Human-Environment Complexity Lab

Our team

Johanna Yletyinen (Group Leader)

I started this lab to build a space dedicated to investigating the complexity of our environmental challenges and to push the research frontiers of sustainability science. I hold a PhD in Natural Resource Management from Stockholm Resilience Centre, a Title of Docent in Environmental Science (University of Jyväskylä), M.Sc. in Physical Geography, and M.Ed. in Physical Geograpy and Biology. I’m also a member of Finland’s IPCC working group. After living abroad for almost 20 years, I found myself back in Finland during the pandemic and chose to stay in this land of midnight sun and snowy forests. I now work as a Senior Researcher at the University of Jyväskylä. My research investigates complex systems behaviors to enhance the resilience and sustainability of natural resource systems. In essence, I ask how systems adapt, transform, or tip into something entirely new. Or why they don’t. I strive to make complex systems intelligeble and actionable to support healthier ecosystems and fair, adaptive human societies.

Click here to view my AREAS OF EXPERTISE
  • Natural resource management
  • Resilience
  • Systems science, complex adaptive systems
  • Tipping points, critical transitions, sustainability transformations
  • Sustainability
  • Social-ecological systems
  • Social-ecological system models
  • Network science
  • Agent-based models
  • Environmental change and human impact on environment
  • Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary reserach, integrative thinking

Raakel Vuojolainen (Doctoral Researcher)

My name is Raakel Vuojolainen and I am happy to connect with you! Coming from a diverse science background with a Nordic M.Sc. in Environmental Changes at Higher Latitudes and B.Sc. in Neuroscience (major) and Sociology (minor), I am naturally motivated by complex societal problems. In December 2024, I began my Ph.D. Journey at the University of Jyväskylä under the supervision of Johanna Yletyinen (JYU) and Caroline Schill (Beijer Institue of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). My doctoral research will contribute to sustainability transitions with a new approach for advancing initiatives by identifying failures through complex systems research and socio-ecological modeling. Although my research will focus on the Arctic & Nordic regions, I hope that this research will help provide solutions to recognizing and managing failures of ongoing sustainability initiatives in the global context, which are unfolding at an unprecedented scale. In my free time, I enjoy cooking new & old recipes and spending time in nature (with my dog, Annie, too!).

Pierre Moulin (Doctoral Researcher)

Hi, I am Pierre Moulin and I work on social-ecosystem modelling. I studied various aspects of ecology in France, and started to work abroad for a year now. My initial aspiration was to work on environmental management, I then passed a technical diploma to work in  natural reserve. My thirst for knowledge pushed me to keep on studying and I then started a Bachelor degree. These studies led me toward the path of research in ecology, a journey that I continued with a Master degree in ecosystem modelling. I am now specialised in ecosystem dynamic, functional ecology, and modelling. The PhD I will work on is set in a global energetic transition context. The increasing demand of green electricity led to an augmentation of wind farm projects. Often, in the name of this energetic transition, the building of such projects is forced despite the well-being of local communities and the local ecosystem’s balance. With my supervisors Johanna Yletyinen and Panu Halme, we will identify and highlight the different perturbations induced by wind farm plans on local ecosystems and communities, and try to propose answers and alternatives to these problems.

hh

Pauliina Ketola (Intern, September 2025)

My name is Pauliina Ketola, and I am excited to give you a short introduction to my journey. I am currently a Master’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Jyväskylä, now entering my fifth year of studies. My Master’s thesis explores human–wildlife interactions in Antarctica through the lens of social media, focusing on how people engage with and perceive wildlife in these unique environments. In addition to my academic path, I hold a vocational qualification as an animal caretaker, reflecting my long-standing passion for animals and nature that originally inspired me to pursue biology. Throughout my studies, I have enjoyed the full spectrum of learning experiences, from fieldwork and laboratory research to computer-based analyses, and I strive to develop an interdisciplinary perspective, which I see as essential for a more sustainable future. This is also why I wanted to complete my internship in an interdisciplinary research group, where I could broaden my perspective and learn to approach ecological questions from multiple angles. To support this, I have also begun pedagogical studies in education, aiming to combine ecological expertise with teaching and science communication. Looking ahead, I am eager to deepen my knowledge at the intersection of ecology, conservation, and education. In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors, especially walking and exploring nature with my dogs, and finding balance in everyday life through outdoor activities.

hh

Opportunities

PostDoctoral Researcher

There are currently no funded open positions in the lab.

PhD Students

There are currently no funded open positions in the lab.

Opiskelijat (Master’s/Bachelor’s students)

Haluaisitko tehdä kestävyysaiheisen gradun tai kandintyön ja tarvitsisit ohjaajaa? Meilaa Johanna Yletyiselle tai tule juttelemaan yliopistolla.