Maria Katajavuori

Maria Katajavuori is a researcher with one leg in ecology and another in human behavioral studies, writing science by day and popular science by night. She draws together biological and social sciences to understand the nature of our species, producing tools for a more ecological future.

With experience on science, activism and policy making, Katajavuori fills her books with colorful scenes and personal anecdotes, ranging from Siberian tundra to forests of Canada and from grassroot activism to international congresses. Currently, Katajavuori is located at Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in the mountain-valley town of Lillehammer, developing projects on human behavior and working with science-policy interactions of the European Union.

Katajavuori’s first book, A Matter of Death and Life, received the State Award for Public Information of Finland in 2018, and her second book, The Whale in a Glass Bowl, was a Finlandia-Prize nominee in 2022. In science, Katajavuori publishes under PhD title and her birth name, Katariina E. M. Vuorinen.