[1][2][3] In March 2015, in recognition for her research on vegetation in the Arctic tundra, she received an International Rising Talent Fellowship, one of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science.
[4] Normand became interested in natural history as a child when her grandfather, a biology teacher in Esbjerg, took her for walks through the woods, fields and marshes surrounding the family summerhouse in the little seaside resort of Blåvand in south-western Jutland.
She earned a master's degree in 2006 and a doctorate in 2010 under Jens-Christian Svenning concentrating throughout on the distribution and diversity patterns of European flora.
[1] Normand was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO prize for her research into changes in the vegetation of the Arctic tundra, especially those caused by the effects of global warming on the flora of Greenland.
Until recently, knowledge in the area was based primarily on satellite imaging or field studies but Normand was able to provide a much more detailed picture by making use of photography from the low-flying drones she guided over the regions investigated.