Professor of Biodiversity Alexandre Antonelli is returning to the University of Gothenburg after being selected from a shortlist of highly qualified candidates for the newly established Crown Princess Victoria Professorship in Biodiversity.
“We are delighted that one of the world’s leading researchers in biodiversity has agreed to take on this important professorship, which we are convinced will raise the standard of research in this field,” says Göran Hilmersson, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, who was responsible for the recruitment.
Interdisciplinary research
The Professorship in Biodiversity is intended to strengthen interdisciplinary research into the potential consequences of the loss of plants, animals and fungi. It will also work to develop innovative strategies for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity.
These are themes that Alexandre Antonelli has previously worked on at the University of Gothenburg, where he helped to establish the university’s research centre, the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, in 2017. He has also served as Scientific Curator at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. In 2019, Alexandre Antonelli was appointed Executive Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London.
A trailblazer
Throughout his research career, Alexandre Antonelli has brought biodiversity science and conservation to the public’s attention on numerous occasions.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has recently published the sixth report in the State of the World’s Plants and Fungi series, with Antonelli as editor-in-chief. The report brings together scientific findings from 400 researchers across 40 countries who have been investigating how new technologies can help to investigate and protect biodiversity on our planet. At the end of June, Alexandre Antonelli and his team are organising a major symposium at Kew in London which, building on the report, will discuss how digital tools and AI can be used to address pressing scientific, environmental and societal questions.
“Nature offers fantastic solutions to society’s greatest challenges, from food security to climate adaption and sustainable business. But for this to become a reality, we must first map, understand and conserve biodiversity, in all its complexity and richness. The professorship will enable cutting-edge research in a number of key areas with the greatest potential for breakthroughs in knowledge and practical applications,” says Alexandre Antonelli.
Collaboration
The Crown Princess Victoria Professorship in Biodiversity is a gift to mark the Crown Princess’s 50th birthday in 2027, established in collaboration between Carl Bennet AB and the University of Gothenburg, and is intended to span multiple disciplines whilst actively engaging with the wider community. In May, the first round-table discussion on biodiversity was held at the University of Gothenburg’s marine research station on Tjärnö, with the Crown Princess as guest of honour, to mark the launch of the new professorship.
Several stakeholders have already indicated that they wish to support the professorship so that Alexandre Antonelli can build a strong research team.
“The professorship is a strategic initiative to become a leading university in the field of biodiversity, and it is gratifying that more parties now wish to be involved in enabling groundbreaking research in this area,” says Malin Broberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg.
The decision to appoint Alexandre Antonelli to the Crown Princess Victoria Professorship was taken by the Vice-Chancellor on 18 June.
