Emil became a physicist thanks to the research branch
Emil Johansson Bergholtz is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Fysikum. He has been appointed both a Wallenberg Academy Fellow and a Wallenberg Academy Scholar. "It was a coincidence that I got into the subject of physics. I liked solving problems and things that gave resistance. But without the research branch, it is not certain that I would have continued with physics. It was fun and inspiring with the advanced problem solving in the program, says Emil Bergholtz.
His parents are primary school teachers, and he wanted to become a teacher himself. In the late 1990s, he studied both economics and philosophy. In 1999 he joined the Physics program and chose the research branch.
"It was fun because I am interested in understanding different ways of approaching problems. We were a small group that got in touch with research already during the first year. I like things that cause resistance and solving problems. It was the research branch that made me continue with physics," says Emil Johansson Bergholtz.
In 2008 he defended his thesis with One-dimensional theory of the quantum Hall system.
From Germany to Sweden thanks to Wallenberg Fellowship
Emil received a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Complex Physical Systems in Dresden 2008 - 2011. He then started a research group in Berlin. There he also met his wife and his children were born in Germany.
In 2016 he received offers from both KTH and Stockholm University when he chose to come back to Fysikum. During his time as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow, he has laid the foundation for a completely new research field in theoretical physics. After five years of exploration, they are now trying to find new applications, the first of which may be sensors that could be used to detect dark matter.
"In 2024 I was appointed a Wallenberg Academy Scholar. I will continue to work in several different fields at the same time, as this often provides valuable new perspectives. Among other things, my research group will investigate what happens when combining topological material components. We specifically want to study strongly correlated phenomena from relative torsion in moiré heterostructures of graphene and related materials as well as topological effects in open quantum systems and in classical metamaterials."
At Fysikum he is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Fysikum and is responsible for the Research Division of Condensed Matter and Quantum Optics. His research group is called Quantum mechanical and complex systems and they run the following projects: Locality versus topology in quantum matter, Sculpted topological heterostructures and Topological matter.
Emil's advice to prospective physics students
"My advice is to study the Bachelor's program in physics and then choose the research branch that runs in parallel during the first two years. Then you study one extra course per semester in the evening and get in-depth knowledge, contact with research groups and extra training in problem solving."
Further information
One-dimensional theory of the quantum Hall system - dissertation, 2008
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
Basic topological research that explains the quantum world - Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Opened the door to a new research field - Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Bachelor Program in Physics, 180 credits
Research branch in physics, 7,5 credits, (in Swedish)
Last updated: April 16, 2024
Source: Gunilla Häggström, Communications Officer, Fysikum