“I look forward to having a good working relationship with Anders Hagfeldt as Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University. I would also like to wish him every success with the job,” says Matilda Ernkrans, Minister for Higher Education and Research.
A solar cell researcher, Anders Hagfeldt is a former student and professor at Uppsala University and is currently Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Photomolecular Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).
“This feels overwhelming, fantastically exciting! It will be an enormous privilege to get involved as Vice-Chancellor in activities throughout the comprehensive, many-sided institution that is Uppsala University,” says Anders Hagfeldt. “I view the role of Vice-Chancellor as a catalyst for creating opportunities and support mechanisms that enable colleagues to pursue curiosity-driven basic research and to create unique, world-leading interdisciplinary platforms for research and teaching. I see great potential in cooperation across the different disciplinary domains.”
Professor Hagfeldt has broad experience both from Uppsala University and internationally.
He has an MSc in Physics and Chemistry and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Uppsala University. In 2004 he became Professor of Chemical Physics in Uppsala and a few years later Professor of Physical Chemistry. Since 2014 he has held a chair in Physical Chemistry at the Laboratory of Photomolecular Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). During the past 20 years he has also been visiting or adjunct professor at universities in China, France, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India and Spain.
He is a member of several scientific academies, including the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences.
He is now looking forward to moving back to Sweden and Uppsala to take up the position of Vice-Chancellor from 1 January 2021.
“Uppsala University has tremendous potential. I have a firm belief in internationalisation, but also see exciting internal and local opportunities, for example, the potential of Campus Gotland and collaboration with the knowledge city Uppsala and with industry,” says Anders Hagfeldt.