Janus Juul Eriksen

Describe your field of work and current role 
I’m an associate professor in theoretical chemistry at the chemistry department of the Technical University of Denmark. I work on devising novel approximations within electronic-structure theory and applying these in the computational simulation of various chemical problems.

What has your path been from starting at university until today?
I completed my B.Sc. (2009) and M.Sc. (2012) studies in theoretical chemistry at Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen, respectively, before relocating back to Aarhus University to pursue my PhD studies. Upon being awarded my PhD degree in 2016, I moved abroad to the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow. In 2019, thanks to an independent postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark, I next moved to the University of Bristol in the UK. Upon concluding my postdoctoral stay in Bristol, I was awarded a prestigious starting grant from the Danish VILLUM Foundation, enabling me to start my own independent research group at the Technical University of Denmark where I remain to this day. In late-2022, I was awarded another competitive Danish starting grant, namely, the Sapere Aude fellowship from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. I was elected as a member of the Young Academy of Denmark under the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2022, and I have most recently been involved in establishing YATSI under the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences alongside three close colleagues of mine from both academia and industry.

What can be done to strengthen applied STEM research & innovation in Denmark?
I believe an intersectoral young academy with a dedicated focus on natural and technical sciences may provide useful guidance to stakeholder in both Danish higher education and industrial research sectors on particular issues and challenges faced by younger scientists, either at the very start of their careers or as these begin to transition on to consolidate themselves as emerging leaders in both academia and industry. To that end, I believe the establishment of YATSI will mark an important step toward amplifying the voice of early-career STEM researchers and entrepreneurs.

What will you use your YATSI membership for? 
I will use my membership of YATSI to help foster new and stronger ties between Danish higher education and industry. As world citizens, the challenges facing us are more pressing today than perhaps ever before, and the dire prospects of unprecedented disruptions to life as we know it hence call for immediate and joint actions. Neither basic nor applied research experiences any real advancements when carried out in isolation, which is why I believe we need to seek more interactions and collaborations between Danish universities and industrial research sectors.

Who's the person behind the member?
I live with my fiancée and three kids on inner Frederiksberg in Copenhagen. Outside of work, I enjoy regular physical exercise, spending valuable time with my loved ones, reading, and listening to classical music. I’m fond of fine wines, arts, museums, The Arsenal, Brahms, Wagner, and Strauss in almost equal measures.