Rate My Professor Eliisa Lotsari

Eliisa Lotsari is an Academy Research Fellow and Assistant Professor in the Department of Built Environment at Aalto University School of Engineering, specializing in Water and Environmental Engineering. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2012 from the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of Turku, with a dissertation on fluvial processes and their future magnitudes using combined field observation and simulation approaches. She also holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Turku in 2007 and was appointed Docent (Adjunct Professor) in fluvial geomorphology by the same department in 2016. Prior to joining Aalto University in 2021 as Assistant Professor of Water Engineering, Lotsari served as a university lecturer in geoinformatics at the University of Eastern Finland from 2016 to 2021. She conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Turku funded by the Academy of Finland from 2013 to 2016. Additionally, she chaired the Finnish University Network for Geoinformatics (Fiuginet) from 2019 to 2021 and was a member of the Finnish National Council for Geographic Information.

Lotsari's research focuses on fluvial processes, geoinformatics, remote sensing, hydro- and morphodynamic modelling, climate change impacts, physical geography, and water engineering, with particular emphasis on seasonally ice-covered rivers in northern latitudes. Her work examines river ice dynamics, near-bed flow turbulence under ice cover, riverbank erosion in freezing and thawing conditions, gravel transport by ice, and the conceptualization of digital twins for river basins. She leads projects such as CRIce: Changing River Ice, DefrostingRivers, and Törmäeroosion vaikutukset, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals on climate action and life on land. Lotsari has received the Academy of Finland Award 2021 for her excellent multidisciplinary approach to understanding changes in water systems and the Aalto Research Impact Award 2024 as part of the Digital Waters flagship team. Key publications include 'Annual heat budget and seasonal variations in a northern river with ice processes' (2026, Cold Regions Science and Technology), 'Near-Bed Flow Turbulence Beneath Ice Cover Under Varying Hydrological Conditions' (2026, Water Resources Research), 'Gravel transport by ice in a subarctic river from accurate laser scanning' (2015), 'Prospects and challenges of simulating river channel response to future climate change' (2015), and 'Blueprint conceptualization for a river basin's digital twin' (2025, Hydrology Research). Her research, cited over 1,950 times, advances the monitoring and modelling of high-latitude river systems amid environmental changes.