Rate My Professor Oliver Heiri

Professor Oliver Heiri is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland, a position he has held since 2018. He also serves as Head of the Geoecology research group and, since 2023, as a member of the Department's Executive Board (Departementsleitung). Previously, he was Assistant Professor at the University of Bern from 2012 to 2018, Lecturer and research group leader at the University of Bern from 2010 to 2012, Researcher and lecturer at Utrecht University from 2008 to 2010, Post-doctoral researcher at Utrecht University from 2003 to 2008, Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bern from 2002 to 2003, and Post-doctoral fellow at the Botanical Institute and Zoological Museum in Bergen, Norway, from 2001 to 2002. His doctoral work was conducted as a PhD position at the Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, from 1997 to 2001, where he earned his PhD in 2001. He obtained his Venia docendi (habilitation) from the University of Bern in 2018.

The research of the Geoecology group, led by Heiri, examines the effects of environmental drivers on species, assemblages, and ecosystems over wide spatial and temporal scales, including long-term ecosystem development and past climatic changes. The group employs biotic indicators such as chironomids, diatoms, pollen, and cladocerans, along with stable isotope analyses of microfossils in natural archives like lake sediments, to reconstruct past environmental and climatic conditions. Heiri's prolific publication record includes highly cited works such as "Loss on ignition as a method for estimating organic and carbonate content in sediments: reproducibility and comparability of results" (Journal of Paleolimnology, 2001; 6768 citations), "The identification and use of Palaearctic Chironomidae larvae in palaeoecology" (Quaternary Research Association Technical Guide, 2007; 896 citations), and "The spatial and temporal complexity of the Holocene thermal maximum" (Nature Geoscience, 2009; 645 citations). His scholarly impact is further evidenced by his editorial roles, including Associate Editor of the Journal of Paleolimnology from 2008 to 2022 and current membership on its Editorial Advisory Board since 2022. Heiri has received prestigious awards, including the European Research Council Starting Independent Researcher Grant in 2009, the Outstanding Service Award from the International Paleolimnology Association in 2018, and the Honorary August Thienemann Lecture at the International Symposium on Chironomidae in 2011 and 2024. Additionally, he has contributed to various scientific committees, such as the steering committee of the Platform Biology, Swiss Academy of Sciences (2013-2022).