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Icelanders trust the University of Iceland

04/03/2022 - 14:50

Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, sent the following message to University staff and students today (4 March 2022):

"Dear students and colleagues,

The founding of the University of Iceland almost 111 years ago was one of the most significant achievements in Iceland's struggle to become a sovereign and independent nation. Independence fosters democracy. Progress depends on education, vision and the autonomous creation of new knowledge. We must never rest in our defence of these values.

Exploring discourse on abortion

01/07/2021 - 11:49

Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, professor at the Faculty of Political Science

"The research is mainly about exploring the way conservatives talk about sexual and reproductive rights, in particular pregnancy termination,“ says Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, professor at the University of Iceland Faculty of Political Science. Along with her PhD student, Gunnar Sigvaldason, she is looking at how Iceland and Ireland took steps towards expanding freedoms in this area in 2018 and 2019.

She mentions that different UN countries which have not previously worked together are now uniting to limit women's access to sexual and reproductive rights. "One example is the United States under Trump," says Silja Bára.

Searching for traces of literary tradition in medieval times

30/09/2021 - 17:29

A gold ring and a couture hat from the 17th century are among the relics archaeology students and scientists at the University of Iceland have excavated this summer from the ruins of Þingeyri, the home of the longest running monastery in Icelandic history. The aim of the excavation is to shed light on book production at the monastery; using in part tools and gadgets shared by the archaeology department and the University's geologists.

Þingeyrarklaustur, the monastery at Þingeyri, was established in 1133 and operated continuously until 1551 when the Reformation swept through Iceland and the grounds and monastery quarters became property of the Danish king. "We are searching for traces of monasticism here and especially the literary tradition. Þingeyraklaustur was a famous centre of literature, culture and education, and was known for its library, and we are looking for traces of the literary tradition," says Steinunn.

How was life in Seyðisfjörður during the Age of Settlement? 

24/02/2021 - 15:54

Seyðisfjörður has been on the news recently due to the natural disaster when the land-slide that went over the town due to heavy rain. An enormous amount of soil came down from the mountain over the lowland by the sea where numerous houses were damaged or destroyed. Soil is important for growing plants but it can also tell a remarkable tale. By the intersection of diverse scientific disciplines, and using new technology, research scientists can now analyse the DNA from different living organisms from soil dating back thousands of years. The research scientists do this by analysing the soil or what we call mud in our daily lives.

Suspicion of corruption can hinder sustainable use of natural resources

02/09/2020 - 09:35

Widespread suspicion of corruption in the utilisation of natural resources can increase the danger of corruption in resource governance systems, which in turn can impede sustainable usage. These are the findings in a new collaborative study of the University of Iceland and Stockholm University published in the political science journal Politics and Governance. 

Doctoral defence in Statistics - Erna Valdís Ívarsdóttir

25. November 2020 - 14:00 to 16:00

Aðalbygging

The Aula

Live stream: https://livestream.com/hi/doktorsvornernavaldis

Ph.D. student: Erna Valdís Ívarsdóttir

Dissertation title: Statistical methods in genome-wide association studies

Opponents: 
Dr. Mark Daly, Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, and an Institute Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Dr. Thor Aspelund, Professor of Biostatistics at the School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, and a statistician at the Icelandic Heart Association.

Advisor: Dr. Daniel F. Gudbjartsson, VP of Applied Statistics at deCODE genetics and School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland

Department coordinator: Dr. Gunnar Stefansson, Professor at the Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland 

Looking at past climates to see how humans affect the environment

12/11/2020 - 09:22

Hey, how was spring in Tröllaskagi in 6321 BC, again? 
Is there an answer to this peculiar question? 
Yes... or close enough. 

We can get a fair idea thanks to current research conducted here in Iceland through a collaboration between scientists at the University of Iceland and the University of Colorado Boulder in the USA. The project focuses on isolating biomolecules preserved in lake sediment. Scientists are drilling down into the lake bed and extracting sediment cores. These are then examined from a geochemical and biochemical perspective, looking thousands of years back in time with the ability to differentiate between individual years. It is best to drill in the winter when the lakes are frozen, but climate change could make this work more difficult in the near future, due to more extreme variations in the weather. 

Looking at past climates to see how humans affect the environment

Hey, how was spring in Tröllaskagi in 6321 BC, again? 
Is there an answer to this peculiar question? 
Yes... or close enough. 

We can get a fair idea thanks to current research conducted here in Iceland through a collaboration between scientists at the University of Iceland and the University of Colorado Boulder in the USA. The project focuses on isolating biomolecules preserved in lake sediment. Scientists are drilling down into the lake bed and extracting sediment cores. These are then examined from a geochemical and biochemical perspective, looking thousands of years back in time with the ability to differentiate between individual years. It is best to drill in the winter when the lakes are frozen, but climate change could make this work more difficult in the near future, due to more extreme variations in the weather. 

Investigating the behaviour of juvenile cod

22/12/2020 - 09:52

Cod has long been the most important white fish for the Icelandic economy. On a clear autumn day in the Westfjords, you might spot a little boat out beyond Dvergasteinn in the Álftafjörður fjord. There is not a breath of wind and aboard the boat are two women pulling in a net. They are not fishing for mature cod, though, but rather the juvenile fish, which they want to keep alive and tag in order to learn about those stages of the cod's life that have long been a mystery to humans.

"We tag the juvenile cod with audio transmitters in order to map their behaviour in natural conditions," explains one of the women, Guðbjörg Ásta Ólafsdóttir, glancing up briefly as she switches on the outboard motor with a quick tug. She knows what she is talking about, since she is a research specialist and director of the University of Iceland Research Centre of the Westfjords, where she has developed interdisciplinary studies into coastal resources and their use.

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