Newsmakers at KTH – October 2024

This year's winner of the BiotechBuilders Award

Johan Rockberg , KTH Professor of Antibody Technology and Directed Evolution, is this year's recipient of the BiotechBuilders Award.
His work focuses on the development of novel biotechnological methods and systems, which have contributed to groundbreaking advances in protein engineering and bioprocess optimisation. Johan Rockberg's research findings have been published with great impact in prestigious scientific journals. He has also contributed to the start-up and operations of several biotechnology companies, including Biolamina, Alligator Biosciences, Affibody, Atlas antibodies, Spiber Technologies and Abclon.
Photo: Jens Reiterer

She is awarded the Baltic Sea Prize

Georgia Destouni , Visiting Professor of Engineering Hydrology at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Technology (SEED), is the winner of the 2024 Baltic Sea Prize .
She is awarded the prize  for her significant contribution to research on eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. Through her systematic studies of water flows from land to sea, she has contributed to finding solutions to the management of eutrophication, both in coastal areas and in the open sea. Her research has led to scientifically based proposals for policy development and concrete actions.
Photo: Private

Awarded materials research for sustainable wind power production

Léa Braud , postdoctoral researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, has been awarded the prize for best poster during the autumn STandUP Academy poster session. Léa Braud presented her research on low-carbon materials for sustainable wind power production, which she conducted in collaboration with Fabian Cheng and Elisabeth Ekener. All three are active at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Technology (SEED).
Photo: Seán Brennan

Winner of the Humtank Prize 2024

Sverker Sörlin , Professor of Environmental History at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, is the recipient of the 2024 Humtank Prize . The prize motivation mentions that Sverker Sörlin has made long-standing and diverse efforts to promote the importance of the humanities in society. His research and active participation in the public sphere have had a major impact on both policy and debates on the social potential and democratic significance of the humanities. As an academic environmentalist, he has long been a driving force in integrative humanities, where he has become an important voice for research on climate and the environment at the interface between the humanities and other disciplines. Sverker Sörlin is a member of a number of government research committees and the Climate Policy Council.
Photo: Sofia Runarsdotter

Scholarships for KTH sports students

RIU -students Nicolai Kristersson Campbell, gymnast, and Kaspar Norberg, ice skating/long-track speed skating, both from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, are two of the 52 athletes who will receive the Swedish Sports Confederation's and Svenska Spel's Elite Sports Scholarship 2024-2025 . Nicolai Kristersson Campbell is also selected for the European Championships in Gymnastics in Baku, Azerbaijan on 16-19 October 2024.
Photo of Kaspar: Jonas Schön
Photo of Nicolai: Otto Laidva

Text: Katarina Ahlfort