In December 2012, nine finalists participated in the national final held at the Debaser Medis rock club in Stockholm.
The audience used a televoter to rate the researchers’ performances and the audience’s votes carried the same weight as those of the expert judging panel. The judges were actress and comedian Anna-Lena Brundin, Patrik Hadenius, Editor of the magazine Research & Progress, and Göran Östlin, Professor of Astronomy at Stockholm University. The final was compered by Karin Adelsköld, who was nominated Female Comedian of the Year 2011.
Winner of the 2012 competition was Marie Dacke, a researcher in sensory biology at Lund University. Second place went to Stina Weststrand, a PhD student at the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University, and third place was given to Martin Erikson Crommert, a physiotherapist and researcher in medicine at Örebro University Hospital. All the other contestants shared a respectable fourth place.
2012 FINALISTS:
- Martin Eriksson Crommert, Örebro University Hospital, who researches how a strong stomach is a prerequisite for a strong back.
- Marie Dacke, Lund University, who researches how small animals carry out major tasks, such as flight control and navigation, using very small eyes.
- Daniel Nebel, Malmö University, who researches the relationship between gum disease and oestrogen.
- Lina Nilsson, Blekinge Institute of Technology, who researches social barriers and opportunities in using IT within the healthcare industry.
- Tobias Otterbring, Karlstad University, who researches sensory marketing and decision-making in retail environments.
- Britta Sannel, Stockholm University, who researches how subarctic peatland with permafrost has changed over time and is being affected by climate change.
- Stina Weststrand, Uppsala University, who researches 350 million-year-old club mosses and how these can spread across oceans.
- Ia Williamsson, Linnaeus University, who researches ways to improve procedures for software maintenance.
- Igor Zoric, Chalmers University of Technology, who researches nanoparticles, in particular their electrical, optical and catalytic properties.
Jury: Anna-Lena Brundin (Photo: Orlando G Boström), Patrik Hadenius (Photo: Linda Forsell) & Göran Östlin (Photo: Anna Westman)
The final is organised by Vetenskap och Allmänhet (Public & Science) together with four research councils, FAS, Formas, VINNOVA and the Swedish Research Council.
Read more about the concept here.
