Newsmakers at KTH

Award for Vice President for Gender Equality

Anna Wahl , Professor and Vice President for Gender Equality and Values at KTH, has been awarded the Staying Power of the Year Prize by KLara K. She received the award for dedicating her entire research career to leadership, equality and resistance in organisations. Klara K is an equal opportunities agency that lobbies for sustainable employment on equal terms and conditions.

A sense for wearable technology

Kristina Höök , Professor in Interaction Design, has been granted SEK 9 million to research into the Internet of Senses and the next generation of wearable technology. The project, which is being financed by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), is part of a larger initiative coordinated by Uppsala University. The researchers aim to develop body-worn networks of sensors and actuators, screens and smart devices that can be attached to our clothing, our skin or implanted in our bodies.

Environment researcher elected to IVA

Mikael Karlsson , Docent of Environmental Science at the Department of Philosophy and History, has been elected a member of IVA. Karlsson has been inducted into the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) Division of Basic and Interdisciplinary Engineering Sciences.

Award for developing a special steel

Peter Hedström , Professor in Materials Science, has been awarded the Chester Carlson Research Prize of SEK 100,000, for his research combining tremendous metallics know-how with Artificial Intelligence. The award citation highlights the way he has combined physical experiments with modern computer science methods to develop a special steel. The award is presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA.

Four projects in industrial cooperation

Four projects being pursued in cooperation between KTH, industry and the enterprise sector, have been awarded grants by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). As part of the Strategic Mobility Programme, three researchers at KTH will spend time with an external company.

Bo Alfredsson , Professor in Solid Mechanics, is going to investigate fatigue and degradation of materials in energy facilities at Vattenfall, Song Lu , a Post Doc within Materials Science, is going to study design plasticity of alloys using atomic methods at Outokumpu of Finland, while Professor Panagiotis Papadimitratos  of the Division of Communication Systems, is going to investigate strategic security technology for future mobile networks at Ericsson. Anette Hultåker is coming to KTH from Scania to work within data sharing for improved mobility services.

Research into quantum microscopy

Val Zwiller , Professor of Quantum Nanophotonics, is one of the members of a European research project into Quantum Nanotechnology that has received an EU grant of €3 million. The project, FastGhost, aims to develop fast quantum ghost microscopy. The research will continue until 2023, and includes research institutes from Germany, Italy and The Netherlands.

Doctoral student awarded Google fellowship

Jan van den Brand , a doctoral student within Theoretical Computer Science, has been awarded a Google PhD Fellowship for 2020. The fellowship, that includes access to a mentor and a grant, aims to support outstanding doctoral students who pursue innovative research within computer science and associated areas.

International scientific advisory role for Molecular Biotechnology Professor

Joakim Lundeberg , Professor in Molecular Biotechnology, has been elected as one of ten members of a newly formed scientific advisory board to the New York Genome Center. The centre acts as a hub for international gene research. Such research includes the development of computational and experimental genome methods and disease-focused research to better understand the genetic basis of cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and neuropsychiatric disease. In 2020, the centre has also focused on research into Covid-19.

Text: Christer Gummeson