# New Faces: Silja Sormunen

Date: 2026-07-11
Author: Constantino Panagopulos
Canonical URL: https://geotessera.org/blog/2026-07-11-new-faces-silja-sormunen

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  <img src="https://geotessera.org/blog/silja-sormunen.jpg" alt="Portrait of Silja Sormunen" />
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<p class="profile-label">New Faces</p>

Silja Sormunen has joined the Tessera team as a research associate.

Sormunen has an eclectic background. Before transitioning to computer science and physics, she studied psychology, medicine, and philosophy. Now at the University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science & Technology she is exploring new fields of application for Tessera's embeddings.

She is also interested in studying the mathematical structure of the Tessera representations themselves to better understand the information they capture.

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  <p>"I am especially interested in developing methods for detecting gradual environmental change, as detecting subtle ecological shifts is important for effectively monitoring the success of restoration projects and identifying areas with declining ecosystem health," Sormunen said.</p>
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Sormunen earned a doctoral degree from Aalto University in Finland in 2026, where her research combined network science and dynamical systems theory to study adaptive systems.

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*Silja can be reached at [sas268@cam.ac.uk](mailto:sas268@cam.ac.uk). Read more about her research on [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v3HaAnUAAAAJ&hl=en).*
