Inaugural lecture: Oskar Englund, Professor of Environmental Engineering
Oskar Englund is a professor of environmental engineering and will talk more about his research during his inaugural lecture at the Academic Ceremony. The lecture is open to the public.
The emerging bioeconomy aims to mitigate climate change by replacing fossil fuels with biomass from agriculture and forestry. However, we are already utilizing Earth's resources at—or beyond—the limits of what is sustainable in the long term, leading to widespread environmental problems. Furthermore, the world's growing and increasingly affluent population necessitates the production of even more food and biomaterials. Is it possible to produce all the biomass we believe we need while simultaneously reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture and forestry? Oskar Englund will address these critical questions during his inaugural lecture at the Academic Ceremony, which is open to the public.
Oskar Englund researches the sustainability aspects of land use from a broad perspective and has conducted studies in Sweden, Europe, Brazil, and globally, focusing on both agriculture and forests. Among other projects, he has carried out several studies on "multifunctional" production systems—biomass production methods that create environmental benefits rather than problems. He argues that this approach is key to solving environmental issues without restricting biomass production. In his lecture, he will also discuss scientific curiosity, the importance of being interdisciplinary in his research, and how he navigated the academy's complex pathways to become a professor at the age of 41.