combining traditional ecological methods with cutting-edge molecular techniques like environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. Analysis of Dr. Carl's publication trends reveals increasing emphasis on practical applications for environmental management, particularly in developing national-scale biodiversity monitoring approaches. His research spans both marine and freshwater systems, with particular attention to fish communities and ecosystem responses to anthropogenic pressures. The work demonstrates growing recognition in the field, with several publications showing significant citation impact, particularly in eDNA applications and invasive species ecology.
Baki Cakici is an Associate Professor at the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU), where he is affiliated with the Technologies in Practice research group. His academic background includes a PhD in Computer and Systems Sciences from Stockholm University (2013) and postdoctoral research at Goldsmiths, University of London, as part of the ERC-funded ARITHMUS project on data practices and European identity. He holds dual expertise in computational epidemiology and sociotechnical studies, with prior employment at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science and the Public Health Agency of Sweden. His research focuses on surveillance technologies, algorithmic governance, and the politics of data-driven systems. Key themes include the societal implications of digital identification, the performative nature of statistical methods, and the ethical dimensions of big data applications. He critiques how algorithmic systems shape citizenship, education, and public health policies through participatory surveillance and normative framings. Recent work explores the interplay between data practices and European integration, as well as the methodological challenges of transdisciplinary collaboration. His publications bridge STS theory with computational methodologies, emphasizing care ethics and feminist pedagogical approaches in research design. Professional activities include advising on digital policy frameworks and contributing to interdisciplinary initiatives addressing algorithmic accountability. His work has been supported by grants from the European Research Council and Swedish national research agencies.
Christian Vedel is an Assistant Professor in Economic History at the Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark. His research focuses on how changing geographies shape living conditions, particularly in the context of climate change and natural disasters. He employs causal inference techniques on historical data to explore these dynamics. Vedel also held an external position with the Municipality of Copenhagen from March 2018 to June 2019. His research interests span economic history, business history, and the application of statistical methods to historical datasets. Notable projects include comparative studies of Danish and Irish creameries, analyses of firm-level productivity under energy shocks, and the impact of geographic factors on economic development. He has contributed to datasets like the HISCO codes for Danish Census data. Vedel has received the New Researcher Prize in 2023. His teaching includes courses on Microeconomics and Business History. He actively engages in academic activities, delivering lectures on topics like railways and historical occupational standardization at multiple conferences in 2024.
Christian Møller Dahl is a Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), affiliated with the Department of Economics and the Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics (CPop). His research focuses on theoretical statistics, time series analysis in finance, nonparametric estimation, machine learning, and causal inference. He leads the Big Data Analytics and Digitization (BDAD) research unit, specializing in automated digitization of historical documents like census records and death certificates. His work bridges economics, demography, and computer science, with applications in understanding long-term mortality patterns and economic cycles. Education details are not explicitly stated, but CMD has extensive experience in interdisciplinary projects involving national archives and health institutions. His research agenda includes developing deep learning techniques for transcribing historical data, such as 20 million Danish death certificates, to aid demographers and epidemiologists. He has secured funding from Danish Research Foundations for projects like the Copenhagen Infant Health Nurse Records (CIHNR) cohort, studying early-life health policies and long-term outcomes. Key collaborations include work with national archives on citizen science strategies for digitizing health data and interdisciplinary projects on occupational standardization using machine learning (e.g., OccCANINE). CMD’s methodological contributions include advancements in random fields, neural networks, and GARCH models for financial time series analysis. Grants: Multiple grants from Danish Research Foundations for digitization and health studies. Labs/Teams: BDAD unit (Big Data Analytics and Digitization) and CPop (Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics). Future Work: Expanding digitization of historical health records and exploring multi-generational health impacts.
Søren Michael Sindbæk is a Professor and Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University. He specializes in archaeology with a focus on network dynamics, urban development, and Viking-age maritime connectivity. His research explores how communication and exchange shaped cultural and environmental landscapes in Northern Eurasia. Notable contributions include the discovery of the Viking Age fortress Borgring and excavations in Ribe, Scandinavia's earliest city. Key research interests include urban network evolution, material culture analysis, and geoarchaeological methods. Sindbæk has led major projects like the Northern Emporium initiative and the Center for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet). His work bridges archaeology with digital technologies, including 3D subsurface modelling and machine learning applications in heritage analysis. Recent publications address topics such as urban decline, Mediterranean city networks, and predictive archaeological modelling. Sindbæk collaborates internationally, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding past societies. He serves as editor of the Journal of Urban Archaeology and has pioneered methods in cultural heritage preservation and conflict archaeology.
Barbara Ana Revuelta Eugercios is a Guest Researcher at the SAXO-Institute within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Copenhagen. She is actively involved in the BioHistory Research Group led by Professor Anne Løkke and the Centre for Health Research in the Humanities (CoRE). Her work focuses on historical demographic analysis, particularly examining mortality patterns across different historical periods and geographical contexts. Dr. Revuelta Eugercios earned her Doctorate in History from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 2011, where she received Summa Cum Laude distinction and the European Doctorate Mention. Her doctoral work examined the Foundling Hospital of Madrid during 1890-1935. She also holds advanced degrees in Contemporary History and Quantitative Research Methods from Spanish institutions. Her primary research interests center on historical demography, with particular expertise in infant mortality, socio-economic differences in mortality, and the history of infant abandonment. She has conducted comparative studies between Copenhagen and Madrid, examining how occupation and socioeconomic status influenced mortality risk in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her current work with the Link-Lives project involves transforming archival records into historical big data through advanced computational methods and AI-assisted techniques. Her recent publications demonstrate a clear progression from traditional historical demographic analysis toward digital humanities approaches, with increasing focus on computational methods for analyzing historical population data. The Link-Lives project represents a significant shift toward leveraging machine learning and AI to reconstruct life courses from historical records spanning 1787 to 1968. Extraordinary Doctoral Award from the Faculty of Geography and History, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2012) Dr. Revuelta Eugercios teaches in the Master's program at the University of Copenhagen, specifically in the course 'Modul 1; Kroppenes politik, kroppenes historicitet.' She supervises Master's theses on social and economic history topics that intersect with population studies and individual life courses, employing both cultural and quantitative methodological approaches. Her current research is supported by a Mobilex Mobility Grant from the Danish Council for Independent Research and FP7 Marie Curie Actions-COFUND. As a key member of the Link-Lives project team, she collaborates on creating comprehensive historical population databases that connect individual records across census, birth, death, migration, and marriage documents. This work has generated significant media attention in Denmark, with numerous press features highlighting the project's value for genealogical research and historical understanding.
