The faculties’ honorary doctors for 2026 have been appointed and will be conferred their degrees at the Doctoral Degree Conferment Ceremony in May.
An honorary doctorate, in Latin doctor honoris causa, is a title awarded by a faculty. Honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the University or society, and whom the faculty wishes to honour and welcome into its research community.
It is often academics from other universities who are awarded honorary doctorates, but honorary doctors come from outside the academic world just as often.
School of Economics and Management
Sigrid Hemels is Professor of Tax Law at Erasmus School of Law (Erasmus University, Rotterdam). She is internationally well known and has been involved with LUSEM since 2018, first as a visiting professor and since 2022 as an adjunct professor.
- Sigrid Hemels, Professor of Tax Law, Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
Professor of Tax Law Appointed Honorary Doctor at LUSEM – lusem.lu.se
Faculty of Humanities
Georgina Born, professor of Anthropology and Music at University College London, and Gry Worre Hallberg, artistic director of the performance group Sisters Hope, have been awarded honorary doctorates by the Faculty of Humanities at Lund University.
- Georgina Born, professor of Anthropology and Music at University College London
- Gry Worre Hallberg, artistic director of the performance group Sisters Hope
Open Lectures by the Faculty of Humanities 2026 Honorary Doctors
Faculty of Law
Professor Mia Korpiola and Justice Stefan Reimer have been appointed honorary doctors of the faculty.
- Mia Korpiola, Professor of Legal History at the University of Turku
- Stefan Reimer, Justice of the Supreme Court
Honorary Doctorates 2026 – law.lu.se
Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts
The Austrian concertmaster Rainer Honeck is to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts at Lund University in 2026.
- Rainer Honeck, concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic
Rainer Honeck new honorary doctor at the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts – konstnarliga.lu.se
Faculty of Medicine
A philosopher, a journalist and a leading neuroscientist are to be awarded honorary doctorates. A philosopher who deepens and revitalises the public debate on ethics, judgement and the view of humanity within healthcare and medicine; a journalist who highlights global health issues on Swedish Radio; and a leading researcher in Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease with strong links to Lund.
- Jonna Bornemark, professor of Philosophy, Södertörn University
- Sara Heyman, foreign correspondent Swedish Radio
- Roger Barker, professor of Clinical Neuroscience at Cambridge University
A philosopher, a journalist, and a leading neuroscientist appointed new honorary doctors
Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science has appointed the American chemist Jannette Carey and the British-Australian astrophysicist Jonathan Bland-Hawthorn as this year’s honorary doctors. The appointments recognise their pioneering research, significant contributions to teaching and long-standing collaboration with the faculty.
- Jannette Carey, professor of Chemistry at Princeton University, USA
- Jonathan Bland-Hawthorn, professor of Physics at the University of Sydney, Australia
Educational protein researcher and acclaimed galaxy professor named new honorary doctors of science
Meet the 2026 Honorary Doctors in Science and Engineering
On Thursday 28 May you are welcome to join a seminar given by the Faculty of Science’s and LTH’s honorary doctors on the mysterious dark universe, innovation and resilience in future agriculture, and what industrial automation can teach us about the labour market in an age of AI.
Read more and sign-up in the calendar.
Faculty of Social Sciences
How the world is governed in times of environmental disasters, and how migration and urban life shape people’s experiences in cities around the world. These are the issues being studied by the faculty’s new honorary doctors – Frank Biermann and Brenda Yeoh.
- Frank Biermann, professor of Global Sustainability Governance at Utrecht University, Netherlands
- Brenda S.A. Yeoh, professor at the National University of Singapore, Singapore
New honorary doctors at the Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Engineering, LTH
They have made an outstanding professional contribution characterized by scientific excellence, significant importance for research infrastructure, or significant importance for society. LTH Faculty Board has decided that two individuals will be appointed honorary doctors in 2026.
- Margret Bauer, professor of Automation at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), Germany
- Gustaf Ramel, farmer
Gustaf Ramel and Margret Bauer become LTH’s honorary doctors
Meet the 2026 Honorary Doctors in Science and Engineering
On Thursday 28 May you are welcome to join a seminar given by the Faculty of Science’s and LTH’s honorary doctors on the mysterious dark universe, innovation and resilience in future agriculture, and what industrial automation can teach us about the labour market in an age of AI.
Read more and sign-up in the calendar.
Faculty of Theology
A popular recording artist and a leading researcher are to be awarded honorary doctorates by Lund University. Bjørn Eidsvåg and Scott Spurlock have been awarded honorary doctorates by the Faculty of Theology at Lund University.
- Bjørn Eidsvåg, artist and musician
- Scott Spurlock, professor of Scottish and Early Modern Christianity at the University of Glasgow.
Beloved artist and leading researcher to receive honorary doctorates from Lund University – ht.lu.se (in Swedish).