A new generation of Outstanding Academic Fellows at NTNU

The fifth generation of the Outstanding Academic Fellows Programme is now in place, featuring 29 researchers—the largest number of fellows in the programme’s history.

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This programme is designed to facilitate academic development and excellence by focusing on research, aiming to prepare promising young academics for internationally leading research careers.

Here is the link to the website for the programme:

The fellows are nominated by their academic departments. Selection is based on several criteria, including prior funding success with the Research Council of Norway and the EU, as well as national and international awards and recognition.

A key ambition of the programme is to enable fellows to apply for ERC grants or equivalent funding within the 2025–2029 programme period.

Participants are also granted resources and increased flexibility by their departments, allowing them to focus on developing their research ideas and advancing their academic careers.

Here is the list over the newest addition to the Outstanding Academic Fellows Programme:

Angelos Xomalis: Studies molecular quantum systems for the development of miniaturised photonic sensors. Department: Department of Electronic Systems (IE)

Anne Engelst Nørgaard: Focuses on political culture and political language and communication in history, particularly democracy as a concept, idea, and practice in the 19th century. Department: Department of Historical and Classical Studies (HF)

Bradley Loewen: Studies social aspects of sustainability transitions, particularly through planning, energy, and innovation studies. Department: Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture (HF).

Corinna Schulze-Netzer: Works on advancing waste-to-energy processes, plastic recycling, and carbon-free fuel combustion through reactive multiphase simulations and detailed chemistry models. Department: Department of Energy and Process Engineering (IV)

Emily Hartop:  Has research that spans the discovery, taxonomy, and ecology of hyperdiverse insect groups, using cutting-edge methods to illuminate hidden biodiversity. Department: The Department of Natural History (VM)

Foteini Oikonomou: Focuses on discovering the origin cosmic rays, the highest energy particles produced in astrophysical sources. Department: Department of Physics (NV)

Gaute Linga: research how water, air, and chemicals flow through porous media such as rocks and soil. Department of Physics (NV).

Guglielmo Genovese: Has a particular interest in developing new protocols and biomarkers to enhance diagnostics for brain diseases. His current focus is on migraines and other headache-related disorders. Department: Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science (MH)

Gustav Agneman: Researches how preferences, norms and culture gets affected by societal changes. Department: Department of Economics (ØK)

Isabell Ritcher: Researches which factors influence environmentally friendly behavior, with a special focus on how future scenarios can be used to promote sustainable development at the local level. Department: Department of Psychology (SU)

Jan Sandstad Næss: Research revolves around environmental analysis and circularity aspects in the built environment. Department: Department of Architecture and Technology (AD)

Johann Riemensberger: Research chip-based nonlinear photonics with the goal of developing the next generation of photonic integrated amplifiers and quantum light sources in thin film ferroelectrics and III-V nanowires. Department: Department of Electronic Systems (IE)

Julia Debik: Researches the application of artificial intelligence in public health and healthcare services for personalized prevention and treatment of diseases. Department: Department of Public Health and Nursing (MH)

Lars Edvard Blystad Dæhli: Conducts research that lies in the intersection of material technology and construction engineering, focusing on understanding, modeling, and calculating material behavior. Department: Department of Structural Engineering (IV)

Madeleine Louise Lynch Dungy: Does research that traces the migration history of Europe, with a special focus on the EEC, the predecessor of the EU, and its impact on domestic social relations. Department: Department of Modern History and Society (HF)

Madalina Dobrescu: Has a particular focus on EU foreign, security, and defense policy, the EU’s relations with its Eastern neighbors, as well as foreign policy, democratization and political transitions in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. Department: Department of Historical and Classical Studies (HF).

Maria Andersen: Explores the role of lipid metabolism in the development of prostate cancer using multiomics. Department: Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging (MH)

Maria Lavrutich: Focuses her research on developing a better tool in finance to provide decision support for investment and operations under uncertainty, particularly with applications to natural resource economics, while also addressing sustainability considerations. Department: Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (ØK)

Mojtaba Mokthari: Focuses on developing sustainable solutions for offshore renewable energy systems using multiphysics simulations and smart materials. Department: Department of Marine Technology (IV)

Nadia Shardt: Investigates bubbles and droplets in colloidal systems to improve industrial processes such as water treatment, and to understand natural processes such as cloud formation. Department: Department of Chemical Engineering (NV).

Paraskevas Kontis: Works on atomic-scale engineering with a particular focus on high-performance alloys for extreme environments. Department: Department of Materials Science and Engineering (NV)

Pshem Kowalczuk: Does research that focuses on sustainable mineral processing and critical mineral recovery, supporting the green energy transition and fostering a circular economy through industry collaboration. Department: Department of Geosciences (IV)

Rakesh Kumar:  Focuses on building area- and energy-efficient microprocessors that will power the computing systems of the future. Department: Department of Computer Science (IE)

Rino Heim: Studies political behavior and seeks to understand how political institutions and technological innovations affect voters’ attitudes and behavior in elections and referendums. Department: Department of Sociology and Political Science (SU)

Roger Andre Søraa: Researches how new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics affect users and how various groups can be discriminated against or excluded by digital technology. Department: Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture (HF)

Sarai Dery Folkestad: Develops quantum chemical models to describe molecular properties when molecules interact with light. Department of Chemistry (NV)

Sladjana Lazarevic: Has focus area on urban planning and design, exploring urban innovations for cities’ climate change preparedness and readiness. Department: Department of Architecture and Planning (AD)

Soledad Gonzalo Cogno: Seek to uncover the brain mechanisms that orchestrate neural activity and underlie behavior and cognition. Department: The Kavli institute (MH).

Stefano Basso: Investigates the functioning and dynamics of watersheds to better predict environmental perils and design adaptation measures that may secure water-related services and reduce unwanted hazards for humans and ecosystems. Department: Department of Geography (SU)