James Zhijian Shen

Professor James Shen, our beloved father, husband, grandfather, colleague and friend, has suddenly passed away due to complications from Covid-19 at the age of 59. It is shocking that a person so energetic and full of life, brimming with exciting and innovative ideas for future projects has left us within a period of three weeks. He leaves behind him a heartbroken and grieving family: his wife Liying, older daughter Janie with family, and younger daughter Mimmi. James grew up in Wuxi, China and completed his graduate studies at Wuhan University of Technology. He received his PhD on Materials Physics and Chemistry in 1990 and was appointed as an Associate Professor in 1992 at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. His ambitions and curiosity propelled him to seek an research environment that could provide the opportunity further his career. In 1993, James joined the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry at Stockholm University as postdoctoral researcher, together with his wife Liying and then 6 year old daughter Ziye (later named Janie). He was promoted to full professor in materials chemistry in 2007. In the course of his career, Professor Shen published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles. He was also the chief editor of the book "Advanced Ceramics for Dentistry" and acted as initiator and organizer of "The International Workshop on Advanced Ceramics and Technologies for Dentistry" (ACT4D). He was elected as Academician, World Academy of Ceramics in 2017, and he is also Fellow of the European Ceramic Society, Member of the American Ceramic Society, the American Chemical Society, and the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). Up until his passing, he was actively involved and driving several projects, including collaboration with enterprises like Nobel Biocare, Sandvik, SKF on ceramics solutions for industrial applications. Recently he has commercialized "Self-Glazed Zirconia" as a new grade of zirconia dental prosthesis that perfectly fits for a full digital workflow of digital restorative dentistry, which is now available in Asia, Europe and North America. In Stockholm, he collaborated with local entreprises, such as Svea Dental Design, Sigrid Therapeutics, and Episurf AB as participants of SMH. In his free time, James loved to be out in the nature and spend time with his family at their cabin outside of Stockholm. You can find him fixing the garden, taking the grandchildren out for a boat ride, or cooking delicious meals for his family. His smile, humor and positive spirit spread joy to everyone around him and will be missed tremendously. Rest in peace Professor James Shen.