16 Dec 2025
WISE supports solar cell research
Research on organic solar cells at Karlstad University is advancing with support from WISE.

31 Oct 2023
WISE researchers, Annica Black-Schaffer from Uppsala university and Anders Nilsson from Stockholm university, were recently awarded with the Rudbeck Medal and the Earle K. Plyler Prize, respectively.
Rudbeck Medal
Uppsala university’s Rudbeck Medal was established in 2002 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the passing of Olof Rudbeck the Elder. The medal is bestowed “for extraordinarily prominent achievements in science, to be conferred primarily for such accomplishments or findings attained at Uppsala University”. This year, the medal was awarded to Annica Black-Schaffer, Gunilla Enblad and Neil Price.
Annica Black-Schaffer is professor of materials theory at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala university. Her research focuses on quantum mechanical effects that control the properties of materials. Currently, she leads a WISE project entitled “New materials for enhanced superconducting spintronics.” The contribution of this project to a sustainable world is very important since superconducting spintronics has the potential to not only revolution IT technology but also to dramatically reduce energy consumption.
– I am very honoured to have received the Rudbeck medal. I am also grateful that our work is recognized in this way as it is pure basic science research aimed to build fundamental understanding of exotic quantum effects in materials with no immediate applications, although the prospects within future quantum technologies are bright, says Annica Black-Schaffer.
For more information about Annica Black-Schaffer’s prize, visit https://www.uu.se/nyheter/arkiv/2023-09-19-linnemedaljor-och-rudbeckmedaljorer-utsedda
Earle K. Plyler Prize
The Earle K. Plyler Prize from the American Physical Society for molecular spectroscopy and dynamics was first introduced in 1976 and is now sponsored by the Journal of Chemical Physics, an AIP Publishing journal. 2024 recipient, Anders Nilsson, is a distinguished professor in chemical physics at Stockholm university. Nilsson is best known for his studies of the structure and dynamics of water. He is also interested in chemical reactions as they occur in real time and energy transformations that have implications for future energy use. His WISE project with title: “Catalytic methanol production for CO2 mitigation”, focuses on probing different catalytic materials for methanol synthesis using operando x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A goal on sustainability of this project is to aid the chemistry industry to reach neutral CO2 emissions.
– I am overwhelmed to have received such a recognition, comments Anders Nilsson on his prize.
For more information about Anders Nilssons’ prize go to https://aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/plyler.cfm
You can read more about these WISE researchers’ activities in our website: https://wise-materials.org/research/projects-2/
16 Dec 2025
Research on organic solar cells at Karlstad University is advancing with support from WISE.
15 Dec 2025
On February 2, 2026, WASP and WISE will launch a joint call for proposals for five-year NEST projects.
11 Dec 2025
“Ce-based systems continues to surprise us in their unique physical and chemical properties, and the current discovery certainly should be placed under WISE thematic area Discovery, with hope to become a key ingredient in applications for sustainability”, says Prof. Eriksson from Uppsala University and WISE co-director.
5 Dec 2025
“For us it is important to work with sustainable materials and make sure that we manufacture them employing low-energy processes. We think from the beginning what elements we are going to use -their availability, price, recycling possibilities, etc.”, says Professor Thelakkat.
28 Nov 2025
The Uppsala node of the WISE Additive Research and Technology Platform (RTP) was officially inaugurated this week, marking a significant step in strengthening Sweden’s national research capacity in additive manufacturing.
Picture credit: Tobias Sterner, Bildbyrån
25 Nov 2025
Energy storage is one of the great scientific challenges of our time. To move toward a more sustainable society, we need batteries that are not only efficient but also environmentally responsible.
20 Nov 2025
Join us for the 7th Machine Learning Meets Materials Science Seminar, part of the WASP–WISE initiative! Mark your calendars: November 26 at 10:00!
17 Nov 2025
Uppsala University’s WISE Symposium series will spotlight cutting-edge sustainability research on November 26, 2025, with a webinar dedicated to the environmental aspects of additive manufacturing.
12 Nov 2025
On December 4, 2025, from 15:00 to 16:00, Uppsala University will host a WISE Guest Professor Lecture featuring Professor Julie Beth Zimmerman and Dr. Sandrine Lyonnard, both WISE Guest Professors at the university.
11 Nov 2025
“This talk explores the emerging frontier of biotechnology in enabling greener battery technologies, specifically through biohydrometallurgy and bio-based materials, ” says Prof. Srinivasan Nanyang from the Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
10 Nov 2025
As part of WISE’s Guest Professor (GP) program — one of our key initiatives to foster international collaboration and enrich student learning — we are delighted to welcome Professor Mette Rica Geiker from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to Chalmers University of Technology.
Picture by Ann-Marie Thoresen at Statens Vegvesen
6 Nov 2025
The inauguration of the WISE Additive node at Linköping University (LiU) took place this week, marking an important milestone in the development of Sweden’s research infrastructure for additive manufacturing and soft electronics for sustainability.
Picture by Thor Balkhed, Linköping University
3 Nov 2025
The Guest Professor (GP) program is one of WISE’s recruitment and outreach activities, designed to foster international research collaborations and support the development of our students.
27 Oct 2025
The Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology (WACQT) and the Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE) have launched a new call for proposals — now open for applications!
23 Oct 2025
“Our society is increasingly dependent on technology. Take smartphones, for example: our entire lives are stored in them. Yet most of us are unaware of how energy-intensive their production processes are, how toxic or scarce some of the materials used in these devices can be, or how poorly many technologies are designed for recycling”, says WISE Guest Professor Federico Rosei at LTU.
22 Oct 2025
The Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE) seeks a Director of Sustainability to lead and develop the initiative’s strategic sustainability efforts.
20 Oct 2025
“I think it is important to observe and learn from nature. Nature does not waste. What one organism discards, another uses as energy. The key question for us is how we can minimize and reuse our own waste, how we can create more with less”, says WISE Guest Professor Alexander Bismarck from University of Vienna.
16 Oct 2025
We’re thrilled to kick off the WACQT-WISE Pilot Call 2025 with an inspiring webinar.
14 Oct 2025
—Quantum phenomena and materials science have once again demonstrated unique phenomena with the potential to benefit society, says Professor Olle Eriksson at Uppsala University, WISE Co-Director and Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.
9 Oct 2025
In a world increasingly powered by lithium-ion batteries—from smartphones to electric vehicles—the race is on to find cleaner, smarter ways to recover this critical metal.
Photo taken by Retain.
3 Oct 2025
On 2 October 2025, Chalmers University of Technology officially inaugurated its new additive manufacturing infrastructure: AM@Chalmers and the Chalmers WISE Additive node.
3 Oct 2025
The Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology (WACQT) and the Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE) are launching a new call to spark collaboration at the cutting edge of research.
2 Oct 2025
—Imagine a world where vehicles, buildings, and even everyday devices become self-powering, seamlessly merging structure and storage. This is the vision of structural power composites. Structural power composites open the door to a future where every part of a product contributes not only to its form and strength, but also to its function as an energy source, says WISE Guest Professor Madhavi Srinivasan from Nanyang Technological University.
25 Sep 2025
-Our role is to act as a bridge between PhD students, postdocs, and WISE Research School management. We receive questions and concerns both from students and postdocs as well as from the RS management, which we bring to our meetings for discussion, says Yamini Portes, chairperson of the WISE Student Council and PhD student at Stockholm University.
24 Sep 2025
Join us for the 6th Machine Learning Meets Materials Science Seminar, part of the WISE–WASP initiative! Mark your calendars: October 1 at 10:00!
24 Sep 2025
We’re pleased to announce that registration is now open for the AM4Life/WISE Additive Autumn School on the theme “Post-processing in AM and Surface Engineering.”
24 Sep 2025
We are pleased to welcome Professor Johan Hjelm, WISE Guest Professor at Lund University (LU), and Professor Yury Gogotsi, WISE Guest Professor at Linköping University (LiU), for a joint digital event on October 2, 2025, from 15:00 to 16:00.
17 Sep 2025
At WISE, we love to share the stories of the people driving science forward. Meet Professor Chao Zhang, an Associate Professor at Uppsala University who is passionate about reimagining the future of energy.
10 Sep 2025
–Materials science can never be done in “vacuum.” By this I mean that sustainability and circular economy must be considered from the very beginning, and this requires collaboration. No one can be an expert in everything, says WISE Guest Professor Mari Lundström from Aalto University.
2 Sep 2025
On September 11, 2025, from 15:00 to 16:00, WISE (Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability) will host a special guest professor lecture featuring two leading international researchers in materials science.