Olalla Díaz-Yáñez
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My Journey

🌱
BSc Forest Engineering in Spain
BSc Forest
Engineering
2011
🌿
Master's studies in Finland
Master's
Degrees
2013
🌾
PhD in Forest Sciences in Finland
PhD Forest
Sciences
2018
🌳
Postdoc period in Finland
Postdoc
Finland
2018-2020
👨‍👩‍👧
Family milestone
New
Family
2019-2020
✈️
Moving to Switzerland
Moving to
Switzerland
2020
🌿
Forest Ecology period
Forest
Ecology
2020-2024
🌲
Forest Resources Management period
Forest Resources
Management
2024+

BSc Forest EngineeringBSc Forest Engineering

2011 · Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain

Foundational training in forest engineering and management, where my passion for understanding forest systems began. This degree gave me the scientific and technical foundation for everything that followed.

Master's DegreesMaster's Degrees

2013 · University of Eastern Finland & Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

MSc European Forestry - University of Eastern Finland
MSc Forest Management and Planning - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Cross-European experience across temperate, boreal and mediterranean forest systems, exposing me to diverse ecological and management aproaches.

PhD Forest SciencesPhD Forest Sciences

2018 · University of Eastern Finland

Deep dive into forest modeling and the consideration of natural disturbances into forest management and planning.

Postdoctoral ResearcherPostdoctoral Researcher

2018-2020 · University of Eastern Finland

Applied my research to real-world forest management challenges, studying optimal forest management under multiple ecosystem services, preferenes, and natural disturbance risk. This period shaped my interest in bridging forest models and practice. During these years, I also worked as a research visitor at the USDA Forest Service (USA) and BOKU (Austria), gaining international research experience.

Welcoming New FamilyWelcoming New Family

2019-2020 · University of Eastern Finland

A beautiful and transformative period—welcoming our son into the world. This time was precious, challenging, and enriching all at once. Balancing motherhood with research taught me about resilience, time management, and that sometimes it is ok not to sleep much. Becoming a parent fundamentally changed my perspective on both work and life, making me more intentional about how I spend my time and energy.

Moving to SwitzerlandMoving to Switzerland

2020 · Finland to Switzerland

A leap—leaving the boreal forests of Finland for the Alpine landscapes of Switzerland with a young child and a new position at ETH Zurich in the middle of a global pandemic. This move felt daunting yet exciting: navigating a new country, culture, and language while settling our family. The transition from Finnish to Swiss forest ecosystems and life has shaped my research perspective and my personal growth.

Forest EcologyLecturer & Postdoctoral Researcher at ETH Zurich

2020-2024 · Forest Ecology Group (FE), ETH Zurich

Transitioned to Switzerland to examine structural uncertainty in forest dynamics models and their ability to represent natural disturbances. In this role, I combined research and teaching, contributing to the education of the next generation of forest scientists.

Forest Resources ManagementEstablished Researcher at ETH Zurich

2024-Present · Forest Management Resources Group (FORM), ETH Zurich

An exciting transition to my current role where my research integrates climate–disturbance modelling, uncertainty-aware decision-making, cross-scale forest data, and practice-oriented tools to support robust forest management. This position represents the culmination of my journey—integrating everything I've learned from different biomes, institutions, cultures, and life experiences. We're building tools and knowledge that matter for real-world forest management under rapid environmental change.

Learn more about FORM here.

The Journey

My career has been a series of intentional steps, unexpected detours, and life-changing moments. Each experience—whether in diverse forest biomes, different institutions, or personal milestones like becoming a parent—has shaped my perspective.

I’ve been fortunate to work across boreal, temperate, and Mediterranean forest systems, collaborating with people from different cultures, forest management and modeling philosophies, and research traditions. This international experience has given me a pragmatic and nuanced understanding of forests as coupled social-ecological systems.

My research has always aimed to answer questions such as: How can models better represent forest dynamics? How can uncertainty inform better management decisions? How can we bridge the gap between science and practice? These questions drive me forward, and I’m excited to see where this journey continues.