Personal data

Name: Ole Pedersen; born 28 March 1963
Address: Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 4 3rd floor, 2100 Copenhagen; Ørslev Gade 76E, 4100 Ringsted (private)
Other contact details: (phone) +45 23747641; (e-mail) opedersen@bio.ku.dk; (www) www.flooding.dk

MSc, 1991, Aquatic Ecology, Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen
PhD, 1995, Aquatic Plant Eco-physiology, Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen

 

Current positions and periods of leave

Professor, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen (2017 and onwards)

Adjunct Professor, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia (2017 and onwards)

Affiliate  Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University (2017-2022)

Member of the board of directors at Unisense A/S (2013 and onwards)

Long service leave: 1st Nov 2002 to 31st Jan 2005 – DANIDA seconded faculty at AIT Bangkok, Thailand

 

Publication activities

My publication activities are regularly updated on the UCPH reposititory or - even better - on Google Citations.

 

Academic awards and honours

Professor-at-Large Award at the University of Western Australia (UWA) 2013 to 2016
Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (UWA) Oct to Nov 2011

Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (UWA) Oct to Nov 2009

Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (UWA) Oct to Nov 2007

Invited speaker at 15+ international conferences e.g., ISPA 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and IBC 2011 and 2017

>20 cover photos on international peer-reviewed journals and 7 cover photos on outreach magazines (English, German)

 

Community services

Post graduate school coordinator at Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen 2011 and onwards
Co-organizer of Botanikertagung in Kiel, organized by the German Botanical Society, September 2017
Organizer of ISPA 2016 Conference in Elsinore, Denmark

Guest Editor on FUNCTIONAL PLANT ECOLOGY 2016 and 2023 (Special Issue on plant responses to flooding)

Section Editor on PLANT AND SOIL (internal aeration) 2009-2013

Member of the Dean of Teaching Advisory Panel 2009 to 2012

Member of the UCPH audit panel during the 2016 accreditation process

Member of Nordic House of Ecology search committee, Department of Biology, UCPH 2016-2017

Member of the Strategy Committee at the PhD School SCIENCE, UCPH 2016-2017

Member of the Executive Committee in the International Society for Plant Anaerobiosis 2005 and onwards

Regular or occasional referee for e.g., Annales Botanici Fennici, Annals of Botany, Archiv für Hydrobiolgie, Aquatic Botany, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Freshwater Biology, Functional Plant Biology, Global Change Biology, Hydrobiologia, Journal of Ecology, Journal of Experimental Biology, Journal of Experimental Botany, Limnology and Oceanography, Marine Biology, Marine Ecology Progress Series, New Phytologist, Plant and Soil, Plant, Cell & Environment

Sep 2016, organiser of ISPA 2016 (www.is-pa.org) and Feb 2016 the national symposium on freshwater sciences (www.ferskvandssymposiet.dk)

 

International collaboration

Since 2015, I have been Adjunct at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and quite recently also Professor-at-Large at the Institute of Advanced Studies, UWA. These appointments have resulted in at least 1 visit per year and more than 25 co‑authored papers with colleagues from UWA. I have also established a long-term collaboration with Nagoya University, Japan, after 3 productive visits to Prof Moto’s lab in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Within Europe, I have strong relationships with research colleagues from Leuven University (Belgium) and University of Utrecht and Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) that have resulted in 12 co‑authored papers.

 

Management experience

During the past 15 years, I have acted as principal investigator and grant executive on the following major projects (> 2 million DKK per project); funding body in brackets:

  • Climate-smart African Rice (Danida) 2020-2026
  • The root barrier to radial O2 loss (DFF-FNU) 2017-2022
  • Submergence tolerance of wheat (Villum Foundation) 2014-2016
  • Gas films on wetland plants (DFF-FNU) 2009-2011
  • Restoration of Lobelia lakes, Centre for Lake Restoration (Villum Foundation) 2006-2016
  • Impact of sediment organic matter on isoetids (DFF-FNU) 2010-2012
  • Groundwater flow and lake vegetation (DFF-FNU) 2011-2013
  • Rising CO2 in Lobelia lakes (DFF-FNU) 2002-2004

Bridging of public and private research sectors via close collaboration with Unisense A/S (microsensors and measuring systems) and Tropica Aquarium Plants (aquarium plant nursery)

 

Areas of research focus (see also Research Topics)

Flood, salinity and drought tolerance of major crops such as rice, barley and wheat including their wild relatives

Mechanisms of flood tolerance in natural wetland plants

Functional plant surfaces (superhydrophobicity)

Gas exchange across the diffusive boundary layer in aquatic plants and insects

Aquatic plant eco-physiology with special emphasis on plants in oligotrophic lakes

Restoration of oligotrophic freshwater lakes (Centre for Lake Restoration)

In situ instrumentation with particular emphasis O2 and H2S microelectrodes

 

Supervision of students (PhD students and postdocs)

Currently, I am supervising 2 postdocs, 3 PhD students and 5 undergraduate students. 10 students have already completed their PhDs under my supervision and I have had visiting students and postdocs both in my laboratory in Copenhagen and during my visits to UWA as an Adjunct. Moreover, several master and bachelor students have completed their projects under my supervision. During my time in AIT Thailand (see above), I successfully completed the supervision 6 Master students and 2 PhD students.