Background and activities

I am an associate professor at the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, and I currently lead research area 1 on Deep decarbonisation and wide societal change in the Norwegian Centre for Energy Transition Strategies (FME NTRANS - 2019-2027). I also lead WP4 on "Transforming meat-use in Norwegian food practices" in the MEATigation project (NRC 2020-2024), which explores how meat is embedded in Norwegian food practices and identifies ways to promote sustainable meat-use in Norway.

From September 1, 2022, I will lead the five-year project 'A Middle Way? Probing Sufficiency through Meat and Milk in China' (MidWay - ERC Starting Grant), which aims to gain a better understanding of the concept 'sufficiency' using the cases of meat and milk production and consumption in China.

Between May 2016 and February 2020 I was a post doctoral researcher connected to the Research Centre on Zero Emission Neighbourhoods in Smart Cities (FME ZEN) and the Centre for Sustainable Energy Studies (FME CenSES). I focussed on the role of "prosumers" and new forms of energy use in low-energy buildings and neighborhoods, comparing prosumers with respect to energy use and household practices in urban dwellings and neighborhoods in China and Norway. During my postdoc period I wrote the book "Wind and Solar Energy Transition in China". I also led task 1.1. on community building and citizen engagement in the TRANS-URBAN-EU-CHINA project (H2020).

From April to July 2018 I was visiting researcher at the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. From January to March 2017 I was a visiting fellow at the DEMAND Centre at Lancaster University, UK.

Until May 2016 I worked with the Living Lab project. The Living Lab is a zero emission house built for engineering and social science experiments. My work concentrated on the social science aspects of the project, trying to gain a better understanding of how people use this state-of-the-art technology.

In 2015 I defended my PhD thesis titeled 'Chinese Renewable Struggles. Innovation, the Arts of the State and Offshore Wind Technology'. The PhD project examined innovation and technological learning in the making of China’s offshore wind industry. In the thesis innovation is viewed broadly, incorporating interactive learning and circulation of knowledge, competencies, experiences and expectations connected with offshore wind technology. The thesis highlights certain Chinese characteristics of industrial upgrading that are useful for understanding the way in which China approaches renewable energy industries in general, and how companies outside of China can contribute (or not) to this process.

Keywords

  • Energy Transition
  • Sustainability
  • China
  • Innovation
  • Technology and Society
  • Wind and solar energy
  • Meat consumption and sustainable agriculture
  • Public participation and engagement
  • Inter- and transdisciplinarity
  • Improvisational theatre and science communication

Background

- M.Phil. in Culture, Environment and Sustainability (2012), Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo.

Thesis title: "The Growth of a Green Industry - Wind Turbines and Innovation in China"
Link: https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/123456789/32635

- B.A. History, University of Oslo (2011)

- B.A International Relations, University of Oslo (2009)

Scientific, academic and artistic work

A selection of recent journal publications, artistic productions, books, including book and report excerpts. See all publications in the database

Journal publications

Books

Part of book/report

  • Valler, Thea Marie; Korsnes, Marius; Liu, Jiayan; Chen, Yulin. (2021) Community Building through Public Engagement: Variety in Europe and China. Towards Socially Integrative Cities: Perspectives on Urban Sustainability in Europe and China.
  • Wyckmans, Annemie; Wang, Yu; Korsnes, Marius; Aune, Pål Jarle; Yu, Yang; Liu, Chang; Pasher, Edna; Harir, Mor; Sharir, Lee; Herzog, Otthein; Cao, Buyang; Kontinakis, Nikolaos; Colclough, Anthony. (2021) Urban Living Labs as Instruments of Open Innovation: Examples of Sino–European Cooperation. Towards Socially Integrative Cities: Perspectives on Urban Sustainability in Europe and China.