Bengt Jacobson

Bengt Jacobson is a Professor and group leader of the Vehicle Dynamics group at Chalmers University of Technology (Department of Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems). He earned his PhD in Machine Elements from Chalmers in 1993 and was appointed Associate Professor in 1998. His industrial experience includes serving as Technical Expert at Volvo Car Corporation (2001-2010) focusing on active safety and vehicle dynamics. Jacobson holds board positions at the Swedish Vehicular Engineering Association (since 2012) and Heavy Vehicle Transport and Technology (since 2023).

His research focuses on vehicle dynamics in the ground plane for passenger cars and heavy trucks, including powertrain systems, hybrid vehicles, active safety controls, tire modeling, and aerodynamic interactions. Recent work explores trajectory control, stability algorithms, energy efficiency, and human-vehicle interactions under dynamic conditions.

Jacobson's 200+ publications consistently address vehicle dynamics optimization, with recent trends in MPC control validation, safety envelope definition for articulated vehicles, crosswind stability, and high-fidelity tire modeling. His group develops simulation tools like OpenPBS for assessing high-capacity transports.

He leads 44+ projects involving industry partnerships (e.g., Volvo) and supervises research on electric propulsion systems, automated driving, and performance-based standards. The Vehicle Dynamics group collaborates extensively with automotive OEMs and infrastructure authorities.