Dr. Odinn Melsted

Biography

Odinn Melsted is an Austrian-Icelandic historian currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the History Department at Maastricht University. His primary research interests revolve around transnational history, particularly focusing on energy, technology, and the environment, with a special emphasis on historical sustainability transitions. Before coming to Maastricht, Melsted studied history (BA) and European languages, culture, and history (MA) at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík. He obtained his doctorate in history from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, where his dissertation was titled "Icelandic Energy Regimes: Fossil Fuels, Renewables Making Low-Carbon Energy Balance, 1940-1980." In 2020, he joined Maastricht University as part of a postdoctoral NWO-funded research project, "Managing Scarcity Sustainability: Oil Industry, Environmentalism, Alternative Energy Age Scarcity," under the leadership of Cyrus Mody. His research looks into Iceland's energy history and the oil industry of the 1970s. Additionally, Melsted has studied aspects of Iceland’s political and cultural history, authored the book "Með nótur í farteskinu" that explores the history of foreign musicians in Iceland, and co-edited manuscripts on the Anglo-Danish adventurer Jörgen Jörgensen who assumed control during the Icelandic Revolution of 1809.

Research Interests

Experience