Talented researchers celebrated at DTU

24 top researchers were honoured last week for receiving individual excellence grants in the past year. Together, they have landed funding of DKK 245 million for DTU. The grants come from Villum Young Investigator, ERC Starting Grant, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation—among other sources—and mean that the DTU researchers can contribute to solving some of the major challenges faced by our society in a number of fields, including health technology and energy.

The joint celebration—which was the first of its kind—was held in Glassalen at DTU, where about 75 guests were gathered, including heads of department and the grantees’ families. Rasmus Larsen—DTU Executive Vice President and Provost—hosted the event:

“With this event, we want to pay tribute to the researchers who have succeeded in landing some of Denmark’s and the world’s most prestigious grants. The grants are important to the research conducted at DTU and to the researchers’ careers. They are also of importance to our ability to recruit the best talents from all over the world. They also turn the spotlight on DTU and our mission to develop technology for people.”

“The researchers show us that DTU is a place where absolute world-class research is conducted. We’re talking about research that will have an impact on many people’s lives one way or the other—be it the development of more efficient solar cells, new nanomaterials for future quantum calculations, or 3D bioprinting of tissues.”

Across departments and fields of study

The celebration in Glassalen also featured principal speeches by Andrea Crovetto—who will soon take up a position as Assistant Professor at DTU Nanolab—and Associate Professor Sophie Beeren from DTU Chemistry, both of whom have received several excellence grants, including ERC Starting Grants.

The last item of the day was devoted to ‘mingling’, where the grantees could meet each other across departments and fields of study.

“With the event, we want to create a new framework for how researchers can inspire each other. Knowing talented researchers across DTU is important for all researchers who want to develop their research. And judging by the lively conversations at the event, I’m sure it can be the start of new and unforeseen collaborations,” says Rasmus Larsen.

The excellence celebration is scheduled to be a recurring event once a year.