22 June 2023
New Director of MAX IV
Olof Karis, former Interim Director of MAX IV, has been appointed Director of MAX IV. “Being invited to head this facility, which is so important for Sweden and Swedish research, is a huge honour, of course. It’s an immensely exciting job,” he says.
The MAX IV laboratory is the synchrotron radiation facility with the world’s brightest light. It has evolved from the establishment phase to an operational one, and now hundreds of research projects are conducted annually. Since its opening in 2016, it has expanded strongly, with ten new experimental stations coming on stream.
The facility is now entering a new phase in which a strategic plan for the next 10 to 20 years is taking shape. The plan is to enable more sectors to use MAX IV and increase industry’s use of the facility. Another aim is engage industry more in developing MAX IV.
Longstanding involvement in MAX labs
The new appointment followed 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.
Uppsala University is renowned for materials research, which is also an important field at MAX IV. Olof Karis belongs to a group of researchers at the university who worked at the old MAX Lab, and has been at MAX IV from the very beginning. He was previously head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, with 400 employees, was responsible for activities at the Freia Lab, and was a member of the Advisory Board for Research Infrastructure at Uppsala University.
"I'm delighted to hear that Charlie has been formally appointed as Director of MAX IV. With his experience and expertise, I believe he is the best person for the role. He has done a wonderful job as Interim Director during the past year, and I'm sure we are going to see MAX IV grow strongly under his continued leadership,” says Catarina Sahlberg, Programme Director of Big Science Sweden.