ZJU Professor Marcus Aldén honored with 2026 Chinese Government Friendship Award
For nearly two decades, Swedish scientist Marcus Aldén has helped Zhejiang University advance combustion research and nurture a generation of young researchers. Now, China has recognized his contributions.
On September 30, Marcus Aldén, a member of both the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, received the 2026 Chinese Government Friendship Award at a ceremony in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
He was among 50 foreign experts honored with China’s highest award for international specialists who have made outstanding contributions to the country's development.
For Aldén, the honor recognizes a body of work that extends well beyond the laboratory.
A pioneer in laser-based combustion diagnostics, Aldén had already established an international reputation when he first arrived at Zhejiang University (ZJU) in 2008. He received Sweden's Akzo Nobel Science Award in 1999 and was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2004. His scientific career has produced more than 400 journal articles and 300 conference papers, including publications in leading journals such as Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Light: Science & Applications and Combustion and Flame.
His connection with ZJU began at the invitation of Professor Cen Kefa, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. That first visit marked the beginning of a collaboration focused on one of the central challenges in energy research: understanding combustion through advanced laser diagnostic techniques.
Working alongside ZJU researchers, Aldén helped develop advanced laser diagnostic facilities and establish the Zhejiang University–Lund University Laser Diagnostics Center for Energy Utilization. The collaboration contributed to the creation of China’s first research center dedicated to energy combustion diagnostics.
ZJU’s clean energy utilization research team went on to receive the Second Prize of the State Science and Technology Progress Award in 2016. A year later, the team was selected for support under the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Innovative Research Group program, achievements to which Aldén’s sustained involvement made an important contribution.
The partnership soon extended beyond individual research projects. With Aldén’s support, 14 senior researchers from Lund University maintained long-term academic exchanges with ZJU, while more than 20 ZJU scholars traveled to Sweden for advanced study and research.
The collaboration has resulted in more than 100 SCI-indexed journal articles and over 30 oral presentations at international conferences, bringing the work of both institutions to a wider scientific audience.
Over 18 years and more than 20 journeys between Sweden and China, Aldén has helped bring cutting-edge scientific expertise to ZJU while opening new opportunities for Chinese researchers to share their findings with the world.
Yet for Aldén, scientific collaboration has never been solely about research papers and technological advances. He has long believed that its value also lies in preparing young scientists to pursue new questions and explore the frontiers of knowledge independently.
That conviction has shaped his work at ZJU.
In 2009, Aldén began teaching Modern Thermophysical Measurement Theory and Technology, one of ZJU’s earliest core graduate courses delivered entirely in English. Drawing on his extensive research experience, he introduced students to advanced laser diagnostic methods and their applications in combustion research.
Over the years, he has delivered 576 hours of instruction, with cumulative student attendance exceeding 1,000. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when international travel was severely restricted, he continued teaching online.
His commitment to developing young researchers has extended far beyond the classroom. With his encouragement, 13 prominent scholars from Lund University visited ZJU, delivering more than 30 academic lectures and seminars. He also helped mentor and jointly train 56 doctoral students and early-career researchers.
Among them, two have become nationally recognized leading researchers, six have received national-level recognition as outstanding young scientists, and 17 have gone on to become professors, associate professors or researchers at universities and research institutions.
Many of those who once studied under Aldén are now playing important roles in China’s research in clean energy utilization and combustion diagnostics. Some have established laboratories of their own, where they continue to pass on the knowledge, scientific curiosity and commitment to research that helped shape their careers.
Nearly two decades after Aldén’s first visit, what began as a collaboration between individual scientists has grown into an enduring partnership connecting research teams, institutions and generations of scholars across China and Sweden.
His contributions reflect the possibilities of sustained international scientific cooperation. Building sophisticated laboratories takes time. Developing strong research teams requires patience and trust. Nurturing scientists who will go on to mentor others is the work of generations.
As ZJU continues its pursuit of becoming a world-class, innovation-driven university, collaborations of this kind remain central to its efforts to advance scientific discovery, cultivate talent and engage with the global academic community.
The award presented in Beijing recognizes Aldén’s remarkable contributions over nearly two decades. But perhaps the most enduring measure of his legacy lies in the laboratories where researchers he once taught are now making discoveries of their own and in the students who will one day learn from them.
Source: The Office of Global Engagement, The College of Energy Engineering
Translator: Fang Fumin
Editor: Ding Chenwei