WWSC News

Gabriella Mastantuoni has been awarded the 2024 prize from the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS) for her doctoral thesis ‘Engineering of lignin in wood towards functional materials’. “My work focuses on chemically and physically modifying wood to create sustainable, multifunctional materials,”Mastantuoni explains. “By enhancing wood’s permeability, porosity, and compatibility with conductive polymers, I’ve developed […]

Professor Minna Hakkarainen, KTH, and co-applicants receive 24 MSEK for the project ”From atomistic to macroscopic understanding: unravelling lignin’s untapped potential as earth’s most abundant natural phenolic compound” from Knut and Alice Wallenberg’s foundation.

Tobias Bensefelt, KTH, has been awarded ERC Starting Grants 2024 for a project on developing adaptive separation techniques to improve the production of bio-based pharmaceuticals.

WWSC project leader Johan Larsbrink has been awarded 5-year funding for the investigation of microbial and enzymatic valorization of tree bark. While bark is a well-known material, the knowledge of how it is broken down in nature is poorly understood today.

Professor Eleni Stavrinidou at LiU received the Science, She Says! Award, an international prize established to recognize an outstanding junior female scientist who has remarkably contributed to the advancement of science and technology.

Materials from Wallenberg Wood Science Center are part of the Tekniska museet’s new exhibition the Forest, which opened May 18. “We have invited WWSC to showcase cutting-edge research to spark interest and elevate the discussion about the materials of the future”, says Jenny Attemark, curator and project manager at the museum.

Lars Wågberg, Professor at KTH, receives the prestigious Anselme Payen Award 2024, awarded by the American Chemical Society’s Cellulose and Renewable Materials (CELL) Division.

WWSC Director Professor Eva Malmström has been elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the Class for engineering sciences.

Tiina Nypelö, associate professor at Chalmers and Aalto University, is one of the authors to the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) research roadmap 2040: Advanced strategies for exploiting the vast potential of polysaccharides as renewable bioresources.

WWSC member Mika Sipponen, Assistant Professor at Stockholm University, is one of the 31 Wallenberg Academy Fellows 2023. In his research Mika Sipponen will investigate encapsulation of microorganisms into lignin-based materials, to make sustainale functional materials.