remembrance
In memory of Uno Svedin – a resilience pioneer
Stockholm Resilience Centre senior researcher and long-time friend Uno Svedin passed away on 30 January 2026.
Uno Svedin was a pioneering transdisciplinary scholar who influenced the creation of sustainability science internationally and in Sweden.
His career bridged ecology, physics, sustainability science, and research policy, supporting development of global environmental governance.
Trained originally in elementary particle physics, he earned his PhD from Stockholm University in 1974, including work with CERN, the legendary European Organization for Nuclear Research – an early experience that shaped his lifelong engagement with complex systems.
He contributed to several landmark international efforts, including the influential first Planetary Boundaries paper (Nature, 2009).
His later work included the EU-funded COMPLEX project on transitioning the Stockholm–Mälar region toward a fossil-free future by 2050.
Svedin held numerous academic and leadership roles, including adjunct professor at Linköping University, Chair of the EU Consultative Forum on Sustainability and the Environment, and International Director at the Formas Research Council.
In addition to his academic career, Svedin was deeply involved in social work in Stockholm for over five decades. In 2017 he received the Eldsjälspriset, Stiftelsen Oscar Hirschs Minne, awarded jointly with his wife Elisabeth Svedin for their lifelong commitment to the organization Ny Gemenskap and their work with vulnerable populations in society.
We will remember Uno not only for his major scientific contributions but also for his insatiable curiosity, kind nature and not least his humor which could take the shape of a mischievous smile many of us got to love over the years.
