Jens Bardarson appointed new Head of the Department of Physics
Starting January 1, 2026, Professor Jens Bardarson will take on the role of Head of the Department of Physics at KTH. The decision was made by the Head of the School of Engineering Sciences, in consultation with the President. The appointment runs until December 31, 2029, with the possibility of a four-year extension.
Current Head of Department Pär Olsson will step down at the end of the year, and Jens Bardarson will assume leadership at a time of exciting developments within the field of physics, including national initiatives in quantum technology and nuclear power.
How does it feel to be appointed Head of Department?
"It feels good. There is also a feeling of some uncertainty since I don't fully know what I am getting myself into. I expect there are many new things I will need to learn and the learning curve is going to have to be steep. But I'm also excited about the new challenge."
How do you view your new role?
"I feel that I am taking over a mostly steady ship so it will be mostly a matter of not rocking the boat. There are many interesting things happening that relate to the physics department, including national efforts on quantum technology and nuclear power and engineering. We have seen increased faculty involvement in university matters, such as through the faculty boards, and this should also be reflected at the department level. So it is exciting times."
What do you do outside of your new role?
"The last few weeks I have been teaching advanced quantum mechanics, which is always a fun course to teach. I also recently joined the editorial board of Physical Review Letters as a Divisional Associate Editor. Apart from that it is mainly research together with my PhD students and postdocs. Recently we have been thinking about magic in many-body quantum states, distribution of quantum information in higher dimensional quantum states, hidden exceptional points in nonhermitian quantum mechanics, ways of understanding amorphous topological quantum matter, and a few more interesting quantum things."