Newsmakers at KTH
Who has received what when it comes to funding? What findings, results and researchers have attracted attention outside KTH? Under the vignette Newsmakers, we provide a selection of the latest news and events at KTH.
Research into the Baltic Sea awarded
A scientific article by Bijan Sam Dargahi , docent at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, has been voted one of the best articles in the past two years by the editors of publication site ScienceDirect, published by Elsevier. The article, entitled Lagrangian Coherent Structures and hypoxia in the Baltic Sea , is a study of the Baltic Sea that looks at some of its most important environmental problems. These include oxygen deficiency, algal bloom and large vortices that reach depths of 150 metres. New scientific aspects are examined in the article, which now has a more prominent position on the website in order to increase visibility and interest in the study.
Greener biofuels
Teun Kuil , doctoral student at the Department of Industrial Biotechnology, has been awarded the 2022 ESBES award by the European Society of Biochemical Engineering Sciences, for a combination of best abstract and presentation. Kuil’s research looks at the production of second-generation biofuels. These are fuels that are produced from lignocellulosic biomass – the inedible parts of agricultural crops, or dedicated crops grown on land unsuitable for food production. One benefit of these biofuels is that they do not compete with food production or increase land use, and are therefore considered a more sustainable option than regular biofuels.
Reuse in office removals
Erik Gustafsson and Erika Twengström, masters students on the Real Estate and Construction Management programme, have been awarded the prize for best paper on real estate economics by Samhällsbyggarna (Swedish Professionals for the Built Environment). They look at how reuse can be more widely applied when new tenants move into office premises. Rather than taking out old furnishings and putting new ones in, reuse would lead to huge environmental benefits, according to Gustafsson and Twengström. The award is presented by Samhällsbyggarna’s property assessment department.
Prestigious prizes for professor
John Ågren , Professor Emeritus in Metallography, has won the ASM Gold Medal Award and the J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award. These are among the most prestigious distinctions awarded in the industry, and they recognize Ågren’s groundbreaking work in calculation thermodynamics and kinetics throughout his illustrious career.
Innovation for fish breeding
KTH student Fajar Kalena is one of 20 shortlisted finalists in the international design competition, the James Dyson Award. Kalena, a recent graduate of Integrated Product Design, qualified for the final with the project Banoo, a water-use technology that helps small-scale fish farmers oxygenate the water and improve water quality in fishponds. The technology can be used to prevent water from becoming contaminated by fish feed, which in turn leads to eutrophication. The winner of the competition is chosen by innovator and entrepreneur Sir James Dyson.
More efficient robots
Elis Stefansson , doctoral student in Decision and Control Systems, has been awarded the Outstanding Student Paper Prize 2022 by IEEE Control Systems Society Technical Committee on Hybrid Systems. In his paper, Stefansson looks at robots’ decision-making. The aim is to optimise decision-making and study how robots can use their resources in a more efficient, and thereby simplified, way.
Grant for materials history
Per Högselius , Professor of History of Science, Technology and Environment, has been awarded this year’s popular science grant by publishers Natur & Kultur. Högselius will use the funds to continue his work on Gräv upp! Hugg ned! Pumpa ut! – a book that looks at how our dependence on nature’s many materials has evolved through the ages. The aim of the working grant is to enable the dissemination of research to the general public in the fields of people, society and health.
Industrial doctoral projects granted
KTH has been granted three industrial doctoral projects, financed by the Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). The three projects with supervisors that receive funding are: DeltaMap – Life-long HD Map Change Detection and Update, Patric Jensfelt , Data-driven gas sensor calibration, Tobias Oechtering and Innovative contol and smart structures for flight efficiency, Malin Åkermo .
Text: Christer Gummeson