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                            Curriculum Vitae

Personal

Name                             Niels Christian Nielsen

Age                               37 years, born 8. September 1968

Nationality                      Danish

Profession                      Geographer, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Family                            Married, two children (Erik, born October 2002 & Alfred, born April 2005)

E-mail                            niels_c_nielsen@mail.dk

 

Language skills

Danish:                               Mother tongue, fluent in writing and speech

English:                          Excellent in speech and writing (IELTS test result 1998: 8.5 out of 10)

German:                         Spoken at professional level, good in writing.

French:                          Spoken at professional level, good in writing.

Italian:                          Spoken at conversation level, read and understood.

Swedish and Norwegian: Read and understood. “Pidgin-Scandinavian” spoken. 

 

IT skills

General:

Operating systems:             Windows 98, 2000, NT, XP Professional (PC) and Unix (Sun)

Programming/scripting:         Basic, Pascal, IDL, HTML, Java, MS Visual Basic (learning)

Databases:                        MS Access, SQL queries in GIS

 

Subject Specific :

Geographical Information Systems (GIS):              Idrisi, ArcView, MapInfo (with MapBasic)

Landscape structure analysis:                             Fragstats (for Windows), Meta-X

Statistics:                                                       VarioWin (spatial variogram analyse)

Image processing - remote sensing, data handling:  Chips for Windows, Erdas Imagine, ENVI

Image processing - generation of test images:        POV-Ray (ray tracing), Rule, Simmap (neutral   landscapes)

 

Exducation

·        May 2004: Ph.D. thesis titled “Spatial metrics of structure and diversity: Calculation from Earth Observation and map data for use as indicators in environmental management” submitted, passed after minor corrections July 2004. Available for download at: http://www.humaniora.sdu.dk/kulturmiljoe/publikat.html.

·        October 1999: Commenced Ph.D. education at King's College, London, supervisor Dr. Alan Blackburn. October 2000 transferred to Lancaster University (moving with Dr. Blackburn).

·        May 1998: Dissertation in physical geography "Possibilities and limitations for determination of vegetation parameters from Remote Sensing” submitted, passed June 1998 (M.Sc. degree awarded). Supervisor Dr. Kjeld Rasmussen, commenced September 1996.

·        November 1996-January 1997: Three months combined stay at Centre de Suivi Ecologique and Institut de Sciences de l’Environnement, Université Cheik Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal with the purpose of carrying out field work for dissertation project.

·        1993-95: Post-graduate education (leading to M.Sc. level) in physical geography/climate, University of Copenhagen. Preparation of 4th year project: ”Remote Sensing of Bush Fires in West Africa” (based on field work carried out during the stay in Guinee-Conakry).

·        1993-94: Studies in computer science, University of Copenhagen.

·        1990-93: Studies in geography (leading to B.Sc. degree), University of Copenhagen.

·        1989-90: Studies in mathematics and geophysics, University of Copenhagen.

Work experience

·         From april 2006: Teaching assistant at University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Esbjerg. Major task: planning of activities for the "Childrens University", 5. May 2006 focused on the Galathea3-expedition. Work at SDU also includes fundraising activities and maintenance of web site for the Galathea3 project: "Cultural heritage and transitions in coastal and maritime resource utilisation towards the 21st century experience economy - Galathea 3 in St. Croix" (link: http://www.galathea3.dk/dk/Menu/Forskning/St.+Croix+i+fortid+og+nutid).

·    From February 2003: Research fellow at Institute of History and Civilization, University of Southern Denmark (SDU) Esbjerg. GIS management, image processing and spatial analyses for a project on creation of a digital, Internet based atlas of cultural environments in Vendsyssel, Denmark. Project web site: http://www.humaniora.sdu.dk/kulturmiljoe/index.html

·    November 2002: Lecture at Esbjerg Højskole (folk high school) as part of debate meeting ”Hvor flytter Danmark hen?” (where is Denmark moving to?).

·    June 1998-June 2001: Grant holder at Space Applications Institute (SAI), Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy. I was primarily working with development of criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry, based on map material from satellite and aerial photography, using landscape ecology methods and software.

·    November 1997: Employment as research assistant by the Fires in Tropical Ecosystems (FITES) project for processing of (NOAA) satellite data for fire detection at department for Monitoring of Tropical Vegetation (MTV) at SAI,  JRC-Ispra.

·    March-June 1997: Part time employment at Institute of Geography, Copenhagen. Import, noise filtering, and geo-referencing of radar (ERS-1), optical (SPOT) satellite image data and aerial photography from Senegal.

·    1996-97: Various short time tasks for Danish Engineering/consultancy companies, in particular vegetation (Rambøll, NNR) and hydro-geological mapping (COWI).

·    1994-95: Three months stay in Conakry, Rep. de Guinee, as part of EU financed technology transfer project. Instruction of local employees in use of ”CHIPS” image processing software, at the Bureau Technique, INFF, Conakry.

·    1994-96: Employment with market research institute GfK-Denmark. Telephone interviews, partly PC-supported, personal interviews, recruitment for and carrying out Hall-tests.

·    Autumn 1993: Research Assistant at field work around the Skjern Å river, western Jutland for project at GI (hydrological measurements and sediment sampling).

 Publications

N.C. Nielsen (2004): Applications of spatial metrics for environmental monitoring and planning - using AIS data and land use scenarios for Vendsyssel, Denmark. In preparation for Landscape and Urban Planning.

N.C. Nielsen and A. Blackburn (2004): Multi-scale application of spatial metrics for quantifying forest spatial structure and diversity from Corine Land Cover and FMERS-WiFS raster data. In preparation for proceedings of the first Göttingen GIS and Remote Sensing days, 7.-8. October 2004.

N.C. Nielsen (2002): Bør der overhovedet bo mennesker I Tønder? (Should anybody live in Tønder, South-west Jutland, at all?). Feature article in JydskeVestkysten (regional newspaper) 7. December.

N.C. Nielsen (2001): Biological diversity in forest, landscape ecology and Remote Sensing -  the challenge of finding links and developing methods for monitoring. Contribution to Landskabsøkologiske skrifter (Danish Landscape Ecological Papers) nr. 16: Report and contributed papers from an international PhD course, Roskilde and Holbæk. 15.-22. October 2000. ISSN 1395-3710, pp. 15-26.

C. Estreguil, P. Kennedy, N.C. Nielsen and S. Folving (2001): Geo-information for rural development and nature conservation in Europe. Pages 69-79 in: Groom, G.B. and T. Reed (editors) 'Strategic landscape monitoring in the Nordic countries'. (Nordisk TemaNord 2001:523) Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers. ISSN 0908-6692, ISBN 92-893-0608-4, pp. 69-79.

N.C. Nielsen  and M.L. Paracchini (2000): Remote sensing based estimates of structural diversity and sustainability for forest ecology. In Proceedings of  the IUFRO conference on "Remote Sensing and Forest Monitoring" Rogow, Poland 1-3 June 1999, eds. T. Zawila-Niedzwiecki, M. Brach. EUR 19530 EN - European Communities, Luxembourg. Pages 339-354. Available at: http://rogow99.sggw.waw.pl/08_session_4/03/

 Conferences, symposia etc.

·        21. April 2004: Presentation at the Danish Archaeological GIS Forum, Esbjerg: “Localization of mounds and settlements in the bronze age”.

·        3.-5. November 2001: Presentation at NordLaM workshop in Turku/Åbo, Finland: ”Scale and scaling issues in Landscape Ecology and in Remote Sensing - and related problems with the use of spatial structure as an indicator of diversity”.

·        12.-14. September 2001: The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetric Society’s yearly conference, London U.K. Presentation of poster: ”Spatial metrics for large area maps of forest structure and diversity”. 

·        30. June-6. July 2001: European  IALE conference in Stockholm, Sweden and Tartu, Estonia. Oral presentation of finding from JRC project: ”The use of spatial metrics as indicators of landscape structure in a region dominated by forest”.

·        21.-25. March 2000: International conference on "Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management at the Forest Management Unit Level" in Nancy, France. Presentation of poster: “Use of Remote Sensing data for forest management with respect to biodiversity conservation at the landscape level”.

·        9.-10 March 2000: Participation in expert meeting on “Contribution of Earth Observation data and GIS techniques for assessing the structural and biological diversity of the forests of Europe: a landscape approach”. SAI, Ispra, Italy. Preparation of background document and presentation with review of general issues.

·        1.-3. June 1999: IUFRO congress on “Remote Sensing and Forest Monitoring” held at Warsaw Agricultural University, Faculty of Forestry, Rogow, Poland. Presentation of project work. Text for poster made with GAF Munich available at: http://rogow99.sggw.waw.pl/03_poster_session/07/  (similar to poster mentioned below)

·        3.-5. September 1998: Congress of International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) in Preston, U.K. Presentaition of poster: ”Forest Diversity Derived from Remote Sensing”.

·        1.-3. February 1997: Participation in workshop on ”Remote Sensing and GIS in West Africa”, Univeristy of Accra, Ghana.

 

Voluntary work, various experience:

 

·        March 2002: Participated in leader training seminar with Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (Danish Association for International Co-operation). In August I was senior camp-leader at a two-week work camp for young foreign volunteers in Løgstør, Jutland, where we assisted with the construction of a nature playground.

·        1999-2001: Secretary for the Grant Holders Organisation (GHA) at JRC, Ispra.

·    1996-97: Economic responsible at the students residence Jomsborg, Frederiksberg near Copenhagen, where I lived from 1993 to 97.

·    1995-2000: Platform guard at the Roskilde Music Festival.

·    1994 and 95: Tutor for new students at Institute of Geography, Copenhagen.

·        since 1993: Member of the Royal Danish Geographical Society, 1995 to 1997 pratical/technical assistant at the society's meetings and lectures.