N. Asger Mortensen receives Fyens Stiftstidendes Forskerpris 2023
Every year, Fyens Stiftstidende gives prizes to excellent researchers from Funen. Among this year's recipients is N. Asger Mortensen from the Faculty of Engineering.
"To speak uncomfortable truths requires courage. And courage is necessary, whether you are a brand-new student or an experienced researcher. Additionally, one must be curious and diligent."
Those were the words from rector of the University of Southern Denmark, Jens Ringsmose, when Fyens Stiftstidende awarded its annual research prizes on Thursday, November 16.
One of this year's three recipients was N. Asger Mortensen, professor at the Faculty of Engineering and head of the ground research center POLIMA. And surely, he can be said to be both courageous, curious, and diligent.
In his brief lecture, N. Asger Mortensen emphasized the importance of curiosity. He stressed that research doesn't always have to lead to concrete practical applications but can sometimes venture into uncharted territory, challenge our perceptions of reality, and perhaps, in two, five, ten, or twenty years, find application somewhere for the benefit of our society and daily lives.
Indeed, this is the type of research that N. Asger Mortensen and his colleagues conduct at POLIMA.
"At POLIMA, we are driven by a curiosity to understand - fundamentally - how light interacts with the smallest components we have. We have a desire and an expectation that many new optical phenomena will emerge, not only challenging our understanding of these systems but also laying the foundation for new technologies," as the professor has previously stated.
In addition to N. Asger Mortensen, researchers Anne Paldam Folker from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Kurt Klaudi Klausen from the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences also received Fyens Stiftstidende's Research Prize 2023.
The prize has been awarded by the newspaper to researchers from Funen since 1972, and along with the honor, it comes with a prize of 25,000 kroner.