Olof Karis, former Interim Director of MAX IV, has been appointed as the Director of MAX IV following an open recruitment process and the recommendation of the MAX IV Board. The decision was made by the Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, the host university for MAX IV.
MAX IV, Sweden’s synchrotron, is fully operational with 16 beamlines and 1400 users yearly from academia and industry. Olof Karis has led MAX IV as Interim Director since March 2022, through finishing the Strategic Plan for 2023–2032 and a positive review by the Swedish Research Council in November. He has also navigated challenges related to increasing operating costs.
“I am enthusiastic about the possibility of continuing to work for MAX IV. It is a fantastic facility with great people. My focus for the near future is to make a case for longer-term funding of MAX IV. We need stability to continue facilitating research that keeps our society strong in facing future challenges,” says Karis.
In collaboration with the scientific community, MAX IV aims to continuously develop existing beamlines and construct several complementary ones in the next decade to make optimal use of already-made investments in the infrastructure.
“The research conducted by our users at MAX IV benefits the community in many areas, with an impact on circular economy and environment, sustainable energy, and health. Our technical advancements with the MAX IV synchrotron are transformative, enabling us to see details we’ve never been able to before. We can approach what has previously been unsolvable problems,” concludes Karis.
Lund University is the host university for MAX IV and appoints the MAX IV Director.
“I’m impressed with what Olof Karis has already accomplished for MAX IV. I am very confident in his abilities to continue leading the facility and developing it into its full capabilities,” says Erik Renström, Vice Chancellor of Lund University.
Olof Karis, called Charlie, is 58 years old and became a professor of experimental physics in 2011 at Uppsala University.
