SEK 136M granted to materials research at Stockholm University

The Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE) is investing a total of SEK 500 million in equipment and infrastructure at seven universities in Sweden. Stockholm University will receive SEK 136 million for four research platforms.

The investment is the largest of its kind in Sweden. Of the four research platforms at Stockholm University that will receive funding, three are linked to the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry and the Department of Organic Chemistry and one is linked to the Department of Physics. 

– It is fantastic news that WISE has decided to make such large investments in infrastructure for materials research at Stockholm University. We are grateful that Stockholm University has received a significant share of the entire investment made by WISE. These new research platforms will enable the university to develop new and powerful infrastructure for materials research and benefit a large number of researchers in this field, says Lena Mäler, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Stockholm University.

Largest investment in Sweden in materials science

WISE is one of the largest investments in materials science in Sweden and is made possible by support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. To combat climate change and to reach a sustainable world, new materials are urgently needed and to speed up the transition to sustainability, cutting edge research infrastructures are needed to better understand the fundamentals of materials and to develop anticipated green-tech solutions. 

– Finding new materials for a sustainable world can only be achieved by better understandings. Material scientists take use of research tools, in the form of spectrometers, microscopes and other instruments to discover and understand the fundamental properties of materials. We are very enthusiastic about this investment in research technology platforms, and we are convinced that they will make a tremendous impact in reaching a sustainable future, say Magnus Berggren and Olle Eriksson, director and deputy director of WISE, respectively. 

The research platforms receiving grants are as follows:

• CircuLab - Circular and Sustainable Materials Synthesis, Processing, Applications and Hazard Assesment Laboratory
  Professor Ali Mathew, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry
  Professor Beléne Martín-Matute, Institute of Organic Chemistry
  SEK 40 million
   
• Ultrafast Operando Photoelectron Spectroscopy
  Professor Anders Nilsson, Department of Physics
  SEK 30 million
   
• High-field Materials NMR and MRI
  Professor Niklas Hedin, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry
  SEK 22,5 million (in collaboration with KTH)
   
• Electron Microscopy Platform
  Professor Gunnar Svensson, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry
  SEK 43,3 million (coordinated application with KTH and LU).

This article was first published on 12 January by Stockholm University.