Newsmakers at KTH

ERC grant for new microscopy

Ian Hoffecker, researcher in biochemistry and biophysics at KTH, is one of 23 young researchers at Swedish universities that have been awarded ERC Starting Grants at this year’s announcement. Hoffecker has been granted €1.5 million for a project within life science. The project aims to develop methods within microscopy using reactions between DNA molecules, sequencing technology, and computational algorithms instead of traditional optical instruments. This is for the purpose of being able to explore aspects of molecular biology that have been difficult to study due to limitations in optical methods. ERC (European Research Council) Starting Grants are oriented towards promising researchers at the start of their careers to support the start-up of their own research groups and to develop innovative projects within different scientific areas.

Architects look to counter growing gaps

Researchers at the KTH School of Architecture are leading a research project into a living countryside in the Swedish province of Jämtland. Together with partners from the enterprise sector, municipalities and regions, they have been awarded SEK 10 million by Vinnova for a project that aims to counter growing gaps between living conditions in urban and rural areas. The aim of the project, that is headed by Björn Hellström , architect and Adjunct Professor, is for the village of Duved in Jämtland to be developed into a self-sufficient rural village and innovation engine, that can show the way as to how local communities can act as role models for sustainable living environments.

X-rays offer a better picture of nanoparticles

Ulrich Vogt , Professor in Applied Physics, has been awarded SEK 8 million by the Swedish Research Council to finance a German-Swedish cooperative project within X-ray imaging technology. The researchers are going to develop a stereo X-ray microscope in order to visualise chemical nanoparticles in a better way. The KTH researchers in the project have been tasked with designing and manufacturing special lenses for X-ray diffraction microscopy. This new imaging technology is to be verified via experiments in different labs, including at the MAX IV synchrotron radiation facility in Lund, Sweden.

The technology can be used for both scientific and commercial purposes, such as for nano materials within energy related science, nanoelectronics and solar cell technology. The research project, XStereoVision, is also being supported by German government financing, and will take four years.

Rewarded for a highly cited article

Seven researchers at the KTH Division of Micro and Nanosystems have received a “Highly Cited Paper Award” for an article published in the Springer Nature open access journal ‘Microsystems & Nanoengineering’. The article provides an overview of a new field within sensors and electrical engineering, where the researchers combine micro and nanomechanical sensors with conventional transistor-based electronics to develop new and more compact devices with a functionality not previously possible. The article, Integrating MEMS and ICs  (https://doi.org/10.1038/micronano.2015.5) was written by Andreas Fischer , Fredrik Forsberg , Martin Lapisa, Simon Bleiker , Göran Stemme , Niclas Roxhed  and Frank Niklaus .

Student Prize for Visions and Cities

Klara Berggren, who recently completed the KTH Master’s Programme in Sustainable Technology, has been named Social Developer of the Year. She has received the award for a case study on creating a futuristic vision for a Swedish city in the year 2050. The Student Prize, worth SEK 10,000, is awarded by Sweco and Skanska to an engineering student within the built environment or other relevant area and who is passionate about sustainable social development.

Text: Christer Gummeson