Read more about the ceremonial installation of new professors at SLU in 2011 in the booklet presenting the professors and their research (mainly in Swedish, but with summaries in English).
Brief introduction of the professors that are to be installed in Uppsala, and their lectures that are to be held held on March 31 and April 1, 2011.
Lars Andersson:
Timing essential for successful weeds
Lars Andersson’s research focus is on weed biology and control. His major concern is how germination and emergence in a species are adapted in time and space to climate, weather and cultivation measures. He investigates how these characteristics determine the species´ success as a weed in different cultivation systems. This knowledge constitutes an important base in the development of resource-efficient and environmentally-friendly control measures. In addition, this knowledge is crucial for the prediction of how changes in climate and cultivation systems will affect the weed flora composition and levels of weed infestation
Mikael Berg:
Viruses threatening our welfare
Mikael Berg’s research is focused on elucidating and understanding the nature of viruses, in particular the interactions between viruses and their hosts that lead to disease. One important aspect is how viruses circumvent the innate immunity of the host. The research tool he uses is viral genetics, which deals with the function and evolution of viral genes, as well as the host’s immune response. The aim is to achieve a better understanding of the mechanisms that enable viruses to cause disease, jump host barriers, and to become new potential human pandemics.
Britt Berglund:
Dairy cow breeding with a longevity perspective
Britt Berglunds’ research deals with genetic aspects of dairy cow health, reproduction and welfare traits. One area has been to find reasons behind a high stillbirth rate in first-calving Holsteins and how to genetically improve this situation. Her research also deals with improved phenotypes expressing a greater amount of the genetic variation, such as better measures of early fertility, the energy balance after calving and its relationship to reproduction and health, as well as the possibilities for individually adjusted calving intervals.
Maria Ignatieva:
Sustainable landscape architecture in the era of globalization
Maria Ignatieva is a landscape architect, and in her research she combines knowledge in urban ecology, history of landscape architecture and sustainable design . Her career started with the restoration of baroque parterres of 18th century Peterhof gardens in Russia. Today she is dedicated to the problems of urban biodiversity and design in the era of globalization.
Dirk-Jan de Koning:
Consequences of sequences in animal genetics
DJ de Koning’s research is focused on unraveling the genetic basis of relevant traits in a wide range of livestock species. This is achieved through linking variation at the DNA level with variation at the trait level. An important part of his work has been to develop analytical tools and experimental designs for such studies, as well as a large amount of actual data analysis.
Carl Johan Lagerkvist:
We and our choices: About preferences, economical decisions and motivation
The economic research by Carl Johan Lagerkvist covers a broad area including risk analysis, finance, discrete choice analysis as well as behavioural economics. Areas of application are related to decision-making and economic policy. Economic psychology is used to analyse reasons for human choices, behaviour and decisions.
Lotta Rydhmer:
Breeding for sustainable use of domestic animals
A large part of Lotta Rydhmer’s research and teaching concerns genetic relationships between production traits and traits important for animal health, reproduction and welfare. A sustainable development includes environmental, economic and social aspects. Well-designed breeding programmes are important for achieving a sustainable use of domestic animals. This implies e.g. that sows should be able to produce enough milk for the piglets without loosing too much of its body reserves. Cooperation across disciplines is important when aiming for a more sustainable use of animals.
Birgitta Åhman:
Knowledge and tools for sustainable reindeer husbandry
Birgitta Åhman’s research focuses on reindeer and reindeer husbandry. Initially, a main issue was how reindeer husbandry should deal with radioactive contamination in the environment after the Chernobyl accident. Today she studies reindeer nutrition and welfare, and how management, range use and external disturbances affect production within reindeer husbandry.
Brief introduction of the professors that are to be installed in Alnarp, and their lectures that are to be held held on May 6, 2011.
Erik Andreasson:
Plant protection against stress
Potato late blight is one of the most devastating plant pathogens in Sweden and worldwide. Resistance mechanisms are elucidated partly by identification of proteins and other substances that are involved in the interaction between the potato plant and the oomycete that causes the disease and partly by studies of the infection process with microscopical and molecular methods.
Kristina Blennow:
Handling risk and changing conditions
Kristina Blennow is a physical geographer by training. Her scientific interests lie in the interplay between human beings and their environment, and to through this support planning and decision-making under uncertain and changing conditions. One of her present research interests is to understand how individuals perceive climate change and their options for taking measure to adapt to the changing climate. She employs interdisciplinary strategies with empirical methods and computer simulations, often in international collaboration and in close contact with stakeholders.
Eva Johansson:
Multi-functional crops for the future
Eva Johansson holds a PhD in plant breeding and her research is focused around new and more diverse uses of crops. She investigates food crops and crops that provide raw materials that can replace fossil oil. Of significance is that the plants should be tailor made for the end product for which they will be used, and that the value of the bi-products should be fully exploited.
Birgitta Rämert:
Plant protection in a cropping system perspective
Birgitta Rämert’s research experience concerns management and relationships between crop systems and pest problems in conventional and organic agricultural systems. Her special interest is within the development and performance of biological control strategies and their interaction with cultivation measures.
Tiina Sarap:
Clear concepts determine the form
Tiina Sarap is a landscape architect with a special interest in the early stages of design processes where ideas and concepts are articulated into operative images that can be accepted by the customers or politicians in a dialogue. She has alternated between professional practice in urban development and teaching, where she works experimentally to improve design learning.
Ingrid Sarlöv Herlin:
Border-crossing landscape research in a challenging time
Ingrid Sarlöv Herlin’s research is within landscape planning, a subject that not only crosses the boundaries of a range of neighbouring disciplines, but also involves the many stakeholders who are affected by decision making and landscape changes. As a landscape researcher, she has a wide interest, from landscape ecological planning to European policy, but a particular interest for how landscape planning can adopt a more holistic approach. She also works with methods and tools that can be used to describe and evaluate the landscape and to facilitate communication between experts and users. One such method is landscape characterisation, a systematic way to describe landscape character.