Dr. Elisabeta Militaru is a postdoctoral researcher in psychology focusing on the psychology of places. Her research explores how physical environments shape our emotional experiences, behaviours, and sense of self.

Elisabeta’s expertise sits between emotion science, environmental psychology, and digital methods. She combines large-scale data and field studies to study people’s psychology in different environments and how spaces can be designed to enhance well-being.

She earned her MPhil and PhD in Psychology from the University of Cambridge, where she was awarded a fully funded doctoral fellowship by the Economic and Social Research Council. Her thesis—The Personality and Emotion Profile of Landscapes: Towards a Psychology of Places—mapped personality and emotion responses to places. Her research has been featured in UK media outlets. During her PhD she was awarded research grants from the Cambridge Philosophical Society and Nokia Bell Labs. She was also awarded a Research Innovation Fellowship to apply psychological science insights to public policies developed within the UK’s Cabinet Office.

Currently based at the University of Amsterdam, she was a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, where she collaborates on projects in affective science.

Elisabeta collaborates with public institutions, urban planners, and NGOs to bring psychological insights into spatial planning and public policy. In the UK, she advises public bodies on how affective science can be used in conservation and preservation efforts.