[6] From 2008 to 2011, he served as an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Biomedicine & Society (CBAS) at King's College, London, and was an adjunct professor at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami from 2009 to 2012.
[6] He held an appointment as the Chair of a European Science Foundation (ESF) initiative entitled "Mapping Interfaces: The Future of Knowledge", from 2008 to 2010 and then served as the Vice-Chair for RESCUE (Responses to Environmental and Societal Challenges for our Unstable Earth) from 2009 to 2011.
[11][12] In his early research, partly with E. Paul Durrenberger at Iowa, he explored the concepts of personal enskilment and success in Icelandic fishing, investigating how individuals actively engage with their environment and acquire skills beyond mere knowledge acquisition.
[13] He has also investigated the complex relationship between humans and the environment in his book Nature, Culture, and Society: Anthropological Perspectives on Life and evaluated the limitations of a dualist paradigm in understanding environmental dynamics.
[11] Pálsson and Helgason explored the cross-cultural debates on the expansion of market relations in various aspects of social life, with a particular focus on commoditizing resource rights in Iceland.
Having analyzed the impact of market relations on social dynamics and moral landscapes, they employed spatial metaphors to develop a framework for comprehending the anthropological study of commoditization.
Moreover, his research has examined the use of modern biotechnology and bioinformatics for commercial, medical, and scientific purposes, while further assessing the diverse responses and criticisms these developments have received, emphasizing the imperative of understanding moral debates and providing insights for informed public decision-making.
[15] Palsson's work in the field of environmental anthropology has explored geosocialities, revealing the intricate connections between planetary processes, volcanic activities, living organisms, species histories, and dissolved mineral compounds.
[18] Furthermore, he has contributed to understanding the intersection of genetics and anthropology and highlighted the importance of engaging with local notions of personhood and belonging in genomic studies, specifically in Nunavut and Greenland.
Having reviewed this book, Stefan Timmermans commented, "Lock and Pálsson expertly map ontological and epistemological shifts, and their exposé, if somewhat breezy, is thoughtful and insightful."