Activities

WISE industrial doctoral student Höganäs/LTU awarded Licentiate degree at LTU

On Thursday, 23 April 2026, Patrick Korir was awarded his Licentiate degree at Luleå University of Technology.

At his licentiate seminar at Luleå University of Technology, Patrick Korir presented his research. The seminar marked an important milestone in his doctoral studies and brought together colleagues and collaborators. During the seminar, Patrick presented his research and discussed the results in relation to ongoing developments in the field. The presentation was followed by questions and discussion.

The completion of a Licentiate degree within the WISE programme represents an important step, both for the initiative and for the research environment at LTU.

“Patrick has done an excellent job, and it has been a pleasure to follow his development. It’s an important milestone both for him and for us.”
– Marta-Lena Antti, Professor and Head of Engineering Materials, Luleå University of Technology.

Strong presence from LTU at WISE Dialogue 2026

Uppsala, 17–18 March 2026 – Luleå University of Technology (LTU) had a strong presence at this year’s WISE Dialogue, Sweden’s leading event for research on sustainable materials, bringing together academia, industry, and policymakers.

LTU researchers not only participated but also contributed on stage. During the Research and Technology Platform (RTP) pitch session, Glenn Bark presented WISE ACT@LUMIA, while Jens Hardell introduced the WiseEST platform and highlighted key infrastructures at LTU. In addition, Roland Larsson from LTU served as moderator for the second session, further underlining the university’s active role in shaping the discussions throughout the event.

Beyond the stage, LTU was broadly represented by researchers from several fields, including mineral processing, waste management, biochemistry, and materials science. Doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers also contributed actively through poster presentations, showcasing ongoing research within the WISE programme.

LTU’s engagement at WISE Dialogue 2026 reflects its strong and interdisciplinary contribution to the development of sustainable materials and its support for the green transition.

Scientific seminars with guest professors from WISE and researchers from Luleå University of Technology

Luleå University of Technology together with WISE organized a seminar and a lecture that gathered an impressive collection of researchers and curious students. The seminar took place on Tuesday and offered an agenda that explored the latest advances in physics and materials science.

The seminar began with a welcome from Andreas Larsson, Professor and Head of Applied Physics at Luleå University of Technology. This introduction set the tone for a day filled with scientific curiosity and interesting discussions.

- We organized the visit to LTU to give us the opportunity to interact with the world-renowned physicist Professor Mikhail Katsnelson. He is currently a visiting professor at Uppsala University through the WISE program. The collaboration with Professor Olle Eriksson, who has a long-standing partnership with Professor Katsnelson and acts as his host in Uppsala, made it easy to attract other prominent researchers in the field. "In the end, we were lucky enough to have a full day of interesting seminars presented by researchers in the WISE community," said Andreas Larsson.

On Wednesday, Mikhail Katsnelson gave a very popular lecture that attracted about 100 people. Mikhail works at Radboud University Nijmegen where he specializes in theoretical solid state physics and many-body quantum physics. His lecture emphasized the importance of exploring generic cases in theoretical physics and how random coincidences can sometimes lead to discoveries of new physics and experimental advances.

- We received a very inspiring lecture on how random couplings in fundamental physical systems have been used to explain various phenomena, from the behavior of molecular vibrations to the stabilization of structures attributed to weak interactions. "Students were encouraged to find motivation in investigating small perturbations in uncomplicated model systems, as it can reveal valuable insights in the field of modern materials science," said Andreas Larsson.

Focus on the future

The participants not only shared their knowledge but also discussed ideas and created a platform for future collaboration in physics and materials science.

Olle Eriksson, Deputy Director of WISE, has also met Luleå University of Technology's management during the visit. The meeting discussed the university's participation in the WISE program and future plans.

- The organization around our visit was excellent, all technical arrangements worked as they should and the schedule was perfect. The WISE professors were also very satisfied with the program and the visit in general and Luleå University of Technology became a perfect environment to discuss material theory issues, focusing on the agenda of WISE, said Olle Eriksson.

Guest lecture with Alexander Bismarck

We had the privilege to welcome guest professor Alexander Bismarck from the University of Vienna to Luleå University of Technology.

With a background as head of the Institute of Materials Chemistry and research leader of the Polymer and Composites Research Group, he shared his expertise in areas such as fiber-reinforced composites, biomaterials, and social aspects of materials research. We thank Alexander for his inspiring lecture on turning liquids into solids with a focus on emulsions and solid foams.

- Alexander is a source of inspiration and energy booster for the research group with great interest in renewable materials, composites and development of their manufacturing processes. We are incredibly happy that he has chosen to come to LTU and contribute to our research being able to take advantage of his expertise and curiosity, said Kristiina Oksman Professor and Head of Subject in Wood and Bionanocomposites.

Guest lecture with Christina Scheffler

Dr. Christina Scheffler is head of the Multiphase Systems cluster and the Fiber-Engineering research group at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research (Dresden, Germany). She leads the group "Reinforcing Fibers and Interphase Characterization" and is also affiliated with the Technische Universität Dresden where she supervises PhD students.

Her expertise lies in the area of glass and polymer fiber fabrication by melt spinning, surface motivation (e.g. glass, carbon, basalt) for fiber reinforced polymers and concrete matrix, as well as micromechanical composite testing. During her visit (Week 40, 2023) to Luleå University of Technology, she attended the extended Polymeric Composite Materials group meeting, where she was welcomed by the group participants.

During the meeting, colleagues from Luleå University of Technology described their activities and presented topics where they hope to involve Dr. Christina Scheffler in the future. Similarly, Christina presented activities and projects she runs at IPF and TU Dresden. The first joint meeting with colleagues at Luleå University of Technology showed that there are a number of topics where Dr. Scheffler can contribute with new knowledge and support activities within the Polymeric Composites group.

During his stay, Dr. Scheffler also gave a lecture to the Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics on the design of interfaces in composites from the perspective of eco-friendly materials and sustainability. This topic is of utmost importance for materials research at Luleå University of Technology, and according to the interest from the department's faculty, there is potential to involve Christina in research not only within the Group of Polymeric Composites but also in activities for other subjects at the Department of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics.

Roberts Joffe, Professor of Polymeric Composite Materials:

- In my opinion, Christina will greatly enhance our research capabilities in polymeric composites but also in other subjects where expertise in surface motivation is required. It is particularly good to see that she is very active in research on renewable materials with a focus on sustainability and circularity. I can say that Dr. Christina Scheffler is an excellent researcher but also a person with great personality, and this combination is perfect for establishing collaborations and new projects at Luleå University of Technology. I look forward to a long-term, fruitful collaboration that will lead us to new, exciting discoveries and achievements.