This year, sixteen mathematicians will receive a total of SEK 35 million in research grants through the mathematics program, a collaboration between Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The grant is awarded to mathematical research in a range of fields, including a project for improved forecasting of ice sheet melt.
Since it was founded in 2014, the mathematics program has helped to revitalize Swedish mathematical research. Every year, a number of mathematicians are given the opportunity to conduct research at prestigious institutions outside Sweden, whilst excellent mathematicians from abroad come to Sweden. Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation funds the program and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences assesses the candidates.
“The program is and has been important for the development of Swedish mathematics and research. Demand for mathematics expertise is increasing, not least in association with the development of AI. Access to talented mathematicians is a key competitive advantage in research, which is becoming increasingly data-driven, as well as in business innovation,” says Peter Wallenberg Jr, chair of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Improving forecast accuracy
This year, seven young Swedish mathematicians will be travelling to Germany, the US, Switzerland, UK, Spain and Denmark to assume postdoctoral positions. At the same time, six researchers and three visiting professors from countries including the US and Austria will come to universities in Stockholm, Lund, Uppsala and Gothenburg, as well as KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Josefin Ahlkrona, from Stockholm University, is one of the Swedish researchers with the opportunity to recruit a foreign researcher to their department. She is working on a project that will improve efficiency, accuracy and understanding of computer models for ice sheet melting. Reliable forecasts are essential if we are to prepare for the consequences of rising sea levels, due to melting ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland. However, current computer models have a high level of uncertainty. The aim of the project is to develop an algorithm that is more accurate than traditional methods.
Committed Academy members
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences assess the candidates that Swedish universities have nominated for inclusion in the program.
“This program is hugely important, both for mathematical research in Sweden and for other fields of research in which mathematical expertise is an essential tool. I am grateful for the members’ commitment and their work on assessing the applications,” says Ellen Moons, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Seven researchers receive international postdoctoral positions and funding for two years after they return to Sweden
- Doctoral student Alireza Ataei, Uppsala University (LMU Munich, Germany)
- Doctoral student Alex Bergman, Lund University (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA)
- Doctoral student Jorge Fariña-Asategui, Lund University (Université de Genève, Switzerland)
- Doctoral student Anna Rodriguez Rasmussen, Uppsala University (University of Cologne, Germany)
- Doctoral student Ludvig Svensson, Chalmers University of Technology (Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Madrid, Spain)
- Doctoral student Douglas Molin, University of Gothenburg (Oxford University, UK)
- Doctoral student Rolf Andreasson, University of Gothenburg (Århus University, Denmark)
Six researchers receive funding for recruiting an international researcher to a postdoctoral position in Sweden
- Professor Henrik Shahgholian, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
- Professor Gregory Arone, Stockholm University
- Associate Professor Josefin Ahlkrona, Stockholm University
- Dr. Hankyung Ko, Uppsala University
- Professor Erik Wahlén, Lund University
- Associate Professor Jonas Bergström, Stockholm University
Three established researchers from outside Sweden will be visiting professors at Swedish universities (in brackets)
- Professor Hal Schenck, Auburn University, Alabama, USA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm)
- Associate Professor Juan Pablo Aguilera, Vienna University of Technology, Austria (University of Gothenburg)
- Professor Nikita Nekrasov, Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Stony Brook University, New York, USA (Uppsala University)
FACTS/About the program
Over the years 2014–2030, the program will provide SEK 650 million to allow Swedish postdocs to travel abroad, the international recruitment of foreign postdocs and visiting professors to Swedish universities. The program also includes funding worth SEK 73 million for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ Institut Mittag-Leffler, one of the world’s ten leading mathematics institutions. Including this year’s grants, 184 researchers have received funding since 2014.
Contact persons
Peter Wallenberg Jr, Chair, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
+46 (0)8 545 017 80
kaw@kaw.se
Ellens Moons, Secretary General, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
+46 (0)76 873 72 05
ellen.moons@kva.se
Sara Mazur, Executive Director, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
+46 (0)8 545 017 80
kaw@kaw.se
Press contact
Eva Nevelius, press secretary, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
+46 (0)70 878 67 63
eva.nevelius@kva.se
