Rate My Professor Erik Berg

Professor Erik Berg is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory, Structural Chemistry, at Uppsala University. He obtained BSc and MSc degrees in Engineering Physics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2007, an MSc in Physics from the Technical University of Darmstadt in 2007, and a PhD in Nanotechnology and Functional Materials from Uppsala University in 2012, supervised by Professor Maria Strömme. Following his PhD, he served as a BASF-funded postdoctoral researcher at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland from 2012 to 2015 under Professor Petr Novák, advanced to project leader from 2015 to 2016, and led the Phase Boundaries Group from 2016 to 2018, achieving tenure in 2017. Berg returned to Uppsala University as Assistant Professor in 2018, was awarded Docent in Materials Chemistry in March 2021, and recruited as Professor in Chemistry in December 2021.

Berg's research focuses on electrochemistry and energy storage, including lithium-ion batteries, battery electrolytes, solid electrolyte interphases, operando characterization, self-driving labs, beyond-lithium batteries, and machine learning for materials. He has authored numerous publications in leading journals, such as 'Accelerating aqueous electrolyte design with automated full-cell battery experimentation and Bayesian optimization' (Cell Reports Physical Science, 2025), 'Mastering Proton Activities in Aqueous Batteries' (Advanced Materials, 2025), 'Navigating chemical design spaces for metal-ion batteries via machine-learning-guided phase-field simulations' (npj Computational Materials, 2025), 'Decoupling Degradation at the Electrode Interfaces in Prussian White Full Cells' (Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2025), and 'Interfacial Chemistry in Aqueous Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Case Study of V2O5 in Dilute Aqueous Electrolytes' (Small, 2024). His achievements include the Wallenberg Academy Fellowship (2019–2024), Future Research Leaders grant from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (2020–2025), SNF Ambizione Energy Fellowship (2015), and funding from the Swedish Energy Agency, Swedish Research Council, and industry partners like Northvolt, Scania, and Volvo Cars. He teaches courses on energy storage and battery materials.