27 Oct 2023

Scientific seminars with WISE Guest Professors and researchers from LTU

LTU (Luleå University of Technology) and WISE organized a seminar and lecture that brought together an impressive group of researchers and students.

The event took place on October 17 and offered an agenda that explored the latest advances in physics and materials science.

The seminar began with a welcome from Prof. Andreas Larsson, subject representative in 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-famous physicist Professor Mikhail Katsnelson. He is currently a Guest Professor at Uppsala University through WISE. The collaboration with Professor Olle Eriksson, who has a long-standing partnership with Professor Katsnelson and serves 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 within the WISE community, said Andreas Larsson.

On Wednesday, Mikhail Katsnelson gave a very popular lecture which attracted around 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 chance coincidences can sometimes lead to discoveries of new physics and experimental advances.

– We received a very inspiring lecture on how temporary 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. The 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
Participants not only shared their knowledge but also discussed ideas and created a platform for future collaboration in physics and materials science.

Olle Eriksson, Co-director of WISE, also met the management of Luleå University of Technology during the visit. At the meeting, the university’s participation in the WISE program and future plans were discussed.

– The organization around our visit was excellent, all technical arrangements 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 was the perfect place to discuss material theory issues, with a focus on the agenda for WISE, said Olle Eriksson.