WISE congratulates Xiaodong Zou for receiving this year IVA’s Gold Medal

The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) has awarded Professor Xiaodong Zou from Stockholm University, and member of the WISE URG, the prestigious IVA Gold Medal for her pioneering work in the development of electron crystallographic methods. 

Over the past century, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) has recognized exceptional contributions to technology, economics, business, and society by awarding Gold Medals to individuals whose extraordinary achievements have driven progress and enriched the fabric of society.

The selection of Gold Medal recipients is made by the Academy Assembly, based on nominations submitted by the Medal Committee. This year, the Academy has honored Anne L’Huillier  (Lund University),  Gerteric Lindquist (managing director of Nibe), Bo Normark (Dr. h.c. KTH Royal Institute of Technology), and Xiaodong Zou (Stockholm University, also a member of the WISE URG). 

– I am deeply honored to receive the IVA Gold Medal, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to IVA and the selection committee for this prestigious award. This recognition extends beyond me, to my students and colleagues, to whom I am incredibly grateful. I would also like to thank the funding agencies—VR, KAW, and WISE—for their unwavering support of my research, says Professor Zou. 

Professor Zou was awarded the IVA Gold Medal for her pioneering work in the development of electron crystallography methods. For over 30 years, her group has advanced image- and diffraction-based techniques and developed software for the structural determination of crystals that are either too small or too complex to be studied through conventional methods like X-ray diffraction. Under her leadership, electron diffraction has become a fast, accurate, and robust tool, allowing her team to determine the atomic structures of numerous complex nanoporous materials, pharmaceuticals, and protein crystals. 

– These new methods have facilitated the creation of porous materials used in more efficient chemical and fuel production as well as carbon dioxide capture, continues Professor Zou. 

IVA’s Gold Medal acknowledges Professor Zou as a pioneer in electron crystallography and celebrates her longstanding career, during which she trained many PhD students and young researchers. 

Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Xiaodong Zou has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Tage Erlander Prize for Science and Technology (2002) and the Göran Gustafsson Prize in Chemistry (2008). She was also honored with the K.H. Kuo Award for Distinguished Scientist (2010) and the Arrhenius Medal (2012) by the Swedish Chemical Society. In addition, she has been recognized as a Wallenberg Scholar and a Rådsprofessor by the Swedish Research Council. 

Professor Zou’s significant contributions have earned her key appointments and memberships in leading scientific organizations. She is a member of the Nobel Committee in Chemistry, an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA), and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).  

More details on the IVA Gold Medal can be found here: https://www.iva.se/guldmedaljorer-2024

To learn more about Professor Zou’s research at WISE, visit:

High-throughput electron diffraction (HT-ED) combined with novel sustainable synthesis strategies for discovery of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks