New honorary doctors at the Faculty of Science and Technology

Honorary Doctors at the Faculty of Science and Technology for 2026

Andreas Kirschning

Andreas Kirschning has been a professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at Leibniz Universität Hannover since October 2000. He is internationally recognised for his work in synthetic organic chemistry, specialising in natural products as building blocks for active compounds. Applying techniques and methods from other disciplinary domains, such as life sciences and engineering, is a hallmark of his research.

In 1991, he started his independent research at Clausthal University of Technology and qualified (Habilitation) as a professor in 1996 before being appointed as a C4 professor at Leibniz Universität Hannover, where he has worked ever since. There, he served as director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry for ten years and as Vice-Dean for eight years. Since 2002, he has been responsible for international student exchanges and visiting research fellows in chemistry and life sciences at the Universität. In this role, which is part of his work as ERASMUS coordinator at Leibniz Universität Hannover, he has established a large international network.

In 2023, Andreas Kirschning received a scholarship funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for a three-month visiting research fellowship at the Department of Chemistry – BMC, Uppsala University, which enabled him to acquaint himself with the Swedish academic system. He has been awarded the Tage Erlander Professorship by the Swedish Research Council for 2027 and is affiliated (20 per cent) with the Department of Chemistry – BMC as an unpaid visiting professor during the period 2025–2029. He has supervised more than 80 PhD theses, and many more degree projects, Master’s theses and Bachelor’s projects.

Arjan Koning

Arjan Koning is a theoretical nuclear physicist and a world-leading expert in nuclear data, coordinating and conducting research and development in the field. He currently does this as head of the Nuclear Data Section at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Arjan Koning’s contributions to the international development of nuclear data span areas ranging from nuclear technology and astrophysics to medical applications.

He has developed and published various nuclear models, in particular the optical model now known as the 'Koning-Delaroche model.' His scientific output includes more than 400 articles with a combined total of over 25,000 citations. Arjan Koning is the lead developer of TALYS, a software package for the simulation of nuclear reactions, which is the most widely used code in this field globally.

As a head of research, Arjan Koning has coordinated multiple international projects and served as chair of the European Joint Evaluation Fission and Fusion (JEFF) project from 2003 to 2010, an OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency consortium with around 50 members developing the European nuclear data library. He has also previously been programme director for the largest nuclear research programme at NRG in the Netherlands and advisor to the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs on nuclear science.

Koning earned his PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Groningen in 1992 and has collaborated with researchers from Uppsala University since the late 1990s, including as a second supervisor. He was adjunct professor at Uppsala University from 2013 to 2019, and many of his publications list Uppsala University as his scientific affiliation.

Roxane Maranger

Roxane Maranger is a limnologist and a leading figure in the study of how human impact and climate change affect water quality and greenhouse gas emissions in both inland and marine waters. She has served as president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), the foremost international organisation for research on lake and ocean ecology. She is also a former visiting professor at Uppsala University and has a close collaboration with researchers at all levels, from doctoral students to professors at the University.

She is an important role model for younger scientists, whom she actively supports through writing sessions and discussions on various aspects of a researcher’s career. In collaboration with colleagues at Uppsala University, she has demonstrated how the littoral zones of lakes globally contribute to the global carbon cycle. This collaboration will continue in a new project within the limnology research programme, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Roxane Maranger has a strong interest in creating a good academic work environment. Researchers and doctoral students at the Department of Ecology and Genetics and within the limnology research programme look forward to continuing their productive collaboration with her.

Anneli Björkman