NEWS Rasmus Öberg at the Department of Physics, Umeå University, has been awarded the Oseen Medal by Svenska Fysikersamfundet for the best doctoral thesis in physics in 2025. “It feels fantastic to receive confirmation that your work is of high quality and sparks interest beyond academia,” he says.
Rasmus Öberg.
ImageHans KarlssonRasmus Öberg, a former doctoral student at the Department of Physics, the Industrial Doctoral School, and the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), is recognised for his thesis entitled “Spotlight the killer: detecting harmful chemical and biological agents using optical spectroscopy.”
In its citation, Svenska Fysikersamfundet writes:
“Rasmus Öberg has developed and combined several advanced optical spectroscopic techniques, including Raman, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, to identify chemical fingerprints of harmful substances. His work has resulted in highly sensitive detection methods, for example for narcotics, chemical warfare agents and bacterial spores.”
The prize committee also highlights Rasmus Öberg’s ability to communicate his research to a broader audience.
“I genuinely enjoy the writing process. The key is to place the research in a broader context. My work is relatively applied, which may have given me a slight advantage, but I have also made a conscious effort to explain how the physical phenomena we use relate to things we can observe in everyday life,” says Rasmus Öberg, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Umeå University and the Technical University of Denmark.
The Oseen Medal is awarded annually to a doctoral graduate at a Swedish higher education institution. In addition to the medal and a diploma, the prize includes SEK 100,000 in prize money.
