apr

How sustainable are large research facilities? Questions and ideas

17 april 2026 14:00 till 15:00 | Seminarium

MAX IV and ESS, Lund’s large research facilities, are now part of the city’s profile – in more ways than one. Recent debate has highlighted the “go ahead” for ESS and costs for operating MAX IV. And there are many other sustainability questions to consider – both for researchers and society.

Welcome to a slightly different fredagsfika, where researchers from several disciplines within Lund University meet experts from large research facilities and representatives from Lund municipality to highlight the interplay of these infrastructures with politics, democracy and media, addressing questions such as:

How do research facilities come about – locally here in Lund, but also elsewhere in the world? What are the decision processes? Who initiates, who is involved, who decides, who pays? What is the role of public opinion?

And:

Once in place, how do research facilities influence and even shape the local environment and society? How sustainable are these processes?

Finally:

When we discuss research facilities' impact on science: Why do we keep finding more new questions than answers? Could there be even more sustainability perspectives we need to highlight?

Practicalities

This event will be held in English and is open for all: we truly welcome public engagement. Please register at the link below to secure a spot and fredagsfika no later than 14 April.

Event web page with registration link

Programme Outline

Introduction to the topic
Panel discussion with local experts
Open mic

Hosts

Members of the interdisciplinary research group “Research Infrastructures – Sustainability dimensions and critical perspectives” at the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies.

Research Infrastructures – Sustainability dimensions and critical perspectives - Lund University

Contacts

Sverker Werin, sverker [dot] werin [at] maxiv [dot] lu [dot] se (sverker[dot]werin[at]maxiv[dot]lu[dot]se)

Ruth Pöttgen, ruth [dot] pottgen [at] fysik [dot] lu [dot] se (ruth[dot]pottgen[at]fysik[dot]lu[dot]se)

The event is part of Sustainability Week 2026, which runs between 13-18 April. Sustainability Week is an annual event in Lund organised as a joint venture by Lund University and Lund municipality. The week serves as a platform for bringing together ideas, raising public awareness and for inspiring sustainable change.

See the full programme at the Sustainability Week webpage | hallbarhetsveckan.event.lu.se