Susanne Norgren awarded Polhem Prize for groundbreaking materials innovation
Susanne Norgren, Group Expert at Sandvik, has been awarded the 2026 Polhem Prize (Polhemspriset) for a material innovation that has revolutionized the global rock drilling industry. The Polhem Prize is Sweden's oldest and one of its most prestigious engineering awards.
Rockdrilling places extreme demands on materials. The cemented carbide inserts in drill bits are subjected to powerful impacts, high pressure and intense wear as they break through rock. Through advanced materials design, Susanne Norgren has succeeded in increasing the hardness and wear resistance of the drill inserts without making them brittle and prone to fracture. The innovation creates nano-thin layers at the crystallographic interfaces in the material and strengthens them. The innovation extends the service life of the inserts, increases productivity and improves operator safety, while also reducing resource consumption.
“It is a great honor and a complete surprise to receive Sweden's oldest engineering award. I hope to inspire more people, especially young people, to consider careers in engineering, science and industry. It is incredibly rewarding to turn theory into practice and contribute to making our world more sustainable, which is a responsibility we have as engineers and technology professionals,” says Susanne Norgren.
Susanne Norgren is named as an inventor behind more than 400 patents across 36 patent families and has published over 130 scientific papers. Her work spans areas such as cemented carbides, rock drilling, metal cutting, additive manufacturing and advanced biomaterials.
In 2013, Sandvik appointed Susanne Norgren as Group Expert, the company's highest specialist level. In this role, she leads strategic research and development across Sandvik. Since 2024, she has served as Chair of the Sandvik Scientific Council, which leads and coordinates strategic research activities across the Group. She is also an adjunct professor at Lund University, since 2014 fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), and Strategic advisory board member of the Royce Institutes in the UK. She has previously received the Gunnar Wallquist Mining Medal and, together with other Sandvik employees, the Wilhelm Haglund Medal twice.
About the Polhem Prize
- Christopher Polhem (1661–1751) was one of Sweden's most prominent inventors of all time.
- The Polhem Prize is awarded annually by the Engineers of Sweden (Sveriges Ingenjörer). Established in 1876, the prize celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
- The prize consists of a gold Polhem Medal and SEK 250,000. It is awarded for outstanding technological innovation or an ingenious solution to a technical problem. The innovation must be commercially available and competitive.