Love Ekenberg. Photo: David Falk/SU Holding.

Love Ekenberg was born on November 22, 1962 and passed in September 2022, a couple of months before his 60th birthday.

He held a position as a full professor in Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University since 2002, and as a senior research scholar at the International Institute of Applied Systems (IIASA) in Austria since sedan 2015. He also held a Unesco chair since 2017, for his work to develop large-scale higher education in sub-Saharan Africa.

From 2008 to 2014, Love Ekenberg was Head of the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University. He led and developed DSV with several hundred employees and PhD students, and thousands of students. During these years, he initiated a number of new projects and the department’s research was strengthened. For example, the research centres eGovlab and Spider were established, focusing respectively on e-government and new ICT solutions for democracy, health and education in developing countries.

Love Ekenberg was a truly multi-talented person. He was rich in ideas and highly productive, with huge curiosity and a brilliant mind. He had two PhDs, one in Mathematics and one in Computer and Systems Sciences. Love Ekenberg was also a visiting professor at a number of universities, for example in Malaysia, Brazil and Mozambique.

As a researcher, Love Ekenberg was interested in both theoretical and applied research. He is the author or co-author of close to 300 scholarly articles and books in areas like decision analysis, optimization, machine learning, software engineering, system verification, e-learning, and data base and process modelling. Love Ekenberg welcomed subjects like art and drama to enrich research and knowledge development in Computer and Systems Sciences.

His research, together with colleague Mats Danielson and others, was also the basis for entrepreneurial ventures. For several years in a row, Love Ekenberg’s research on decision making and risk analysis was acknowledged by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). It was listed as a project with potential to have a large positive impact in society.

Our warmest thoughts go to Love Ekenberg’s family; his wife Kristina, children, stepchildren and grandchildren.

On behalf of all colleagues,

Jelena Zdravkovic
Head of the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University
Stockholm, October 7, 2022