Members 2023-2026

This page contains an overview of the members of the council. 

The council has been appointed on the 1st of April 2023 by the Minister of Higher Education and Science.

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Frede Blaabjerg (Chair)

Frede Blaabjerg is a ph.d., a professor of power electronics at the section of Electric Power Systems and Microgrids at Aalborg University and a former dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science at Aalborg University 2006-2010.

Frede Blaabjerg has been the chairperson of the council of Technology and Production Sciences at the Independent Research Fund Denmark and a board member at both the High Technology Foundation (Højteknologifonden) and the Danish Council for Strategic Research, as well as vice president of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences and president of the IEEE Power Electronics Society. He is currently a member of assessment panels at the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Frede Blaabjerg has received the IEEE Edison Medal 2020 for 30 years of research in power electronics and in 2021 also the EAWE Scientific Award granted by the European Academy of Wind Energy.

Frede Blaabjerg is reappointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026.

Mette Birkedal Bruun (Co-chair)

 

Mette Birkedal Bruun is a professor of church history at the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, and a leader of the Danish National Research Foundation Centre for Privacy Studies.

She holds a ph.d. in church history from Århus University and is a Doctor of Theology from University of Copenhagen. Besides being a leader of research with an interest in interdisciplinary research collaborations, Mette Birkedal Bruun has been a member of the Council of Research and Innovation at the University of Copenhagen (KUFIR); She has received the Carlsberg Foundation Research Prize, and she is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Mette Birkedal Bruun is reappointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026.

Steffen Bohni

Since 2019, Steffen Bohni has been Director General of the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment. His educational background is within social anthropology and sociology, and he holds a PhD from Aarhus University. His career include executive positions in national and local government, and the private sector. Throughout his career, he has published within evaluation and public management and leadership. In his various roles, he has been a commissioner, producer and user of research. He has subject matter expertise within the human service domain.

Steffen Bohni is appointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026. 

Jes Broeng

Jes Broeng is a professor and director of DTU Entrepreneurship. He is an MSc in Engineering, holds a ph.d. from the Technical University of Denmark, and has been a visiting professor at UC Berkeley.

Jes Broeng is a co-founder of multiple high-tech companies and a member of several boards including Norlase, FaunaPhotonics, and PreSeed Ventures. He is a member of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences, a fellow in the International Society for Optics and Photonics, and a member of an international expert group as an innovation advisor for the European Commission.

Jes Broeng has received a number of awards including the European Optics Prize and the DTU Innovation Award.

Jes Broeng is reappointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026.

Poul Toft Frederiksen

Poul Toft Frederiksen is the Head of Programme, Research and Learning at the Poul Due Jensen/Grundfos Foundation. He holds a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark.

Poul Toft Frederiksen began in the aerospace industry where he spent 25 years in various leading and specialist positions before coming to the Grundfos Foundation. He has been a member of the Industrial Researcher Committee (Erhvervsforskerudvalget) and the Independent Research Fund Denmark | Technology and Production Sciences as well as chair person for the Council of Technology and Society (Rådet for Teknologi og Samfund) under the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences. Finally, he is a member of the board at The House of Natural Sciences and Johan and Ajla Askehaves fund for the fight against climate change.

Poul Toft Frederiksen is appointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026. 

Tine Jess

Tine Jess is an MD and professor of gastroenterology at the Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg University and heads the Center for Molecular Prediction of Inflammatory Bowel Disease funded by the Danish National Research Foundation.

Tine Jess holds experience from the industry, the health sector, and several Danish universities, and she has led multiple larger research clusters. She is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, an InnoWoman at the Innovation Fund Denmark, a board member of the Society of Theoretical and Applied Therapy (Jakobinerklubben), former chairperson of the panel for research policy at the Danish Young Academy and a member of the task force to increase diversity in research at the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

Tine Jess has received multiple national and international awards for her research, including a medical medal of honour and UNESCO’s For Women in Science Award.

Tine Jess is appointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026. 

Søren Nedergaard

Søren Nedergaard is Chief Operating Officer of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and oversees Operations and the Senior Leadership team. Søren is part of the Executive Leadership Team. Prior to joining the Foundation Søren has served as Director of the Rector’s office at the University of Copenhagen from 2018-2021. From 2001 to 2018, Søren has pursued his career in education, research and innovation having held various positions under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, including as Head of Division at the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science and as Research Attaché at the newly established Innovation Centre Denmark in Silicon Valley (US). During his career Mr. Nedergaard has dealt with a broad range of topics in higher education, science and research-based innovation including development of universities’ research and research-based innovation and transfer of knowledge through the innovation ecosystem in Denmark, the Nordics and internationally.

Søren Nedergaard is appointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026. 

Christine Nellemann

Christine is trained in human biology, holds a ph.d. in medicine and an MBA in technology and innovation leadership. She is dean of sustainability, inclusion and diversity at the DTU, and she is experienced in public/private partnerships and in life science, innovation, technology and sustainability. Hence, she has competences to act and create results in the field between universities, businesses and the political system.

Christine is a member of multiple boards, including the Think Tank Against Food Waste (Tænketanken mod Madspild og Fødevaretab) which provides yearly recommendations to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark. Furthermore, she was the chairperson of the Danish 3R-center for a number of years, and she is currently a board member of the national cluster organization Food and Bio Cluster Denmark, the private spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark Saxocon, as well as the National Research Center for Work Environment (NFA). Christine also participated in the Danish Climate Partnership for Agriculture and Food.

Christine has a large international network and participates in the Advisory Forum of the European Food Safety Authority. She also took part in the high-level expert group IPFSS which advised the European Commission on the use of research in climate change mitigation within the agricultural sector.

Christine Nellemann er udpeget fra 1. april 2023 til 31. marts 2026. 

Lene Tanggaard

Lene Tanggaard is an MSc in psychology, ph.d., rector of the Design School Kolding, and professor at Aalborg University. She has published more than 100 international and national peer reviewed papers, close to 50 books and anthologies, several peer reviewed book chapters, as well as numerous opinion pieces. She is an internationally recognized speaker at research conferences and the leader of multiple research projects with a particular focus on vocational education, creativity, and learning processes in the school and education system.

Lene Tanggaard is appointed from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026.