To provide an overall picture of their backgrounds and assignments, all participating researchers have answered the same set of questions about why they chose Lund University and what their focus will be during their time here. Their answers offer an overview of their areas of expertise and how they will contribute to the university’s development, and the questions have been posed to both the visiting professors and the visiting associate senior lecturer.
Visiting professors
Anne Straube
Professor, University of Warwick
Why did you choose Lund University?
“I am keen to get insight into Sweden’s academic culture. Lund University is world-class university with many opportunities for collaborations within natural sciences and medicine, and impressive core facilities. I feel that I can bring unique expertise to Lund. I also like that Lund is a typical university town where everything is in walking distance”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“I am looking forward to meeting colleagues in the Department of Chemistry and beyond to design collaborative projects. These could range from designing small molecules or peptides that modify the activity of molecular motors to developing stem cell models and testing treatment strategies for neurological diseases caused by motor mutations”.
Mike S.M. Jetten
Professor, Radboud University
Why did you choose Lund University?
“I chose Lund University because of its unique convergence of excellent colleagues and world-class research facilities. I see immense potential in collaborating with the distinguished research groups in biogeochemistry and paleoceanography, especially within the context of the newly forming Earth and Environmental Sciences department”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“During my visiting professorship, my primary focus will be on the 'microbial engine' in low-oxygen environments, such as the Baltic Sea. The goal is to synergize my expertise in anaerobic metabolism with Lund’s renowned capabilities in geology and paleoceanography”.
Yingda Cheng
Professor, Virginia Tech
Why did you choose Lund University?
“I chose to apply for the visiting professorship because I was drawn by the excellent research reputation of Lund University. The open and collaborative research environment in Sweden is very appealing to me. I knew of the excellent reputation of Lund University in mathematics and met Prof. Philipp Birken before on some committee meetings”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“My research focus will be on developing novel numerical methods for physical applications and developing scientific machine learning tools for data-driven methods in reduced order models. My current research focus on fusion applications, and I am eager to make new contributions in methods that can effectively model and predict fusion plasmas”.
Chelsea Dvorak Specht
Professor, Cornell University
Why did you choose Lund University?
“Lund University has a strong legacy of excellence in biodiversity research and conservation. The extensive expertise in the many innovative programs led by faculty and students provides a Vision: to bridge expertise in Biodiversity and Evolution with collections-based research (Biological Museum of Lund) and link these research programs through bioinformatic advances in participatory research and conservation science”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“My goal as a Visiting Professor is to partner with faculty and students at Lund University to build a global collaborative network focused on developing solutions to curb biodiversity loss by identifying the genetic and genomic features necessary to build resilient ecosystems; for people and for the natural systems we depend on for wellness and wellbeing”.
David Edwards
Professor, University of Cambridge
Why did you choose Lund University?
“I work on biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability issues and already have collaborations with Faculty of Science at Lund University. This is a wonderful opportunity to further develop those collaborations and build new ones, ultimately seeking to build a strategic partnership uniting Lund University with the Centre for Global Wood Security, which I manage at the University of Cambridge”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“My primary research focus at Lund University will be understanding the future of global timber production under climate change and pest-induced stressors. Specifically, I would like to quantify the threat of wildfire and bark beetles for timber yields and long-term security, as well as to improve my understanding of northern forestry systems given my expertise has been more on tropical forests”.
Katerina Lipka
Professor, University of Wuppertal and DESY Hamburg
Why did you choose Lund University?
“Lund’s strengths in collider phenomenology, precision measurements, and New Physics searches, combined with its active LHC program make it an ideal environment for joint research and training initiatives”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“We will elevate and renew the long-standing DESY–Lund collaboration by integrating experimental results into a global, experiment-agnostic interpretation of LHC data, enhancing precision measurements and searches for New Physics”.
Radu Laza
Professor, Stony Brook University
Why did you choose Lund University?
“Lund University is one of the most well-known universities in Europe. The mathematics department has a very strong international profile and an active, high-level research environment. I was also encouraged by the fact that my wife is already affiliated with Lund, which gave me the opportunity to visit the university firsthand”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“During my time at Lund University, I plan to focus on questions related to Hodge theory, moduli, and families of Calabi–Yau varieties. I look forward to working with my colleague Anitha Thillaisundaram on problems concerning monodromy groups arising in certain Calabi–Yau families”.
Johannes Lehmann
Professor, Cornell University
Why did you choose Lund University?
“I was specifically interested in exploring research collaborations around soil microbe dynamics, as well as innovative research environment with cutting-edge facilities such as light source”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“Starting with investigation of organic matter distribution and the interaction of molecular diversity and organismal diversity with spatial heterogeneity and how it affects carbon mineralization”.
Visiting Associate Senior Lecturer
Jennifer Graham
Postdoctoral researcher, Paul Scherrer Institute
Why did you choose Lund University?
“I was interested in Lund firstly because of the European Spallation Source (ESS) being built in the area, which is going to be very important for my research. When I saw the position advertised, I then started looking at Lund University and realised that the environment, people and location was the perfect setting for me to start my research group”.
What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University?
“At Lund university I’m going to be studying quantum magnets mainly using neutron scattering at the ESS. My focus will be on exploring why certain magnetic states form, and this means looking beyond standard materials characterisation and using new techniques to understand the details of the materials”.