Volvo Foundation Honours KTH Professor
NEWS
The Håkan Frisinger Foundation for Transportation Research has awarded its 2011 scholarship to Professor Annika Stensson Trigell, Director of the Centre of Vehicle Engineering Research at KTH. Chosen by the Volvo Research and Education Foundation, the award is accompanied by a cheque for SEK 250,000.
In its citation for the scholarship presented on March 15, the foundation said Professor Stensson Trigell was selected for her “scientific excellence in the field of vehicle dynamics.” In her 12 years at KTH’s Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering, Stensson Trigell has led a range of research programmes aimed at modelling and evaluation of the interactions between vehicles, drivers and road conditions. She is also widely credited with expanding the university’s research and education strength in the field.
“Annika Stensson Trigell has played a key role in supplying Swedish industry with highly qualified engineers and researchers in the field of vehicle dynamics and vehicle system technology,” the citation said.
“This award really belongs to all the talented researchers who have made KTH a force to be reckoned with in vehicle engineering," Stensson Trigell said after the ceremony in Gothenburg. “It shows that working hand-in-hand with industry and government gives us a leading role in shaping the vehicles of the future. And at the same time we’re creating great career opportunities for our graduates.”
Professor Stensson Trigell was among the initiators of the KTH Transport Platform, which co-ordinates multi-disciplinary research involving scientific competence in the university’s 10 schools. She is also deeply involved in the VINNOVA Excellence Centre ECO2 Vehicle Design at KTH, which brings academics together with vehicle manufacturers in pursuit of improved safety, efficiency and environmental strategy.
Working in close collaboration with the vehicle industry, Stensson Trigell’s research group at KTH studies the driving behaviour of new vehicle concepts, helping designers balance sometimes-conflicting requirements for responsive handling, comfort, stability and many other factors. She has contributed over the years to more than 60 international scientific publications, and co-chaired the 2009 symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics in Stockholm. She is also a member of the editorial board of International Journal of Vehicle Design and International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modeling and Testing.
Nominees for the Håkan Frisinger scholarship are chosen by Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second-largest city, with the Volvo Research and Education Foundation selecting the winner. The foundation’s chairman, Anders Brännström, said the competition was tough this year. “We picked the best candidate from 14 extremely well-qualified nominees,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to choose, but Annika came out on top.”
By Kevin Billinghurst | kb2@kth.se