Anton Frisk Kockum named “Outstanding Referee” by the American Physical Society

The “Outstanding Referee” award was instituted in 2008 and is awarded each year to recognize researchers who are judged to have been exceptionally helpful in the work of reviewing scientific manuscripts for publication in the seventeen APS journals.

Out of the roughly 50,000 referees who have been asked to review one or more papers in the last twelve months, 160 Outstanding referees have been selected, among those  Anton Frisk Kockum, Associate Professor of applied quantum physics at the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience at Chalmers University of Technology.

”I feel honored by this recognition. I see it as a token of appreciation from the editors of the APS journals,” says Anton.
The editors of the journals make the selection based on how many reports the referees have made during the year, as well as on the quality and timeliness of the reports. Among the 160 researchers selected in 2025, no fewer than 37 countries are represented.

”I believe that the editors of the APS journals perceive me as meticulous, thorough, and punctual with my reports. I also believe that they appreciate that I provide constructive criticism to the article authors and that I make an effort to explain how the article contributes to the field of research,” says Anton when asked to reflect on why he is included on this year’s list.  

Undeniably, you must spend a lot of time and energy going through other people's manuscripts. What drives you?
”It's a combination of several things. Above all, I find that peer review work helps me to familiarize myself with new research that is relevant to my own projects. But I also think it’s very important to safeguard the quality of scientific work and contribute to raising it. I have often been helped by constructive criticism on my own articles and see it as a duty to reciprocate,” explains Anton.