Staffan Lundström and Maria Viklander awarded the Vice-chancellors Medal of Merit 2024

Staffan Lundström, Professor in Fluid Mechanics, and Maria Viklander, Professor in Urban Water Engineering, are awarded the Vice-chancellors Medal of Merit in 2024 for their outstanding and meritorious contributions to the university.

The Vice-Chancellor's Medal of Merit is awarded for outstanding contributions to Luleå University of Technology or for meritorious activities in any of the university's areas of activity. The medal is awarded at the Academic Ceremony and the award has been decided by Vice-Chancellor Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn.

Staffan Lundström - pioneer in Fluid Mechanics

In the summer of 2000, Staffan Lundström was employed at Luleå University of Technology and was previously an external doctoral student at the university with employment at RISE SICOMP and after that four years at Chalmers. He became Professor in Fluid Mechanics in 2004 and Chair in 2008 and has had a central role in both research and education at the university. During his time at the university, Staffan has together with colleagues built up a strong group in fluid mechanics and helped to put the university on the map in terms of research in the field of hydropower nationally and internationally. The latter can be exemplified by the fact that Staffan is the director of the Swedish Center for Sustainable Hydropower and leads a Horizon Europe project, Store2Hydro.

Staffan has also been the Swedish representative in IUTAM (International Union for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics) for a long time and has received funding for research from many sources, including the Swedish Research Council and Formas. Among other things, he received funding during the pandemic from the Swedish Research Council to work with colleagues from LTU, Chalmers, KTH and Lund University to look at how droplets are captured by masks. The results of this research were widely reported in the media.

Staffan's main research area is flow in porous materials, and he has been the main supervisor for 23 PhD students to the PhD degree and another 6 PhD students to the licentiate degree. He is or has been the supervisor of 13 postdocs/young researchers. Through his work, he has not only strengthened research at the university, but also contributed to Swedish industry and international cooperation in his field. He has also shown a commitment to the larger issues at the university, for example by being a teacher representative on the university board, deputy head of department and member of the research ethics council.

“Receiving the Vice-Chancellor's Medal of Merit feels great and inspires my continued work. I see the medal as proof that my colleagues and I have worked purposefully for a long time and built up a strong infrastructure and activities that make a difference,” says Staffan Lundström and continues.

“I also reflect on when I last received any kind of medal? Last century at a Norrlansmästerskap on 800m or after finishing the Burträsk ski series? Nowadays I am happy when colleagues, almost always younger, have success in different ways. They also share the medal that I feel very honoured and proud of!”

Maria's distinguished career in sustainable stormwater management

“I was very surprised, proud, and truly delighted when I received the news. But it’s not me who receives this award; it’s the entire research group in Urban Water Engineering and our partners. So, I want to thank the best team in the world – together, we strive to find new methods, techniques, and solutions to enable the green transition towards a new, modern, and sustainable society,” says Maria.

Maria Viklander started her academic career as a PhD student at Luleå University of Technology in the 1990s in Urban Water Engineering and has since established herself as a leading researcher in sustainable stormwater management. She conducts needs-driven, transdisciplinary research together with stakeholders to develop sustainable urban water systems based on ongoing changing conditions, such as urbanization, climate change and more limited access to resources. Maria's main research interest is stormwater quality with respect to sources of pollution, treatment and stormwater management including integration of stormwater and green infrastructure into urban planning and construction. Maria also focuses on quantitative aspects of urban runoff, such as surface runoff, flood risks, and adaptation of stormwater systems and urban construction to be more resilient to a changing climate.

During her time at Luleå University of Technology, she has led several major research projects and competence centers; Stormwater&Sewers and DRIZZLE, in which private and public actors such as municipalities, companies and industry organizations and LTU collaborate to translate research and technology into practice. This has strengthened the university's position in environmental technology and sustainable urban development. Together, the centers deliver world-leading research in many areas, not least measures to minimize the pollution load on the environment and reduce the risk of flooding in cities.

“Collaboration between academia, businesses and municipalities is a prerequisite for increasing both the relevance of research and the implementation of its results. And remember that the change - the transition to the new - starts with ourselves,” concludes Maria.

Both Maria Viklander and Staffan Lundström have, through their research efforts and commitment, helped to promote the university's international profile and strengthen collaborations with industry and society. Their efforts make them worthy recipients of the Vice-chancellors Medal of Merit.

The citation for the award reads

Maria Viklander has made an outstanding contribution to research in Urban Water Engineering and Urban Water Research and has put Luleå University of Technology on the map both nationally and internationally. As Head of Subject, she has long demonstrated inspiring and inclusive leadership and innovation in sustainable urban water systems, especially in light of challenges such as urbanization and climate change. Her transdisciplinary and needs-driven research has not only improved stormwater quality and management, but also integrated green infrastructure into urban planning. Maria's expertise in cold climate stormwater management and her work on snow quality and snow management are particularly noteworthy. Her efforts to increase the resilience of urban drainage systems make her an invaluable asset to the research field.

Staffan Lundström is a deeply committed researcher, teacher and leader at Luleå University of Technology. He has further developed the subject of Fluid mechanics and the activities there in such a way that the group that was the little brother in Sweden is now the obvious leader and now also leads and drives at a European level. Staffan Lundström is an adjunct professor at Gyeonsang National University in South Korea and has been active at both Chalmers and RISE during his professional life and has contributed to Luleå University of Technology with experience and networks through all these collaborations. Staffan Lundström leads the Swedish center for sustainable hydropower, which has received renewed confidence from financiers and partners and which is more relevant than ever in the green transition. He has the ability to explain research in a way that reaches many people, and during the pandemic he has had support from the Swedish Research Council to lead other universities in projects on face masks and also fronted the project on TV. Staffan Lundström has built great trust in the organization and is deputy head of department and research ethics council. In his leadership, he has built a well-functioning, broad and strong research group, with good collaboration with other subjects and other colleagues. In his research, he demonstrates a curiosity and an ability to be at the forefront of issues that are interesting for a sustainable future.

Contact