Greenhouse member Melina Antonia Buns has been selected as member of the prestigious Young Academy of Norway (AYF).
Melina Antonia Buns has been selected as a member of the prestigious Young Academy of Norway (AYF). Eleven new members from across the country and disciplines will join AYF this year.
Since its inaugural meeting in 2015, AYF has been an important voice within politics on higher education and research and for early-career researchers in particular.
AYF is a powerful actor that can and needs to contribute to form the future of the Norwegian academy and researchers for the better.
For Buns, it is a great honour to have been selected as member, an honour that also comes with responsibility. “AYF is a powerful actor that can and needs to contribute to form the future of the Norwegian academy and researchers for the better.” In the current politically made crisis of Norwegian universities, she aims to work for better financial means for independent research, for a supportive and collaborative academic community, and for a strengthened dialogue between society and research.
Working at the intersection of international, environmental, and energy history, Buns stresses the critical value of humanities research in our current global climate crisis.
Just earlier this month, her new NordForsk-project Energy Lives! started. “It is promising to see that funding bodies acknowledge the importance of historical research for contemporary challenges and decided to fund this history project on past energy transitions.” Amid the global climate crisis, Buns hopes that AYF too contributes to a critical debate about values and priorities within the society.
Greenhouse co-director and Professor Dolly Jørgensen underscored how important Buns’ work is to future energy transitions. “As we are facing these environmental challenges it is crucial to historicise our relationship to energy. Buns’ international approach to energy is a much-needed perspective.”
This prestigious appointment is a recognition of the humanities and of researchers at young universities like the University of Stavanger
Buns has previously won prestigious funding from the Research Council of Norway for her international postdoc project. Her broad international experience is not only useful for her research but also for the international work and collaboration of AYF. “This is a unique opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary group of talented researchers for the future of independent research in Norway,” says Buns. Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Education, Odd Magne Bakke, congratulates Buns to her appointment. “The selection is a great acknowledgment of her research. It is also a declaration of trust that she will be an important voice, not only within her field, but also in the general debate in academia.” Dean Odd Magne Bakke adds that “This prestigious appointment is a recognition of the humanities and of researchers at young universities like the University of Stavanger.”