New book on basic research from the Danish National Research Foundation

The Danish National Research Foundation has published “Fortællinger fra Grundforskningens Grænseland – samtaler med 25 nutidige forskere i Danmark” in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. The book was written by Professor Stine Falsig Pedersen, who takes the reader on a journey through 25 portraits of some of the researchers who are conducting basic research in Denmark in 2020 and, at the same time, provides insight into what drives them.

What is a researcher? Is he or she a special type of person, or is he/she basically like everyone else? These are some of the questions that form the basis of a new book published by the Danish National Research Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. The book “Stories from Basic Research’s Borderland – conversations with 25 contemporary researchers in Denmark” was written by Professor Stine Falsig Pedersen, who invites the reader into 25 different research fields through portraits of some of the researchers conducting basic research in Denmark in 2020.

“We know a great deal about many of the most talented researchers from the last few hundred years. Based on that knowledge, we have built up some myths about what a researcher is, what drives a researcher, and what kind of traits a researcher has. It is much easier to see when we look back,” said Søren-Peter Olesen, CEO of the DNRF.

Last week, on September 3, 2020, a book reception was held at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters’ historic premises in central Copenhagen in honor of the publication. The DNRF’s CEO Søren-Peter Olesen welcomed everyone, followed by the book’s author, Professor Stine Falsig Pedersen, who read from some of the book’s chapters. The event then continued with presentations from Professor Mette Birkedal Bruun, Professor Dorthe Berntsen, and Professor David Lando, who are all included in the book.

“I think it is extremely exciting to see all that important research that is being done all around Denmark, not because it is driven by utility, but by curiosity,” said Falsig Pedersen during the book reception.

Finally, the editor of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Marita Akhøj Nielsen, rounded off the event with a few words and then invited the guests to the last phase of the reception at which copies of the book were handed out to those present.

Read more about the book and the reception in an article from Science Report (in Danish) here

“Fortællinger fra Grundforskningens Grænseland – samtaler med 25 nutidige forskere i Danmark” was published by the Danish National Research Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Copies of the book can be picked up free of charge at the DNRF’s office.

The book will also be published on the DNRF’s website; one chapter will be published monthly, with the first chapter expected to appear at the end of 2020. You can follow the publication of the book by signing up for the foundation’s newsletter here