Hans Rosling
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Rosling's career is an impressive combination of scientific achievement and social engagement. He began as a physician, spending years in rural Africa tracking a rare paralytic disease (which he named konzo) and discovering its cause: hunger and badly processed cassava.
His research has also focused on links between economic development, agriculture, poverty and health in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He has been advisor to WHO, UNICEF and several aid agencies. In 1993 he co-founded Médecins sans frontières in Sweden; since 2005 he is a member of the Swedish Academy of Science.
Hans Rosling heads KI's Division of International Health, where he leads courses on global health which include training periods for students in India, Iran, Tanzania and Cuba. He is in charge of collaboration with universities in low and middle-income countries. He has co-authored a textbook on global health.
Gapminder Foundation
He co-founded the Gapminder Foundation with his son and daughter-in-law. Gapminder developed Trendalyzer software to convert statistical data into powerful graphics, with the aim of promoting a fact-based worldview and increased understanding of international statistics. His Gapminder lectures on development issues have won awards for being 'humorous yet deadly serious'.
See Rosling's talk at TED: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen
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