Order of the Polar Star to Colin Carlile
Thursday June 27 Colin Carlile received the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star for the achievement of bringing the European Spallation Source project to Sweden. Colin Carlile led the ESS project until February this year, and is today driving the scientific development of Science Village Scandinavia.
At a ceremony, held in the government offices at Rosenbad in Stockholm, Colin Carlile was presented with the insignia of the Royal Order of the Polar Star by Jan Björklund, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden. Colin Carlile has spent the past seven years leading the European Spallation Source project in Lund, southern Sweden.
– I am really touched to receive this decoration”, said Colin Carlile, “especially since it links together the early years of my life with what I am doing now. As a young boy living in the countryside in the north of England I looked up into the night sky and wondered what was out there. I learned to recognise the Polar Star by following the stars in the constellation of the Plough. Now that I have stepped down as Director General of ESS I am once again a student, this time in Astronomy rather than Physics.
– This award reflects the hard work of many, many people at ESS and in Sweden, both close to Lund and Skåne and all around the country as well as our European partners. I owe a great debt to them and particularly to my family, who have been a constant support. We feel at home in Sweden and we plan to stay here.
Colin Carlile came to Lund in 2006 following his role as Director of the Institute Laue-Langevin in Grenoble with the goal of bringing the ESS to Sweden. This was achieved in May 2009 together with Allan Larsson after a long and determined campaign. Colin Carlile stepped down from the position as Director-General for ESS after the delivery of all the promised Pre-Construction documentation to the 17 ESS Partner Countries.
Today, he is continuing his commitment to the development of a strong scientific environment around ESS through his engagement as Special Advisor to the CEO in Science Village Scandinavia, where he is building up strategic scientific relations with universities and research institutes around Europe.
The Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star was instituted in 1748 by King Fredrik I. Today it is only awarded to non-Swedish citizens and to members of the Royal Court, who have made personal efforts for Sweden or for Swedish interests.