Maria Strømme receives Uppsala University Innovation Prize
The Uppsala University Innovation Prize is an award given to recognise successful transference of knowledge. This year, the prize is being awarded to Maria Strømme, Professor of Nanotechnology, for her broad engagement in utilising and communicating research. The award is conferred by the Vice-Chancellor.
‘Maria Strømme is a very successful researcher and has helped found a number of interesting companies, including Disruptive Materials’, says Vice-Chancellor Eva Åkesson. ‘She also has a passion for communication and has become a source of inspiration for many people outside the University.’
Professor Maria Strømme at the Department of Engineering Sciences is one of Uppsala University’s most internationally recognized researchers, and has contributed to successful knowledge transference. She was appointed Professor of Nanotechnology in 2004 and has since built up a research group of 35 people who work to increase knowledge of the physical, chemical and structural properties of materials. The goal is to alter a material’s structure at the nano level so that it achieves the desired properties at the macro level, thereby acquiring the functionality for different applications.
Maria Strømme has contributed to knowledge transference in many ways. Through public appearances, she helps inspire children and adolescents to pursue education in the engineering sciences. She also actively works to disseminate information on nanotechnology and its broad application possibilities to the public, and to inspire women to pursue engineering studies and research.
As an innovator and entrepreneur, Maria Strømme has collaborated with companies to develop new types of batteries and materials based on cellulose from algae. Together with research colleagues and experienced industrialists, she also founded the company Disruptive Materials, which is based on Upsalite, the unique ultra-absorbent material developed in her research team.
The Uppsala University Innovation Prize is awarded annually for outstanding transference of knowledge from academia to a company or other external organisation that results in innovation. The Vice-Chancellor names the recipient based on proposals from a prize committee composed of both internal and external representatives. The award is conferred at the inauguration ceremony for professors in November.
Anneli Waara