Engineer becomes new dean of Science

In the new year, Professor of Chemistry Olov Sterner will become the new Dean of the Faculty of Science. His ambition is to strengthen the sense of community and identity at the faculty and to increase the opportunities for cross-disciplinary research.
Olov Sterner greets us with a handshake and in the same breath suggests a small detour to the lab – he needs to check on some ongoing measurements. On the walk through the many corridors of Kemicentrum he explains that the study is about a chemical compound that could hopefully be of value in the fight against cancer. For many years, Olov Sterner has been interested in how natural substances can be developed to produce drugs to treat various diseases.
“Originally, the last thing I wanted to be was a chemist”, he says with a wry smile.

He first studied biology, found molecular biology interesting, but felt that it wasn’t quite for him. He went over to maths before accepting a temporary job at a pharmaceutical company to consider his career choices. There, he gained a deeper interest in chemistry, which led to a degree in Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering (LTH). Since then he has spent many years on research and teaching in Organic Chemistry. For the past six years he has also been Head of the Department of Chemistry, which he led through a financial acid test.

“Enthusiastic management can make a difference in an organisation”, he says in response to the question of why he wants to take on the role of dean.

As a result of the upcoming dean’s job, Olov Sterner has changed his place of employment from LTH to the Faculty of Science. What effect will it have that an engineer is going to be managing the Faculty of Science? Olov Sterner notes a couple of fundamental differences between the two faculties.

“One is how they are organised; how a sense of coherence is achieved”, he said.

Olov Sterner wants to work towards a clearer identity at the Faculty of Science. He believes this is important both for employees and for current students, as well as to raise interest in studying at the faculty among upper secondary school pupils and others.

“We have such a lot in common at the science departments”, he says, mentioning his ideas for both an internal faculty club and external lectures open to the public.

In addition, he wants to increase the opportunities for cross-disciplinary research fields at the faculty. He says that there is a lot of expertise and a lot of equipment which is really just waiting to be brought together, but that a better overview is needed.

Another difference between the faculties of science and engineering, in Olov Sterner’s view, is the research culture. He thinks that science is more conservative in some regards, which can sometimes be an advantage, but not always. There are slightly different ways of working, says Sterner.

“To make a generalisation, you could say that an engineer wants to solve problems, whereas a scientist wants to understand how natural phenomena work. This means that in science, new and deeper knowledge is created, which is often considerably more difficult”, says Olov Sterner, explaining that he will therefore continue to assert the Faculty of Science’s need for higher levels of government funding.

Olov Sterner also declares that he will fight for the rights of basic research. Despite his background at LTH, he will not pursue the issue of increasing work on innovation at the Faculty of Science. He says that successful basic research is the motor for innovations and that the best way to create an innovative university is to have a strong foundation of classic basic research. However, he also points out that many at the Faculty of Science have an unnecessarily negative view of the concept of innovation.

“Our task as researchers is to make discoveries that increase knowledge, but it is daft to discard things that have potential for development”, he says.

Olov Sterner explains that he will therefore encourage those who are interested in ideas for innovation at the faculty. This type of work can help the individual a lot; it can open doors and provide more money for basic research, he says. He has long experience of business development at a private bioincubator.

As regards education, he sees a couple of major challenges; on the one hand, the falling interest in science among young people and on the other hand the meagre funding for undergraduate education.

“High rents are also a problem. Two-thirds of undergraduate funding at the Department of Chemistry is spent on rent”, says Olov Sterner, looking rather displeased.

He is more pleased, however, with the management structure at the Faculty of Science. His predecessor, outgoing dean Torbjörn von Schantz, has created a management committee where the heads of department are actively involved and where important strategic discussions can be held. Olov Sterner also thinks it is wise to continue working on the principle of larger departments instead of many small units.

- Lena Björk Blixt