Jonas Enander is researching on the societal role of science

Jonas Enander studied at Fysikum around 2005 and earned his doctorate in 2015 "I did both my master's thesis and my doctoral work at the Division of Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics and String Theory." He now writes popular science and has a podcast featuring Senior Lecturer Sören Holst.

Jonas Enander

Jonas Enander is an alumnus of Fysikum.

"I have a background as a researcher in physics, but in recent years I have switched to science communication. This spring I have been working as a science writer at the European Southern Observatory outside Munich. In addition, I write popular science articles for various Swedish and American journals, record podcasts and travel around interviewing scientists and visiting telescopes for a book I'm writing on black holes. The book will be published next year (2024) by Albert Bonniers."

 

How did you realise that physics was your subject?

"I realised it quite late, when I was about 20 years old. I had seen several documentaries on astrobiology and wanted to try studying at university. I started at the astronomy programme at Fysikum, but as I studied I became more interested in theoretical physics, so I switched to the physics programme."

 

When did you study at Fysikum?

"I started studying at Fysikum around 2005 and completed my PhD in 2015. I did both my master thesis and my doctoral work at the Division of Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics and String Theory. In my doctoral thesis, I compared various cosmological observations with a new theory of how gravity works. This theory was developed at Fysikum, and is an extension of Einstein's general theory of relativity."

 

What did you work with afterwards?

"After Fysikum, I moved to Germany and did research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. I investigated whether a kind of hypothetical particle called an axion could be part of dark matter. At this time, however, I started to lose my passion for physics and academia. So I resigned and travelled around Spain and France looking after people's dogs and cats. After that, my passion for science came back, but I chose to focus on what inspired me from the beginning, namely popular science."

 

Will more people from Fysikum be interviewed in the podcast?

"Yes, absolutely. I will also continue to make episodes with Sören Holst, since he is a skilled science communicator."

 

What are your future plans?

"Besides writing popular science and recording podcasts, I will also do research, but now with a focus on the role that natural science plays in society. I am part of a research group that is investigating the historical, philosophical and cultural aspects of black hole observations. Next autumn I will be working on a project in the history of astronomical science at the University of Amsterdam."

 

More information

Contact Jonas Enander

Jonas Enander on Instagram

The spacetime podcast (in Swedish)

Educations in Physics at Fysikum