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Honorary doctorates announced

Swedish business leader to receive honours with leading researchers

Published Sep 30, 2013

Antonia Ax:son Johnson, head of the Axel Johnson Group, will join leading researchers from Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain in receiving honorary doctorates from KTH Royal Institute of Technology on November 15.

In addition to Ax:son Jonson, honorary doctoral degrees will be awarded to:

  • Dame Ann P. Dowling, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge University;
  • Romas Kazlauskas, Professor in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics at University of Minnesota;
  • Paras N. Prasad, Professor in Photonics, Ultrafast Optical Processes, and Nonlinear Optics at State University of New York at Buffalo;
  • Vikram Krishnamurthy, Professor and Senior (Tier 1) Canada Research Chair in Signal Processing at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia
Antonia Ax:son Johnson

 Ax:son Johnson is head of the Axel Johnson Group. With a genuine interest in both people and the environment, she advocates for responsible business in partnership with the surrounding community and its scientific and research institutions. Focusing on sustainability, she supports initiatives and research around urbanization and city planning through such activities as the Antonia Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Sustainable Development. Her active participation in the interaction between the business and research communities has led to valuable insights and ideas for the building of a sustainable future.”

Ax:son Johnson says she is “very happy, and honoured” about the announcement. “The collaboration between industry and research is a strong partnership for change,” she says. “The down-to-earth, concrete and practical work of business in collaboration with the comprehensive and intellectual perspective of research:  together these two dimensions form an unbeatable combination for creating change.”

About the other honourees

Dame Ann P. Dowling

Dame Ann P. Dowling is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University.  Dowling is a leading researcher in the fields of combustion, acoustics and vibration. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering and is a Foreign Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and of the French Academy of Sciences. Dowling has in many ways promoted cooperation between KTH and University of Cambridge. Among her many awards and honours, she received the CEAS-ASC Award in 2007.

Romas Kazlauskas is Professor in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the

Romas Kazlauskas

University of Minnesota. He is a distinguished scientist in a wide operating range within chemistry/biotechnology, with a focus on biocatalysis. Biocatalysis involves the use of enzymes in chemical synthesis, which creates more efficient and sustainable processes that minimize the production of pollutants and the use of toxic and non-specific chemical reagents. Kazlauskas is a frequent guest at KTH, as a partner and as a faculty opponent. He contributes strongly to research exchange between universities and co-financed projects.

Paras N. Prasad is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York at Buffalo, focusing on the areas of photonics, ultrafast optical processes and nonlinear optics. He is director of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and

Paras N. Prasad

Biophotonics, a world leader in its field. His research has provided important new insights into how light and matter integrate. This has led to new applications in the energy sextor as well as in health and IT. His long a fruitful cooperation with KTH has led to several research breakthroughs and many publications. His involvement has also led to research funding, summer schools and research conferences.

Vikram Krishnamurthy is Professor and Senior (Tier 1) Canada Research Chair in Signal Processing at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia. He is a world-leading researcher in the area of signal processing. A frequent guest researcher at KTH, he has given courses and supervised doctoral students from several of KTH’s

Vikram Krishnamurthy

schools. Krishna is a true scientist with an impressive CV. He is driven by genuine curiosity and shares his deep knowledge more than willingly. Krishnamurthy contributes strongly to the exchange of researchers between universities.

Past recipients of honorary doctoral degrees from KTH include Microsoft founder Bill Gates and UN weapons inspector Hans Blix.

For more information, contact 

Page responsible:redaktion@kth.se
Belongs to: About KTH
Last changed: Sep 30, 2013