KTH Royal Institute of Technology

A factory does not need to be bombed to grind to a halt. Power cuts, cyberattacks and supply chain disruptions can quickly bring production to a standstill. How well prepared is Swedish industry for war and crisis? We asked KTH professors Andreas Archenti and Magnus Wiktorsson.

A research project at KTH aims to improve autonomous AI agents’ ability to carry out so-called penetration testing. The agents are set to become more effective – but also more responsible. 

Could what is currently wasted become part of Sweden’s food preparedness in a crisis? Researchers at KTH are investigating how by-products from agriculture and the food industry can be turned into new raw materials – and how we can get more food and nutrients from what is already being produced.

To strengthen Sweden’s position in artificial intelligence, a Swedish Unit is now being launched within the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) network. The establishment will give researchers in Sweden access to advanced computing capacity, skills development opportunities, new avenues for collaboration with industry, and a broad international research network.

More than 15 years ago, Elena Fersman began developing AI at Ericsson, long before the technology became an established part of the business world. Today, she is a key figure in the company’s AI transformation. As a docent at KTH, she also builds bridges between academia and industry. Now she is the recipient of the KTH Innovation Award 2026.

Developing efficient heating and cooling systems is an important part of the transition to sustainable buildings and cities. The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded funding to HEAT-X, a strategic centre that will drive this forward. The centre is led by Hatef Madani, Professor at the Department of Energy Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and will begin operations in January 2027.

In optical fibers, chips and other light-guiding devices, minor defects can scatter photons and disrupt their path. A new study demonstrates a way to reveal properties which, in certain systems, help light wave behavior withstand such flaws. The method could help speed up the search for new kinds of electronics and optical technologies, and contribute to more reliable quantum devices.

The smell of cinnamon buns can transport us right back to our childhood in an instant, but how does that work? Researchers from KTH, the Karolinska Institutet and the Max Planck Institute are developing AI models that can learn how people experience and perceive smells.

This year’s Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel goes to Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, who developed a new type of macroeconomic model that has improved the ability to conduct effective stabilisation policy. These models help policymakers use fiscal and monetary measures to smooth economic fluctuations.

In optical fibers, chips and other light-guiding devices, minor defects can scatter photons and disrupt their path. A new study demonstrates a way to reveal properties which, in certain systems, help light wave behavior withstand such flaws. The method could help speed up the search for new kinds of electronics and optical technologies, and contribute to more reliable quantum devices.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for their solution to the puzzle of how homochirality can arise spontaneously. The discovery makes it possible to produce only one mirror image of a molecule, which has been crucial for the manufacture of medicines.

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to Francis Halzen for decisive contributions to the IceCube Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. The discovery has major implications for our understanding of both the most extreme processes in the universe and the fundamental particle physics of neutrinos.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or medicine goes to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, a method that makes it possible to show how nerve cells shape memories, feelings and behaviours in the living brain.

KTH was ranked 106th among the world’s universities in the newly-released Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The previous year’s ranking was 98. The decline is part of a trend for Swedish higher education institutions.

From research on black holes and space instrumentation to the Nobel Prize in Physics. Mark Pearce is Professor of Astroparticle Physics at KTH and Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. We met with him to talk about the Nobel selection process, the importance of science, and the Nobel Week experience.

KTH Royal Institute of Technology will host the Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit in Stockholm on 5-7 October 2027, bringing one of higher education's most influential international gatherings to Sweden during KTH's bicentenary year.

As a 17-year-old refugee from Syria, he made his way to Sweden in 2015—on foot through forests and by boat across the Mediterranean.Since then, he has earned a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and a degree in education at KTH in five years, and today he works as a highschool teacher of math, physics, and technology in Djursholm.“I want to empower and inspire young people for the future,” says Fayez Hamzat.

Three common additives used in the plastics industry may cause cancer. A World Health Organization working group’s review of research highlights the danger posed by three common "plasticisers" – or softening agents – used plastic production. “These plasticisers have been in use for over 50 years and are found, for example, in plastic flooring, cables and paints, and were previously used in cosmetics,” says Professor Cecilia Williams, who participated in the review project with the WHO Internatio Show more

Joakim Lundeberg, professor of molecular biotechnology at KTH, has been awarded the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences’ (IVA) Gold Medal 2026 for his pioneering work in molecular biotechnology and genomics.  

KTH is a hub for research and education in technology, while Tom Tits Experiment has long experience of making science and technology accessible through hands-on experiences. Now, the two are joining forces to give more children, young people and other visitors the opportunity to explore research, technology and mathematics for themselves.