WWSC News

Academic workplaces can sometimes be challenging, with people with different background and with different expectations working together and sharing space. To prevent conflicts, and to strengthen the positive spirit in her research group, Lauren McKee is one of the PIs that has introduced a code of conduct. In an interview in Chemical World she shares her thoughts and experiences.

In May, WWSC KTH hosted visits from the board of KAW, the management of EPFL in Switzerland, and a delegation from the French embassy. The visitors got to see presentations of WWSC and lab demos of some of our activities, which spurred a lot of interesting discussions.

Professor Lars Berglund has been honored with the prestigious Anselme Payen Award. The award, presented annually by the American Chemical Society: Cellulose and Renewable Materials (CELL) Division, acknowledges exceptional professional contributions to the science and chemical technology of cellulose and related products.

WWSC researcher Yuanyuan Li has been awarded the 2023 Gunnar Sundblad Foundation’s Competence Development Award of SEK 700,000 for the development of a new cellulose pulp called Aero-pulp. This new material combines regular paper pulp with nanocellulose, resulting in a material with strong water adsorption and insulation capabilities.

Material researchers Magnus Jonsson and Klas Tybrandt WWSC members at Linköping University, have received the European Research Council Consolidation grants.

Tiina Nypelö, Associate professor at Chalmers and WWSC member, is starting a new position at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University.

Four minutes to present your research for an audience of high school students – that’s the premises for the research communication competition Researcher’s Grand Prix. WWSC researcher Tomas Rosén accepted the challenge in tough competition won the Stockholm edition. Now awaits the national final 1st of December.

WWSC researcher Francisco Vilaplana, Associate Professor at KTH, has been appointed as Head of Plant Structure and Health at Oatly Food Science. He will integrate his part-time appointments at both KTH and Oatly, in order to strengthen the research and collaboration towards sustainable and healthy plant-based food products and materials.

The week after Midsummer, WWSC hosted visits at KTH from the Austrian government and from the research management at Scania. Both visits included presentations, lab demos, and enthusiastic discussions on the possibilities for using forest raw materials to create material solutions for a sustainable future.

WWSC researcher Mika Sipponen, Stockholm University, is one of the 16 selected researchers in the Foundation for Strategic Research’s program Research Leader of the Future.