“Electric roads are particularly interesting to me” – Welcome to the program management team, Lina Nordin!
We welcome a new representative from VTI to our program management team. Lina Nordin is passionate about climate adaptation and electrification, and brings exciting perspectives to our group.
Lina Nordin holds a PhD in physical geography from the University of Gothenburg, with a focus on energy efficiency in winter road maintenance.
– As a researcher at VTI, I have worked on climate adaptation in relation to various types of transport infrastructure, electrification and electric roads, and digitalization. Since 2023, I have been head of research at the operations and maintenance unit at VTI, and since August this year, I have also been head of the INFRA department at VTI. 
How did your interest in infrastructure, roads, and transportation begin?
– Having been born and raised in a small town outside Sundsvall, transportation became an important part of getting around at an early age. Looking back, I realize that it was probably the feeling of freedom that came with being able to go wherever I wanted that made me start using the various modes of transportation available to someone living in such a small town at an early age. We used bicycles, kick sleds, horses, or mopeds to get everywhere. My interest in knowing all the roads and exploring new paths has followed me to every place I’ve moved.
When I started driving myself, it also became very interesting to understand how the road behaved in different weather conditions. I love snow, but not when it causes problems on the road. And in the small town where I grew up, it did cause some problems. It was fantastic as a packed white ice road when I whizzed along on my kick sled on my way to school, but the same packed snow then became a problem for motorists when ruts began to form in the road surface.
How did you carry that interest with you into your professional life?
– The connection between roads and climate was already there, so when I discovered that it was possible to conduct research on the subject, it was a given. I liked the applicability; the fact that research on road climate was close to reality and could be implemented quickly was another important factor in why I continued with roads and climate. And then my interest has grown and broadened to include how we should adapt infrastructure to a changing climate.
What issues are you particularly passionate about?
– Climate adaptation and electrification; electric roads have become something that is particularly interesting to me.
What do you hope to contribute to Mistra InfraMaint?
– I hope to be able to contribute by helping to raise awareness of the roadside perspective a little more. There is a lot of research that needs to be done, but also a lot of existing research that can be made more visible. At the same time, we need to raise awareness of Mistra Inframaint’s work more internally at VTI.
And what do you hope to gain from your work in the program management team?
– I look forward to new contacts and new collaborations, but also to learning about everything Mistra inframaint does and contributes. I hope and believe that the work in the program management team will be rewarding and educational, while also giving me a broader perspective on systemic issues.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for road and transport infrastructure in Sweden in the future? And how do you think we can best solve it…?
– Wow, what a difficult question! Road maintenance is often mentioned as being neglected, but at the same time it varies greatly depending on where you are in the country, and the type of road and surroundings also affect the condition of the road. I think prioritizing measures will be one of the more difficult challenges. Which roads or measures need to be prioritized first and from what perspective? Should we start by strengthening them to adapt to a possible increase in water flow from the surrounding area, or is it a question of preparing for a future increase in heavy military transport?
– Another challenge is AI and big data. We often rely on big data as the solution to problems. But do we really need to collect all this data? The challenge lies in knowing what data we really need and understanding how to deal with uncertainties and interpretation errors that we otherwise risk weaving into our AI solutions if we rely on AI to solve everything completely.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Anita Ihs, who is retiring and thus leaving her position in the program management as a representative of VTI.