Jakob Heydorn Lagerlöf was born in 1978 and moved from Värmland to Gothenburg in 1997 to study physics. While at university, he worked alongside his studies in teaching and science communication, including assignments at schools in Gothenburg, the University of Gothenburg, the Gothenburg Science Festival, and the science centre Universeum. He completed his Master’s thesis at Chalmers University of Technology on measuring the effects of mobile phone radiation on the brain, graduating in 2001. He then joined Volvo’s research and development company, Volvo Teknisk Utveckling (later Volvo Technology Corporation), where he worked as an engineer in energy conversion and physics until 2006.
He subsequently returned to academic studies, earning a degree in radiation physics and qualifying as a medical physicist in 2008. Alongside teaching on the medical physics programme at the University of Gothenburg, he began research in radiation physics and was awarded a PhD in 2014 for a thesis on mathematical modelling. He then moved back to Värmland and Karlstad with his family. His research continued in parallel with roles as a manager, radiation protection expert, research leader and hospital physicist. Over the years, this work resulted in numerous scientific publications and extensive supervision of students and researchers at various levels, and in 2024 Lagerlöf was appointed Associate Professor of Physics at Karlstad University.
JHL Fysikkonsult was founded as a sole proprietorship in 2019 and has since carried out a wide range of assignments and investigations for veterinarians, healthcare providers and various industries. As the business grew, it was incorporated as a limited company in 2023. Today, the company serves a steadily growing client base across Sweden and continues to take on a diverse range of stimulating projects within radiation physics.