At the Academic Celebrations in Linköping on 1 June, Marcus Wandt and Anton Zeilinger will become new honorary doctors at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. The day before, 31 May, they will each give a lecture open to the public.
Swedish astronaut
Marcus Wandt has been appointed Honorary Doctor of Technology. As Sweden’s third astronaut in space, he has contributed to an increased interest in technology throughout the country. During his time as chief test pilot at Saab, Marcus Wandt has participated in several research projects in the field of aviation. Aviation is an important research area for Linköping University, where Saab and LiU have a long-term strategic partnership in both research and education.
“We are pleased and honoured that Marcus Wandt has accepted the position of honorary doctor with us and we look forward to long-term collaboration in both research and education. Marcus is a good ambassador for Linköping and a warm advocate for spreading interest in technology and science to the general public, says Johan Ölvander, dean at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at LiU.
Marcus Wandt is an astronaut at ESA and chief test pilot at Saab. He is also a lieutenant colonel and fighter pilot in the Swedish Air Force at the Norrbotten Wing. Chalmers University of Technology, from where he has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, has also appointed Marcus Wandt honorary doctor.
Nobel laureate
Anton Zeilinger has been appointed Honorary Doctor of Technology for his work in quantum technology. He has, among other things, conducted groundbreaking experiments with entangled, or “intertwined” photons that violate Bell’s inequality. This experiment paves the way for quantum information science, which uses quantum mechanical systems for information processing and information transfer, providing higher computational power and more secure communication.
“Having a Nobel laureate here is of course a pleasure, and we are proud that we at LiU have contributed to the experiment that was part of the motivation for his award. Technology based on Anton Zeilinger’s research will be of great use in the future. Anton’s interest in both physics and the underlying philosophy of physics is a great asset, so we are very pleased to be able to bring Anton Zeilinger closer to LiU,” says Jan-Åke Larsson, professor of information coding at LiU.
Anton Zeilinger is professor emeritus of physics at the University of Vienna, and was until 2022 president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Previously, he was the scientific director of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information in Vienna. He has received many prizes and awards over a long career with the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics as his crowning achievement.
Honorary doctors at other faculties at Linköping University will be appointed later in the spring.
