Linnaeus and Rudbeck medal winners designated

Uppsala University’s Linnaeus Medal was first awarded on 23 May 2007, in connection with the tercentenary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus. The gold medal is conferred “for truly outstanding scientific achievement, especially in the Linnaean disciplinary research domains or fields closely associated with Linnaeus”.

The Linnaeus Medal has been awarded to Professor Leif Andersson at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology. Explanatory statement:

Leif Andersson, Professor of Functional Genomics, has for many years headed a prominent research group involved in studying the genetics of house pets. This has since proved to also have great relevance for the epidemiology of several widespread human diseases. In this context Professor Andersson has broken new ground, and his research has been recognised with several national and international distinctions and prizes.

Uppsala University’s Rudbeck Medal was first presented in 2003. The medal was instituted the previous year in connection with the tercentenary of the death of Olof Rudbeck the Elder. It is presented “for extraordinarily prominent achievements in science, to be conferred primarily for such accomplishments or findings attained at Uppsala University”.

The Rudbeck Medal has been awarded to Professors Per Artursson, Kristina Edström and Lars Engwall. Motivations:

Per Artursson is a professor of Dosage Form Design at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy. Early in his career he was a pioneer in the development of cell models for studying pharmaceutical absorption from the intestinal tract with what are known as Caco-2 cells, methods that later became accepted principles within the pharmaceutical industry and academic research. He has also played a key role in research on transporters, their role in absorption of pharmaceuticals in the intestine and liver and the interaction between them and drug-metabolising enzymes.

Kristina Edström is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Technology, and conducts cutting-edge research on batteries. One of today’s biggest challenges is developing effective energy storage, which makes her research highly topical as we move towards a world without fossil fuels. Through detailed understanding and improvement in chemical reactions that take place inside batteries, Edström’s research team works on meeting the automotive industry’s need for improved batteries, among other things. The goal is to develop batteries that are more powerful, safer and more durable than current batteries.

Lars Engwall is Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, a professorship he held from 1981 to 2009, after which he remained active at the department. His research achievements include studies of organisational adjustments to changing environmental conditions and the dissemination of business administration ideas. His works on the emergence of schools of economics and the subject of business administration has attracted much attention, and the book Mercury Meets Minerva (1992 and 2009) is a thorough review of both Swedish business administration and schools of economics as academic institutions. In recent years Engwall’s research has been expanded to all of academia and its management, as in the case of Universitet under uppsikt (2016) (The Supervision of Universities).

---

Find out more:

Prizes and distinctions