NEWS Umeå University has been awarded funding within the Swedish Research Council’s call for proposals to recruit an international visiting researcher: Laila Andersson, a space physics researcher at the University of Colorado, USA.
The grant from the Swedish Research Council, "Grant for recruiting international visiting researchers to Sweden 2026", aims to enable higher education institutions and other research organisations to develop and strengthen a research field by recruiting a prominent researcher who is currently employed and conducting research outside Europe.
Umeå University has been granted funding for the recruitment of Laila Andersson, currently a research associate in space physics at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, USA. She has previously contributed to NASA missions related to space physics and planetary environments.
At Umeå University, Laila Andersson will conduct research on space weather and how disturbances in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, in the so-called thermosphere–ionosphere system, vary geographically. The project aims in particular to increase understanding of how these variations affect conditions on Earth, including in Sweden.
Maria Hamrin, associate professor at the Department of Physics.
ImageHans Karlsson"We are very pleased to have received this support and to have the opportunity to welcome Laila Andersson to the Department of Physics. With her experience, we strengthen both our research field and our international position. This also provides us with good opportunities to further develop our research and contribute new knowledge in a field undergoing strong development", says Maria Hamrin, research leader in Solar-terrestrial physics and space weather at Umeå University.
The grant of SEK 2 million will be used to cover recruitment-related costs as well as salary funding for a temporary position in Sweden.
Laila Andersson will take up her position at Umeå University in spring 2027.