Grant to recruit international guest researcher

Within the framework of the call for Grants to recruit international guest researchers to Sweden 2026, the Swedish Research Council has now decided that three higher education institutions will receive grants in the first round to recruit an outstanding researcher who has their research activities outside Europe.

Paul Zieger, professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, is granted SEK 2 million to recruit Jessie Creamean, researcher at Colorado State University in the USA.

Research on ice nucleating particles

Jessie Creamean is a well-known research scientist from the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University in the USA, where her research is built around studying airborne aerosol particles. As a guest professor at Stockholm University she will launch a new research program to investigate how microscopic aerosol particles called ice nucleating particles (INPs) help shape clouds in Earth’s coldest and fastest-changing regions. These rare but critical particles determine how clouds form ice, affecting how much sunlight is reflected back to space and heat is trapped by Earth’s atmosphere, and how snow and rain develop. Such processes introduce large uncertainties in our understanding of the pace of polar climate change.

The proposed work will combine field data from Arctic and Antarctic expeditions with new collaborative laboratory experiments at Stockholm University to reveal how emerging sources, such as sea ice melt ponds and thawing permafrost, release INPs into the air.
“Jessie Creamean’ s professorship will expand Stockholm University´s polar research strength, enrich the education and skill development of students at the university, establish Sweden’s own dedicated INP research capability, spark lasting synergy between Swedish and international scientists, and lead to planning for future research icebreaker capabilities. Her professorship will also lay the foundation for long-term partnerships for an upcoming major international and interdisciplinary effort in Antarctica (2027–2028), and aid in Sweden’s preparations for the 2032–2033 International Polar Year,” says Paul Zieger.

Read more about Jessie Creamean

The other two grants go to Uppsala University to recruit Janet Fanslow, professor at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland, and to Umeå University to recruit Laila Andersson, researcher at the University of Colorado.

The grant aims to give higher education institutions and other research organizations the opportunity to develop and strengthen a research area by recruiting an outstanding researcher with current employment and research activities outside Europe in the near future. The grant of two million kronor will be used for recruitment costs and for salary funds for employment in Sweden for a limited period.