’’
We don’t need to worry about such trivialities as how future generations will have food and water.
GUJournal KARIN KUHLEMANN PAGE 16
INDEPENDENT JOURNAL FOR THE STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG #4 OCTOBER 2017
LET US NOT FORGET HONORARY DOCTOR ANNA BIKONT
RANKINGS
Big and broad but not the best PROFILE
Göran Hilmersson 5 years after the accident REPORT
Creeping catastrophes
VICE-CHANCELLOR A good opportunity to review operations HAVE NOW been Vice-Chancellor of the
After all, the development of the university is a matter of teamwork.
University of Gothenburg for three months, in- cluding summer holiday leave. One classic question asked to new managers is what they intend to do during their first 100 days. I haven’t actually been asked this specific question, but when I reflect on this period a number of things have happened that are worth mentioning. Things got off to a flying start with Almedalen Week, which coincided with my first working week. I know that some employees question our involvement there, but the fact remains that it was an excellent opportunity to familiarise myself with and discuss topical questions with my new colleagues, both internally and externally. I also had the chance to find out more about the university’s unique UGOT Challenges initiative, which we chose to highlight during this year’s Almedalen Week. The importance of the university participating in Almedalen Week is something I have been interviewed about elsewhere in this issue. THOSE OF YOU who read my inaugural speech will already know a little about the priorities that I think are important for the continued development of the University of Gothenburg. In brief, here are the areas that I want us to focus on in future:
• Quality before quantity • A good working environment • Internationalisation • Student influence • Management and control
in this issue. I will, of course, address this again once Pro-Vice-Chancellor Mattias Goksör and I have had more opportunities for discussions with deans, heads of department and other managers. After all, the development of the university is a matter of teamwork. It is important to me that all employees feel a joint responsibility for the University of Gothenburg’s future and for any changes that this may involve. ONE CONCRETE THING that has happened since I
assumed my position and can be linked to my priorities is that we re-addressed the university management’s action and operational plan in relation to our working environment initiatives. Following an overview of how we work with disciplinary matters, we have also made a number of changes to the university’s administrative procedures for the Disciplinary Committee. The underlying aims included ensuring the legal right of students and clarifying the roles of all those involved. Other things that are currently in the pipeline are a planned review of the university’s work and employment arrangements, and drawing up a university-wide Internationalisation Strategy. In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that I am not much in favour of change for the sake of change. However, it is certainly true that the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor is a good opportunity to review and reflect on our operations.
You can also read a little more about the reasons behind these proposed priorities later on Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
MASTHEAD FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS, the Uni-
versity of Gothenburg has, under the umbrella of the “West Sweden Arena”, taken part in Almedalen (the annual, week-long event that has become the country’s biggest political meeting place). This year, GU Journalen’s travelling reporter was Eva Lundgren. She was there, all expenses paid, to discover what the University of Gothenburg gets out of Almedalen.
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Trying to work out what it really costs is an almost impossible task. The bill for the University’s participation in “West Sweden Arena” is around SEK 350,000 in itself. This does not take into account preparation, air tickets, accommodation and salaries. No less than 63 University of Gothenburg researchers were at Almedalen, most of them for just a few days. Other employees and
EVA WIBERG
managers also attended. In total, air tickets alone cost at least just as much as participation in the Arena. However, the value cannot be judged solely in kronor and most of the joints events can also be watched subsequently on the web. One thing is clear. All the researchers we met at Almedalen considered it was worth the money. ALLAN ERIKSSON & EVA LUNDGREN
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– Why bring up what happened during the war, people ask Anna Bikont.
Warszawa, Anna Bikont’s city.
Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
HIGHLIGHTS NEWS 04–11
04. University of Gothenburg slips in several rankings. 06. Political scientists most prolific in high-ranking journals. 07. When the sun went black. 08. A fanfare for the new vice-chancellor. 11. Eva Wiberg’s first 100 days in office.
PROFILE 12–15
12. The bicycle accident that became part of Göran Hilmersson’s identity.
FOCUS 16–17
REPORT 18–20 18. A forgotten history brought to life.
PEOPLE 21–22
21. Palm trees as passion.
16. Overpopulation and extremism are amongst the scourges of humanity.
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GU drops in this year’s three major rankings. How come? “It’s impossible to say; it may be normal variation. But there’s a tendency for the University of Gothenburg to lose ground in the reputation surveys in question,” says analyst Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson. THE BEGINNING OF the autumn has
come to be the time for rankings. First out was the QS ranking presented in June: GU fell 19 places to be ranked 283. Then came the Shanghai ranking, where GU is ranked 162 (a drop of 5 places). And in September came the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings where GU dropped 28 places, barely staying in the top 200. Even if the rankings can be called into question, they receive quite a bit of attention. “It’s not reasonable to believe that a university’s quality varies sharply from one year to another,” says Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson, who is an investigator at the Analysis and Teacher Education unit.
HE ASSERTS THAT the Shanghai list is significantly more stable and trustworthy. A few years ago, a method change was made in the indicator of highly cited researchers,
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which meant that GU made a jump up the list. “Small changes are made over time. GU dropping a few places is nothing strange, but a normal variation. One single major scientific prize or one single highly cited researcher can have major effects on the placement in the ranking,” he confirms. MAGNUS MACHALE-GUNNARSSON,
who has analysed rankings for 10 years, believes that interest has declined in recent years. “In the beginning of the 2010s, everyone was running around like worried hens, but now it’s significantly calmer and more sober. Most know that rankings say very little about a university’s quality. It’s more about marketing. Of course, it’s enjoyable that GU is in the top 200; it makes us a little more visible in the world. When it’s going well for some subjects, they can enjoy the limelight
It’s not reasonable to believe that a university’s quality varies sharply from one year to another. MAGNUS MACHALE- GUNNARSSON
and talk about the prominent research they have. But it’s hard to draw any general conclusions.” Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson points out that a large part of both the QS and THE rankings is built on ‘reputation surveys’, which have major method deficiencies. “Since the companies, which live on selling statistics, don’t disclose the response rate and also fine tune their method every year, it’s hard to know what causes certain universities to go up and down in the rankings.” But despite the shortcomings of the various rankings, is it nonetheless possible to say something about what is required for a subject to have a good result in the reputation surveys? “IT’S NOT ENOUGH to just have a branch, or even a leading research team in the subject, but the university has to be successful in the whole
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The Shanghai list The Chinese ranking list called the Academic Ranking of World Universities (published since 2003) has the distinct purpose of distinguishing the world’s best top-tier universities (mainly in the range 1–100), primarily in science, technology and medicine. The list is based on six indicators, including the number of former students and employees
who were awarded a Nobel Prize and other major awards in their field, the number of highly cited researchers, and the number of articles in Nature and Science. The Swedish universities that qualify for the top 100 list are Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University and Stockholm University.
subject, and the subject has to fit THE’s taxonomy. It’s a matter of both volume and quality, and building up such environments takes time. The fact that our odontology research is ranked highly is because they are big in the entire area of “dentistry” and have very good research.” The fact remains: Despite its size, the University of Gothenburg is far behind the universities in Uppsala, Stockholm and Lund in all rankings. What do you believe this is due to? “There are many reasons. We don’t get as good results in the reputation surveys and also have a somewhat small Faculty of Science. Our subject profile works against us; we’re very big in social sciences, educational sciences and the humanities, which are subjects with a great deal of education. Broad universities with a lot of education are disadvantaged in the rankings in purely general terms. Karolinska Institutet’s ranking benefits a great deal from only having a Faculty of Medicine, since it’s so research-heavy.” But if THE and QS are criticised for serious method shortcomings, why does GU continue to report statistics to them? “That’s a good question. We do indirectly legitimise the lists, but if we choose to stay outside, visibility would be even worse and it might be even harder to recruit students.”
Times Higher
QS World
University Rankings
Shanghai list
Broad universities with wide spread education are disadvantaged, says Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson.
Year
Photo: PRIVATE
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2013
195
205
223
2014
162
206
242
2015
160
247
180
2016
157
264
170
2017
162
283
198
The ranking does not take organisation boundaries into account, but rather looks at what and how universities have published in the area. Investigator Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson sees advantages of a more restricted subject ranking: “They’re not comparing apples and oranges, which is good. But they’re mainly based on bibliometric indicators that reward large subjects in the same way as the overall ranking.” However, one problem is the subject classification of articles, where it is not obvious what is included, such as Public Administration and Business. The same is true of biological sciences, which includes biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, cell biology, marine biology and zoology, which span several of the university’s departments and faculties. “You have to read through the journal lists in the Web of Science to understand what subject it is that is actually ranked,” says Magnus MacHale-Gunnarsson.
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Subjects on the top list boost reputation Public administration at the University of Gothenburg ranks 36th in the world, according to the subject ranking from the Shanghai list. The political scientists are the most productive in this area, followed closely by the e conomists. DURING THE PERIOD 2011–2015, GU’s researchers accounted for 126 unique publications that were classified as Public Administration according to the Web of Science. Altogether, there were 141 researchers who published articles. GU Journalen can now, together with Digital Services at the University Library, reveal who published the most. A total of 51 authors come from the Department of Political Science, and professors Jon Pierre and Bo Rothstein account for five articles each. 40 authors belong to the Department of Economics. This is followed by the School of Global Studies with 14 authors. For Carl Dahlström, Deputy Head of the Department of Political Science, this was a pleasing, but not particularly surprising bit of news: “THE EXPLANATION is that our Quality of Government Institute, which was founded by Bo Rothstein and Sören Holmberg, has been very productive in this area. At the institute, there are many people interested in issues that concern the state’s capacity, administration and a well-functioning bureaucracy. But there is also a tradition at the institute to work with these issues.” Although there is no explicit goal to encourage publication in this particular subject, emphasises Carl Dahlström. “No, our strategy has long been to publish in highly ranked journals
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environment is. But it’s a positive piece of the puzzle, that on the margin makes us an even more attractive department,” says Carl Dahlström.
Other highly ranked subjects From the Shanghai list’s subject ranking:
ARNE BIGSTEN, Professor of Eco-
Carl Dahlström
Odontology: 1 in Sweden, 26 worldwide. Biological sciences and life science: 2 in Sweden, 42 worldwide. Clinical medicine: 2 in Sweden, 45 worldwide. Pharmacology: 3 in Sweden, 51-75 worldwide.
and it has an impact on this subject. “All kinds of affirmation that has an impact on the research environment are positive for us. Altogether, rankings are important to build up our reputation, both inhouse and outwards.” But to gear things up for a single ranking isn’t justified, according to him. “I don’t want to talk about the quality of this subject ranking; a measurement is just a measurement after all. But it’s not unimportant.” HE IS SCEPTICAL TO rankings of whole universities, but believes that subject rankings may play a bigger role. “Comparing the subjects is more reasonable and becomes a bit more trustworthy.” How important do you feel rankings are to attracting students and staff? “They may be significant, but are not crucial. Active researchers know where the most successful research
Arne Bigsten
Comparing the subjects is more reasonable and becomes a bit more trustworthy. CARL DAHLSTRÖM
nomics, accounts for the largest number of articles: 10 publications (spread over two departments). Arne Bigsten sounds surprised that he tops the list from GU. “Have I been so productive? Of course a ranking doesn’t say everything, but at least it provides an indication of how well one’s established oneself in the academic community. Our capacity to improve our research is highly dependent on our ability to recruit good people and this depends on our status among economists. We rank highly because economics and issues concerning welfare and distribution are important to economists.” According to Måns Söderbom, Head of the Department of Economics, the goal has been to publish in well-reputed journals.
“I FEEL THAT THERE is a strong effort
in the same direction at the whole of the School of Business, Economics and Law. We have several internal incentive systems that reward journal publications, and there is a high level of awareness among the researchers to publish articles in journals that maintain a high level of quality,” says Måns Söderbom who is even more pleased that Gothenburg, according to the same ranking institute, is among the world’s 100 best in economics. “There, the competition is much harder. We are ranked higher than Uppsala, for example, which seems very reasonable.”
ALLAN ERIKSSON
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ON 21 AUGUST, Dag Hanstorp was in Tennessee, at exactly the right place to witness how the moon blocked the rays of the sun for 1.5 minutes. “It was the third time I tried to see a solar eclipse and now the conditions were optimal.” He missed the solar eclipse over Germany in 1999 because it was so cloudy and he did not have time to book a hotel room for the one over Svalbard in 2015. “But this time, my wife and I were in the U.S. anyway, so we decided to stay a little longer and visit David Pegg too,” explains Dag Hanstorp, Professor of Physics. David Pegg is namely an atomic physicist at the University of Tennessee, honorary doctor at the University of Gothenburg, and, just as important, owner of a lawn that is located just right for anyone wanting to experience the total solar eclipse over the U.S. in August. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. This happens approximately once a year, explains Dag Hanstorp. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. A total solar eclipse, when the moon totally blocks the sun, happens around once a year, explains Dag Hanstorp. “But since the phenomenon can only be seen from a somewhat small strip of the Earth, and it must also be clear weather, the experience is still not so common. The last time a total solar eclipse could be seen in Sweden was in June 1954. My parents told me the birds fell silent. At the spot I was at in Tennessee, there weren’t so many birds to notice, however. Instead, we
Photo: Dan Gibson, Denison University
Darkness at 2:33 p.m. experienced how the crickets began chirping when it got dark.” It took two hours for the moon to pass the sun, but the total solar eclipse only lasted 1.5 minutes. “Interest among the Americans was huge! People travelled from far and wide to experience the phenomenon, the hotels could charge just about any price and the highways were completely blocked.” Solar eclipses are dramatic phenomena, of course. But do they have any scientific significance? “During a solar eclipse, it’s possible to see gas eruptions from the sun, which of course can be of interest to an astrophysicist,” explains Dag Hanstorp. “But it was also with the help of a solar eclipse that it was possible to prove Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Among other things, it says that light bends when it passes a heavy object. On 29 May 1919, this theory was tested during the solar eclipse over the island of Principe off of West Africa. And just like Einstein had predicted, the light from a star proved to bend when it passed the sun.” When can GU Journalen’s readers plan for the next solar eclipse? “The dates to keep an eye on are 12 August 2026 when northern Spain and Portugal will have a total solar eclipse and 2 August 2027, when the same thing will occur in Northern Africa. EVA LUNDGREN
Pho to: P
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Moon Sun Total solar eclipse Partial solar eclipse
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Old chain to new vice-chancellor Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Eva Wiberg with the vice-chancellor’s chain.
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Crowded in the University’s aula.
The aula in the main building in Vasaparken was full when Eva Wiberg was inaugurated as the University of Gothenburg’s 19th vice-chancellor in the afternoon of 8 September. “Leading a university is teamwork. I have pro-vice-chancellor Mattias Goksör at my side, as well as all of the employees and s tudents. Together, we will make the University of Gothenburg even stronger,” she declared in her inauguration speech.
Pam Fredman congratulates the new vice-chancellor, Eva Wiberg.
THE INAUGURATION OF Eva Wiberg,
Professor of Italian, began with a procession to the tones of Jeremiah Clarke’s The Prince of Denmark’s March. This was followed by a speech by the Chair of the University Board, Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, who among other things reminded the audience that the University of Gothenburg was once founded by socially involved citizens. “You come from Lund University, a somewhat introspective organisation, where the distance to Malmö is sometimes perceived as the circumference of the Earth, minus 20 kilometres. Now, you are in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second city and port to the world, where the taxi drivers don’t know where the university is and where the city’s newspaper is only interested in GU if some impropriety has occurred. But our university is characterised by great social commitment and a good will to take on the global challenges of our time, like climate change, overuse of the Earth’s resources, a precarious security OCTOBER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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NEWS As the linguist she is, might she speak with farmers as farmes speak and with the learned in Latin. Karin Röding
situation, fake news and a disdain of knowledge.” Ellinor Alvesson, Chair of the Student Unions of the University of Gothenburg, quoted the university’s first vice-chancellor, Hjalmar Frisk. “He said that the university offers a window that lets in a draft of air that is healthy for the bacteria of freedom and sedition. We students wish that you, Eva Wiberg, every time you make a decision, ensure that it is well supported by the students and that we will together keep the window of freedom open.” FORMER VICE-CHANCELLOR,
Pam Fredman, pointed out that a vice-chancellor has one of society’s most important missions. “The university’s motto ‘tradita innovare, innovata tradere’ in English is ‘to renew our heritage and pass it on renewed’. The university is making an important contribution in terms of the UN’s sustainable development goals; we have both indepth expertise and breadth, as well as a fantastic commitment among the employees and students. It is an honour to be a vice-chancellor and I hope that you will feel that it is as wonderful as I have.” After her speech, Pam Fredman ceremoniously passed on the University of Gothenburg’s vice-chancellor’s chain to her successor while the university’s own fanfare was played. In her speech, Eva Wiberg thanked Pam Fredman for unifying the university and that she, with her unfailing positive energy, never missed an opportunity to present important university issues. “BUT WHAT IS the university’s role
today? The politicians want innovations; the employers want skilled employees; society wants responsible citizens. At the same time, our task is not only to convey facts, but to also evoke a joy and motivation for education.” Eva Wiberg also emphasised the
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Facts The first time a vice-chancellor was ceremoniously inaugurated at the University of Gothenburg was on 9 September 2003 when Gunnar Svedberg was inaugurated. The vice-chancellor’s chain is significantly older, however. It was first worn by Hjalmar Frisk when the University of Gothenburg was inaugurated on 2 October 1954. The chain consists of 27 smooth rings with sharply straight-cut edges. Each pair of rings is held together with three small rings shaped in the same way as the larger rings. A gilded medal hangs at the bottom that matches the university’s older seal. The chain was created by the silversmith Wiwen Nilsson. (Source: Bergström I, Göteborgs universitets konstsamlingar [The University of Gothenburg’s art collections], 1991)
importance of focusing on the students and of having a professional governance where collegial bodies cooperate with the line organisation. “RED 19, quality in education, UGOT Challenges and other interdisciplinary commitments, inclusion of recently arrived refugees, equality, collaboration, greater internationalisation and not least a good working environment, these are a few areas that are important for the future.” What leadership can one then expect from the new vice-chancellor? State Secretary Karin Röding encouraged the audience to seek answers in Eva Wiberg’s doctoral thesis Il riferimento temporale nel dialogo. “AS THE LINGUIST she is, might she speak with farmers as farmers speak and with the learned in Latin? Or will she translate different academic ways of speaking and make the university’s intrinsic voice heard, nationally and internationally? Eva Wiberg is also an Italian knight, where can that lead? Regardless of which, the Ministry of Education and I wish the University of Gothenburg’s new vice-chancellor the best of luck.” The installation also offered mainly Italian music, performed by Evelina Stenvall and Per Lindström, students at the Academy of Music and Drama, and songs of the Gothenburg Academic Chamber Choir under the direction of Mathias Harms. The Gothenburg Brass Quintet also performed.
INTE
RNET Eva W as we iberg’s s p ll film is as an int eech ervie availa w b Emplo le yee P on the ortal.
To a highly honoured sister The vice-chancellor inauguration also entailed an original performance of the fanfare Illustrissima sorellissima. The composer’s name is Carin Bartosch Edström and is Eva Wiberg’s sister. Why did you write a fanfare for your sister? “I’m a composer and author and therefore wanted to give Eva an artistic gift on her big day. And since a vice-chancellor inauguration is something ceremonious, I thought that a fanfare would be fitting. It’s written for a brass quintet and the idea is that it should provide a grand impression, but also a bit of a circus feeling. Because it might be something of a circus to be a vice-chancellor and occasionally be able to pull a rabbit from the hat. The piece is 4.5 minutes long, which isn’t particularly long, but quite a bit especially for a fanfare.” Have you written anything similar before? “I mostly write chamber music and opera. But composed a wedding march for me and my husband when we got married and I’ve also written music for our children’s baptisms. Ceremonies and really marking significant events are important.” What does Eva Wiberg think of her fanfare? “I don’t know yet. I haven’t even heard it myself; the original performance will be during the vice-chancellor inauguration. But I hope it makes her feel loved and celebrated and that she understands how proud the family is of her.”
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A good working environment, a good balance between the faculty and the line organisation and more internationalisation; these are some of Eva Wiberg’s prioritised areas as the new Vice-Chancellor. “I will also appoint a deputy vice-chancellor for collaboration and include the students in all preparatory and decision-making bodies. A WELL-FUNCTIONING management is necessary for the university to be able to develop well,” emphasises Eva Wiberg. “The collegial bodies are important. It’s there that the strategic issues in education, research and collaboration are discussed. But it’s also significant with a line organisation where it’s clear who makes the decisions. So it’s important to find a good balance. To do so, I will conduct an overview of the work and appointments procedures.” Good management is also impor-
tant to create a good work environment, points out Eva Wiberg. “A university is an elite organisation with high requirements. This makes it all the more important to have an inclusive working environment where everyone feels welcome and where a difference is made between the matter and the person in various discussions. Pro-Vice Chancellor Mattias Goksör has therefore been given the working environment as one of two special The students areas of responsibility. The other are our most one is internationalisation. There important are already many researchers who critics. have found colleagues to collaborate with at universities in different countries, but to really be visible out in the world, we need to improve our strategic work. I personally have a broad network that can be of use to the University of Gothenburg. But we will also make use of what came forth in SLUG, the investigation of internationalisation that the International Centre recently did in
Eva Wiberg’s priorities Eva Wiberg, the University of Gothenburg’s Vice-Chancellor since 1 July 2017 will prioritise the working environment, the balance between the faculty and the line organisation, internationalisation, collaboration and student influence.
Among other things, a deputy vice-chancellor for collaboration will be appointed, a research board will be established and the students will be included on all preparatory and decision-making bodies.
cooperation with the universities in Stockholm, Lund and Uppsala.” Eva Wiberg also emphasises the importance of greater collaboration, something that the government also highlights in its latest budget bill. “THE UNIVERSITY OF Gothenburg is already a role model when it comes to social involvement and visibility in the social debate. But to strengthen the area further, I will appoint a special deputy vice-chancellor for collaboration. Staffan Edén is continuing as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research until year-end and Mette Sandoff will remain the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education.” Just like there is a special educational board for overall questions, Eva Wiberg also wants to appoint a board for research. “Many discussions in research need a broad support base across the discipline boundaries. Some examples are the increasingly important co-financing and what infrastructure we want to invest in.” EVA WIBERG ALSO emphasises the importance of student influence. “The students will be represented in the university management group, as well as all other preparatory and decision-making bodies. The students are our most important critics and without them, we wouldn’t have a university at all.” EVA LUNDGREN OCTOBER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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PROFILE
Text: EVA LUNDGREN Foto: JOHAN WINGBORG
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”The accident became part of my identity” Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
On 27 June 2012, a pack of competitive cyclists is riding down Annebergsvägen at full speed. Suddenly, an on-coming car makes a left turn and then Göran Hilmersson’s memory goes blank. “It was a powerful collision and I was severely injured. But fortunately, both my brain and neck made it through. After three weeks, I was able to leave the hospital and then I was in a state of elation for nearly four years.”
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I hadn’t just survived, but rather I was also more or less in the midst of making a full recovery. Göran Hilmersson
ÖRAN HILMERSSON is the Head of the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology. His office is at Medicinareberget, an area with extensive future building plans. “In the latest Shanghai ranking, GU ranked second in Sweden and 42nd worldwide in terms of Life Science and Biological Sciences. That’s fantastic! But I believe that we’ll climb higher once we scientists get a new building here on the hill in around five years. We already have unique collaboration with Sahlgrenska Academy, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the pharmaceuticals industry. But it can get even better!” But Göran Hilmersson is also a successful researcher with a large number of published scientific articles. On 8 February 2012, he was awarded the Faculty of Science Research Award. “I LIKE FINDING new ways of thinking when building
molecules. What they are subsequently used for, I’m somewhat uninterested in, but hopefully they expand the chemists’ tool box in various ways. However, as a department head, I have decided to focus on what is best for the department.” He is also dedicated to participating in triathlons, an endurance sport that involves 3.86 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42 km running, all in a row without interruptions. At the end of August, he competed in Tjörn in a half Ironman.
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“I crossed the finishing line at 4:27:55 which I’m very happy with.” It was during a training session that the accident occurred five years ago. When that car turned in front of the bicyclists, Göran Hilmersson was in the lead. At a speed of 47 km/h, he went head first right into the windscreen. A large part of his face was crushed, his lungs, shoulder blades, ribs and pelvis were also injured. “I THINK I REMEMBER the ambulance, but I’m not sure. I ended up in the ICU and was sedated in a respirator for nine days with cooling bags on my eyes, which were fortunately not injured. My head was swollen, but I didn’t have any bleeding in my brain. Two days after the accident, my face was operated on and eight titanium plates were operated in to hold the bones in place. Of course, you can’t see them, but when I run my finger between my eyebrows, I can feel the screws that are still there.” The left side of his chest had collapsed and had to be held up with four titanium bands. His lungs were put together with staples. “Over these days, I was awakened briefly a few times and I have a vague memory of my mother holding my hand. But otherwise, I mostly remember my awful nightmares, which were probably due to all of the chemicals being pumped into me. Among other things, I dreamt that the doctors had kidnapped me to take my
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organs. But when I was eventually woken up properly and was able to drink my first sip of water from a sippy cup, it was the best drink I’ve ever tasted.” The road back to a normal life would have surely been much harder if Göran Hilmersson had not been so fit and received support from family and friends. But he also had a goal: Ironman in Kalmar 2013. “People ask if I wasn’t in a lot of pain, but it wasn’t anything I thought about in any case. I had difficulty sleeping on my left side, but then I simply had to sleep on my right side instead. However, I had a stubborn fever for a long time that didn’t want to give way. I lost 6 kilograms and it took a long time for me to regain control of my facial expressions. And I got annoyed at my phone, which had stopped working; but it turned out instead that I had such a weak grip that I couldn’t manage to push the button to turn it on.” ON 5 JULY, he left the ICU. And just two days later, he
took a first little walk with the help of a roller. After three weeks, Göran Hilmersson was able to leave the hospital. “I continued to exercise and already on 29 August, two months after the accident, I got rid of the crutches. In September, I was already out cycling every day and swimming several times a week.” One might believe that sorrow and anger are the emotions that well up after a serious accident. But Göran Hilmersson was overwhelmingly happy instead. “I hadn’t just survived, but rather I was also more or less in the midst of making a full recovery! I was incredibly grateful, wasn’t bothered about all of the small worries and greeted every day with joy.” Even though he was reported sick, he also began to work. “I didn’t want to be away from work too long, and instead took a few management assignments and supervised a doctoral student and a postdoc.” And he continued to exercise 80 hours a month.
“A SURGEON WHO I trained together with thought I could probably manage Ironman in Kalmar in August, but that I couldn’t push it very fast. So I trained to be in good form for the competition. When it was finally time, I not only crossed the finish line after around 10 hours, I was also an hour ahead of the surgeon I trained with!” For a long time, Göran Hilmersson couldn’t meet other people without telling about the accident. “It became a part of my identity. And people only reacted positively to my story; it’s comforting that one can suffer a setback and then recover and become healthy again!” Nearly four years of elation was followed by a period of a fear of death, however. “Suddenly I was struck by panic. The insight that one day I will die and fully disappear caused me so much anxiety that I was forced to take antidepressants for nine months. I still don’t know what the panic was caused by, but it might have been related to the insight that I had
”Mind and body thrive from being active” Works as: Head of the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Professor of Organic Chemistry. Lives: Flat in Masthugget but will soon move to house in Helenevik. Family: Living apart. Interests: Excercise, good food and health.
Last book read: Open water: The history of swimming science and exercise by Mikael Rosén. Favourite food/drink: Fresh fish and carbonized water. Best/worst side: Positive/uses a lot of time pondering over problems.
recovered as much as I could, and that it couldn’t get any better than this.” During his long sickness absence, Göran Hilmersson dedicated himself to learning more about health issues, among other things. This has been useful for him as a head of department. “IT’S CLEAR THAT both mind and body thrive from staying
active. This is why I arrange a yoga session on Tuesdays and running on Thursdays for any employee at the department who is interested. Anyone can join, regardless of whether they’ve exercised before or not. Of course it’s a health initiative, but the social aspect is just as important, that teachers, researchers, technicians, administrators and doctoral students do something together.” Otherwise, Göran Hilmersson is pretty critical of the university world’s way of handling both staff and finances. “The university is a tough workplace where one is often restrictive of showing appreciation and where a lot of people fare poorly. The researchers also don’t always get the support they need and, for example, have to spend time applying for visas and housing for visiting colleagues. Culturally, we are a faculty of peers, but it’s nonetheless the boss who decides. This works in a company, but not at a department where the most prominent research group leaders can pull in several million in funding and might just move elsewhere if they’re dissatisfied.” One way to get researchers to stay is to co-finance all external grants. “This way, the researcher feels that the overhead cost might be 35 per cent instead of 60, which is positive of course. Another way of safeguarding the staff is to not automatically recruit a new teacher when a teacher retires, but rather try to provide better conditions for those who are left. To get more resources for the activities, we have also begun to reduce sprawl and are in the midst of emptying two whole storeys. What’s hard is finding the balance so that we nonetheless have enough staff and enough space so that the activities really function optimally.” s OCTOBER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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Future risks to humanity Nuclear war, natural disasters, robots taking over the world and diseases spreading unchecked were just some of the future scenarios discussed at a workshop on threats to humanity’s survival at the beginning of September. Some disasters grab our attention more than others, perhaps because they are just sexier, according to one of the speakers. Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: NASA, JOHAN WINGBORG
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N 26 SEPTEMBER, the world
celebrated International Petrov Day, commemorating an event that didn’t happen in 1983. “This is just one example of a case where humanity could have been obliterated, or at least truly decimated,” explained Anders Sandberg, who introduced the workshops that form part of a research programme on existential risks at GoCAS, which runs from 1 September to 31 October. Existential risks can be natural disasters and epidemics not caused by humans. “BUT WE HAVE also developed a much greater potential to destroy ourselves,” observed Anders Sandberg. “Right now, the greatest threat may appear to come from nuclear war, but in the long term, developments in biotechnology and nanotechnology, synthetic biology and artificial viruses may have devastating consequences.” Some types of risk are exciting to consider, such as what would happen if the robots took over. Other risks are complicated and difficult to take a view on. One example of a really unsexy and insidious disaster is overpopulation. At least according to Karin Kuhlemann, PhD candidate at University College London. “THE POPULATION problem is about people’s right to make their own choices, but also about religion, morality, culture, equality, racism, gender, economics, growth, and oh no this seems such hard work. Despite everything, we humans are not animals, we do not need to worry about such trivialities as how future generations will have food and water; with our huge brains we will probably find a solution.” The overpopulation problem is as unsexy as climate issues in that change takes place so slowly that
There are also ecoterrorists who believe that the Earth would be a better place without us. PHIL TORRES
you get used to it over time, as Karin Kuhlemann observed. “And those who want to change the population trend must be patient. In Iran, for example, they started to encourage two-child families as early as the 1980s, but population growth will not change until around 2050. By the end of the century, there will be 16 billion people on the planet, with all the strains on nature that involves.” Another threat that is difficult to address is that there are both groups of people and individuals out in the world who actually wish humanity ill, as Phil Torres, founder of the X-risks Institute, explained.
Olle Häggström
The Gaia Liberation Front, for example, compares humans to a deadly virus and their only commandment is: Thou shalt not multiply! “It is true to say that there have always been weird sects and crazy people,” concedes Phil Torres. “But developments in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and nanotechnology mean that these extremists will become even more dangerous.” WHY ORGANISE A research pro-
gramme on existential risks? Olle Häggström, Professor of Mathematical Statistics, believes it is naturally important to discuss issues of significance for the survival of humanity. “There are two risk scenarios we have all long been aware of: nuclear war and climate change. These risks are of course incredibly serious, but in this programme we are concentrating on threats that have not been as well researched, such as developments in biotechnology, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. If we can make even the slightest contribution to a greater understanding of the major risks facing
“RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS may attempt to destroy the world in order to hasten an event they are waiting for, such as the Second Coming or something like that. Radical utilitarians may want to create a world with as little suffering as possible, quite simply by eliminating those who suffer, in other words humans. There are also ecoterrorists who believe that the Earth would be a better place without us.”
Facts Existential risks to humanity is an international interdisciplinary research programme at GoCAS (Gothenburg Chair Programme for Advanced Studies) with participants from fields including mathematics, computer science, physics, philosophy, economics and law. The programme is led by Anders Sandberg, a Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford, and hosted by Olle Häggström, Professor of
Mathematical Statistics. A series of open workshops on existential risks was held on 7–8 September. GoCAS is a joint initiative between Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg to promote and strengthen basic research throughout the region, to help apply this research and to shape opinion.
What didn’t happen on 26 September 1983? Soviet lieutenant colonel Stanislav Petrov (1939–2017) realised that it could not be a real attack when the Soviet warning system showed that the USA had launched five missiles at the Soviet Union. So he did not push the button that could have led to a full-scale nuclear war.
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A tribute to the forgotten victims On 10 July 1941, the Jewish residents of the Polish village Jedwabne were taken from their homes, beaten, degraded and ultimately forced into a barn that was set ablaze. But this atrocity was not committed by German Nazis. Instead, it involved regular villagers who killed their own neighbours. This year’s honorary doctor at the Faculty of Arts, Anna Bikont, has written a book about the massacre. Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
WE ARE AT Teatr Nowy’s outdoor café a few kilometres
south of central Warsaw. It is the end of August, 28 degrees centigrade, and besides coffee, we also order water. We have arranged a meeting with Anna Bikont, psychologist, author and journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza, a newspaper she was involved in starting in 1989 that was close to the Solidarity movement. Suddenly she is there, a bit stressed and warm, and immediately apologises for being a few minutes late. She has just driven 350 kilometres on dusty roads from a holiday town on the Masurian lakes. Anna Bikont was awarded an honorary doctor mainly for the work that made her famous even outside Poland, the documentary book The Crime and the Silence, from 2004. “The reason that I became interested in Jedwabne was another book that came out in 2001: Neighbors by historian Jan T Gross. It received a huge amount of attention since it showed that it wasn’t at all German soldiers who had killed the Jews in the village, as previously believed, but the villagers themselves. Many readers reacted with anger; Poles couldn’t be mass murderers, it must be made up.” One reason that the events in Jedwabne weren’t revealed until after 60 years was that the village is in north-eastern Poland in the area that the Soviet Union occupied after the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. It was a part of history that, until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, simply could not be talked about. “I myself have a Jewish heritage, something that I found out by chance at the age of 33,” explains Anna Bikont. “I ran into a cousin on the street and asked in
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passing if he knew anything about my maternal grandfather. ‘Do you mean Hirsz Horowicz?’ he said and suddenly I found out that I had a big family that I had no idea about. For me, this was something positive; I felt that I could be both Polish and Jewish at the same time. But when I read Neigbors, I for the first time began to understand why my mother kept quiet about our Jewish heritage all those years.” Anna Bikont became obsessed with Jedwabne. She wanted to dig deeper into the records, try and find the few surviving Jews who were still alive and also interview both perpetrators and those who passively sat and watched. “I TOOK A LEAVE of absence to be able to work on the
book, which came to consume me fully for a whole four years.” Before the war, there were around 3 million Jews in Poland. Most lived in special districts and the children went to Jewish schools. “But in Jedwabne, Jews and non-Jews lived on the same streets and the children went to school together. So that summer day in 1941, people went out and killed their neighbours and their children’s classmates.” But it was when Anna Bikont travelled to Jedwabne that she was truly horrified. Because the contempt against the Jews who had been killed still lived on. “It’s hard to understand, but the perpetrators’ hate of their victims can continue for generations. We see the same thing in Turkey, for example, where the genocide of Armenians in 1915 is still denied and even ridiculed.” Even if the story of Jedwabne is appalling, there
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Anna Bikont Current: Honorary doctor at the Faculty of Arts. Job: Psychologist, journalist at the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, author of, among others, The Crime and the Silence. Lives: In Warsaw. Family: Two daughters. The French translation of The Crime and the Silence (Le Crime et le Silence) was awarded the European book prize in 2011. The Swedish translation came out in 2014 from the publisher Atlas.
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Our country is obviously much more divided than we were willing to realise ... Anna Bikont
WATCH THE FILM ABOUT ANNA BIKONT: https://youtu.be/ 0c1G41A213s
were also those who resisted. “For example, one woman, Antonina Wyrzykowska, succeeded in saving seven Jews, and one man saved a woman by hiding her and then marrying her. This fantastic and unexpected courage is of course also a part of the story of Jedwabne.” In her book, Anna Bikont writes about Jews and Poles as if it concerned two completely different peoples. But weren’t the Jews also Poles? “Absolutely, and I thought a great deal about how I would word it. I could have written ‘Catholics and Jews’, but it wasn’t about religion, but about which group of people one was considered to belong to.” POLISH HISTORY CONTINUES to engage Anna Bikont.
Among other things, she will soon be done with a three-volume biography of Jacek Kuron and a book about Irena Sendlerowa, who saved Jewish children from Warsaw’s ghetto. The past 250 years of Poland’s history has been full
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of war, oppression and suffering, notes Anna Bikont. “One might think that we should be happy now that we are free and even a part of the EU. But when Jarosaw Kaczynski’s nationalist PIS came to power in 2015, not even my very politically aware colleagues at Gazeta Wyborcza understood what had happened. Our country is obviously much more divided than we were willing to realise, with many winners as well as many losers.” We drink a little more water in the heat and Anna Bikont sips her coffee. “In the 1980s, I was absolutely convinced that Solidarity would win the fight for democracy with free elections and freedom of expression and the press. But something I never imagined at the time was that we would also have the same range of goods as in Western Europe. To be able to sit at an outdoor café in Warsaw like now and enjoy a good cup of coffee just like you can get in Paris, no, I wouldn’t have believed it 30 years ago.”s
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An explorer of tropical plants For Christine Bacon, Assistant Professor in Biological and Environmental Sciences, palm trees are both a passion and work. Right now, she and her colleagues are tracking a new species in the Amazon rainforest. Text: KARIN FREJRUD Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
IT IS HOT and humid. The sound of thousands of inse-
cts is like a constant, symphonic noise in the air. The foliage from rubber, Brazil nut, and palm trees raise a dense ceiling over the ground and the sun’s rays barely reach the ground. In some places, the expedition participants have to use machetes to cut their way through vines and lower vegetation. And then, after hours of walking, it is suddenly there, the plant they have been looking for. “It’s like finding gold,” says Christine Bacon and laughs. It was on just such an expedition that she caught the bug to work as a researcher and biologist when she worked as a field assistant in Amazonas. “Seeing jaguars, getting bitten by ants, walking and walking and then finding the plant we were searching for in this wall of green. What joy, I couldn’t get enough!” she says.
AMERICAN CHRISTINE Bacon has since dedicated her
life to tropical animals and plants in general, and palm trees in particular. This work has taken her from being a doctoral student in her home country to conducting research at universities in Brazil and Colombia. Around a year ago, she started a professorship at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at GU, in the Antonelli Lab. On the floor of her office is a large palm plant and loads of green plants crowd the books on the shelves. It is almost as if the botanical gardens outside the window have moved indoors. “I have even more plants at home. I love working with my plants, replanting and arranging them,” she says. “I love tropical plants, palms and orchids. They’re so charismatic.” In her working life, Christine Bacon is mainly interested in how biological diversity forms and changes in time and space and what processes affect this varia-
tion. To help her, she uses DNA technology to test hypotheses about kinship and evolution. Right now, she is in the middle of a research project about mapping what role ecology plays in the creation of new species. “IT’S INCREDIBLY TIME consuming. We collect soil,
different geographic data and insects, and investigate how the plants are pollinated and the chemistry of how they smell when they bloom. At the same time, it’s really exciting to study the process of how this new species was formed,” says Christine Bacon. The job has entailed a number of expeditions in the rainforest over the years. But Christine Bacon spends most of her time analysing data, writing scientific articles, and working with students. “The variation in the work is what makes it so fun and keeps me motivated,” she says. “I really like teaching and all of the exchanges with the students.” Here at the department at GU, she is impressed by the students’ commitment and feels that everyone maintains a high standard. Working life in Sweden is also more social than she is used to. “The Swedish coffee break is fantastic. Everyone takes a break together, socialises, talks and a lot of very constructive ideas usually pop up during the coffee breaks,” says Christine Bacon.
ANOTHER THING SHE likes about her new home town of
Gothenburg is how close it is to nature and that there are a lot of parks, bicycle paths, and playgrounds. She personally likes to take her daughter on outings in Slottsskogen park on the weekends. “Swedes also seem to have a great love of nature and animals,” she notes. “And that made me feel at home right away.” Christine Bacon’s love of nature
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is in her blood. She grew up in the countryside in New Hampshire and spent her childhood wandering the outdoors. “There was nothing else to do than explore nature, ski, bicycle, and hike. My brother and I hiked all around, exploring along the rivers and I collected everything: shells, rocks, plants.” At the same time, her enjoyment of reading and learning was born. Her mother worked as a realtor and her father was a psychology professor. Both were book lovers and their home was full of books. “My parents often sat quietly together and read in the evenings. It was unusual, not like at my friends, but I loved it,” explains Christine Bacon. ANOTHER THING THAT shaped her was her time in South America. Thanks to her work, Christine Bacon lived in Brazil for four years and Colombia for nearly eight, and besides now being able to speak both Portuguese and Spanish, these years also influenced her as a person. “It’s changed my outlook on life. I’ve realised how few things you need to live a rich life and I value relationships in a different way and don’t take things for granted,” she says. Christine Bacon’s work in Amazonas is indeed exciting, but also frightening. Not because of any actual dangers, but because mankind’s impact on nature becomes so clear there. In just a few months, she saw how large areas of the rainforest were devastated. “It’s frustrating. But at the same time, I become even more dedicated to my work. I really want to continue fighting to make the world a better place and to reduce mankind’s negative impact on nature and animal life.”s
Wants to change the world Name: Christine Bacon.
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Age: 39 years old.
Comes from: New Hampshire, USA.
Profession: Assistant Professor in the Antonelli Lab, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences.
Research domain: Studies kinship and evolutionary development of various plants, primarily palm trees.
Family: 3-year-old daughter. Parents and brother in the U.S.
In her leisure time: Running, rock climbing, gardening, cooking and baking.