03 December 2019

Three LiU researchers: Emil Björnson, Magnus Jonsson and Marcin Szczot, have been appointed Wallenberg Academy Fellows. Five-year research grants from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation are intended to make it possible for young researchers to make important scientific breakthroughs.

Wallenberg Academy Fellows 2019
Emil Björnson, Magnus Jonsson och Marcin Szczot Photographer: Markus Marcetic
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has this year created 29 new Wallenberg Academy Fellows within the humanities, social sciences, medicine, the natural sciences and technology.

Emil Björnson, associate professor in the Division for Communication Systems, will continue to develop and optimise the algorithms that control and process signals in the large numbers of small antennas that are required for the coming 5G network. (This antenna technology is known as “massive MIMO”.)

Magnus Jonsson, head of research into organic photonics and nano-optics in the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, receives funds to study and develop optical nanoantennas that capture light. The technology can be used for camouflage or smart windows.

Marcin Szczot currently works at the National Institutes of Health, NIH, in Maryland, USA. At LiU, he plans to map the unexplored system of hundreds of millions of nerve cells in the human gastrointestinal tract. The aim of the research is to understand better how stomach pain arises.

The Wallenberg Academy Fellows programme has been set up by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and 16 Swedish universities. Grants range from SEK 5 to 15 million per researcher over five years, depending on the field. At the end of the first period, researchers can apply for an additional five years of funding. They also are offered a place in a mentoring programme.

“With this year’s decision, the foundation has now appointed a total of 203 Wallenberg Academy Fellows. Of these promising young researchers, 44 percent are women. We are delighted about this at the foundation, because we strive to achieve the greatest possible equality. However, it is important to emphasise that applications are competitive, and the evaluation process only considers scholarly merits”, says Peter Wallenberg Jr., chair of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

The underlying intention of this investment is to strengthen Sweden as a research nation by retaining the greatest talent in the country. At the same time, young international researchers are recruited to Sweden.

Presentations on the KAW website. Extern link

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