Emma Engström is a researcher at the Institute for Futures studies (IFFS) and the Department of Urban Planning and Environment at KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm. Her research interests encompass the interplay between global challenges and technological change, particularly in the areas of technology in society, transportation, and systems analysis. Alongside her research work, she is engaged in supervising doctoral students.

Emma Engström completed her PhD in environmental engineering and her Master's degree in engineering physics at KTH. She has also earned a Bachelor's degree in political science at Uppsala University. Her doctoral thesis investigated the determinants of groundwater contamination and developed predictive modeling of pollutant subsurface transport. She has also worked as a researcher at Folksam Insurance group, where she studied sustainable transportation from different perspectives.

At IFFS, Emma Engström is involved in various research projects related to the theme The societal impact of new technologies. One of her ongoing projects is focused on the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) in society and examines whether its mechanisms of diffusion are distinct from those of earlier technologies among other things. In the project Sustainable population in the time of climate change she analyzes trajectories of climate and land use impacts using the IPAT-framework, relating economic and demographic perspectives to environmental impact in the twenty-first century. Another project she is part of explores novel technologies within agriculture, applying the backcasting method to envision alternative futures.

In her work, she aims to contribute to improved understanding of the impact of technological change on society and how it can be leveraged to address pressing global challenges. In the Mimir project, Emma Engström will investigate the link between planetary boundaries and global catastrophic risk.

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