Outreach – some examples

The Mistra TerraClean team has made extensive efforts in communicating smart, advanced materials as being part of the solution to the global challenges in general, and specifically as solutions to the challenges regarding clean water and clean air. Below are some selected initiatives.

IVA’s “100 List”

Mistra TerraClean was selected to IVA´s “100 List” for 2020. IVA is the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences. The list aims to highlight researchers and research teams with high scientific quality and with interest in increased contacts with the business sector and surrounding society. The selection is not only based on scientific excellence but primarily on the research´s potential for business development, innovation and benefit for users, companies and society.

IVA reports the following impact of the “100 List”:

•The “100 List” website was the most visited page on iva.se for large parts of 2020.

•Great attention and frequent sharing on social media – the posts about the list have the best spread of all IVA’s posts in all channels.

•Many journalists showed interest in covering the Summit with researchers from the list, which unfortunately became completely digital and thus less interesting for the press as a result of the Corona pandemic.

•Several other actors have published news and posts on social media, spread posts and in various ways highlighted the 100 list in their communication.

•The list has been highlighted in several of IVA’s digital newsletters, which are reached by a large and broad network from business, academia, politicians and others.

•Communication has not stopped: the lit is receiving continuous attention in IVA’s communication during the year, and universities and others continue to publish and disseminate.

Popular science talks

Prof. Strømme at Uppsala University has during the program period delivered more than 40 speeches on themes like ”nanomaterials for a sustainable future”,” nanotechnology induces disruptive changes in industry and society”, and ”technology development and the grand challenges”. The popular scientific presentations have been held mostly in Sweden and Norway at events arranged by financial institutions, business parks, and by stakeholders in public and private sector. Prof. Strømme has furthermore been interviewed in several TV shows, and pod casts, advocating for the future of advanced materials in a sustainable society.

International symposium

Prof. Mathew and Prof. Edlund organized in collaboration with colleagues in Finland and Austria, a symposium on ”Cellulose and Renewable Materials for Gas, Air & Water/Liquid Purification”. The symposium aimed to provide a forum for the dissemination of cutting-edge research on the utilization of lignocellulosic building blocks and their assemblies in the area of air/gas and water/liquid purification. The topics include approaches to construct innovative biobased materials solutions, e.g. with high selectivity and capacity, involving for example bottom-up construction of multifunctional materials from renewable resources for membrane and filter technologies, adsorption processes and as anti-fouling surfaces. 

Special emphasis was put on physicochemical aspects taking place in such systems as well as novel characterization methods needed to evidence the performance and to reveal the mechanisms. The symposium was arranged as part of the American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting, an annual event with 10-15000 delegates from all over the world. A number of contributions from Mistra TerraClean partners was planned as dissemination of program results. The symposium was scheduled for March 22- 26, 2020, in Philadelphia, U.S.A. Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 virus, the conference was postponed.

Sustainable water supply project 

The Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA, launched an ambitious project on sustainable water supply management and strategies in urban environments, aiming to map Swedish challenges, opportunities and elaborate an action plan for the future, Hållbar vattenförsörjning. Prof.  Edlund serves as a working group member at IVA throughout this project and facilitate knowledge transfer to the consortium.