News: Archive 2012
Bursty behaviour found to have similar features across complex systems
01.06.2012 Several complex systems live in periods of short bursts of high activity followed by long uneventful intermissions. This phenomenon called burstiness can be modelled and predicted with mathematical algorithms. Research of Dr Márton Karsai of Aalto University Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, now shows that burstiness has universal features in very different systems.
Domestic investment and exports stimulate most economic growth in Russia
05.06.2012 Domestic investment and exports are among the most important factors for stimulating economic growth across Russia. This is shown in a study by Lic.Sc. Svetlana Ledyaeva for the Aalto University School of Economics.
Peer-to-peer services are transforming the technology and business domains of the Internet
05.06.2012 Peer-to-peer (P2P) services are emerging in mobile devices, such as smartphones, equipped with an Internet connection.
Cues of new songs keep music playing in your head
06.06.2012 Nearly all of people experience music playing in their head every week. This music is typically contemporary, lyrical, and represents only a fraction of a song, a study finds. People can be induced to experience involuntary music by musical cues.
A new system architecture speeds up the use of mobile phone applications
11.06.2012 When a phone is used to scan a smart tag on a concert ticket, the band’s latest music video and interviews appear on the screen. Although the slow speed of data transmission in a phone network and high power consumption have hindered the use of such smart phone applications until now, downloading can soon be possible in just a few seconds. In his dissertation, Iiro Jantunen developed an open system architecture that transmits data from network to telephone at a faster rate.
Doctoral dissertation on videographic research: Less text and more experience
12.06.2012 If the ‘reality’ of the digital moving image is eschewed, video can be considered as a medium of performative expressions rather than 'representations' of some external states. Video becomes an emotional medium, capable to relate evocative feelings. Thus it also has the potential of popularizing academic work.
Researchers develop optical displays from water and air
14.06.2012 For many years, scientists have been pursuing ways to mimic the perplexing capability of the lotus leaf to repel water. Lotus leaves hate water so much that droplets effortlessly roll off the surface, keeping it clean from dirt. Now an international team of researchers led by Aalto University have come up with an entirely new concept of writing and displaying information on surfaces using simply water.
Doctoral dissertation: The success recipes of companies are context-dependent
15.06.2012 One of the most central questions in marketing and strategic management is the following: Why do some companies outperform others? There is still only a partial understanding of what succeeding in business in different operating environments requires. Since companies have limited resources, the successful allocation of these resources is vital.
Aalto University to acquire Musta Taide publishing company
15.06.2012 The publishing company Musta Taide specialising in high quality photography books will be acquired by Aalto University. Operations will continue as part of Aalto ARTS Books, which is responsible for the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture publications.
Doctoral dissertation: Outdated values and rules the reason for the small number of Finnish growth companies
18.06.2012 The outdated values and rules of Finnish society are the reason for the country’s small number of growth companies. Creating growth companies is not merely up to individual entrepreneurs and members of top management: it is the result of the activities of an entire community. This is essential when practical policy and development programmes aimed at supporting growth entrepreneurship are being planned and implemented and when growth companies are being established.
Paper industry’s future is in waste-to-energy business
18.06.2012 Recycling is a centuries-old skill. Still a third of the paper we use lives only once and ends up on landfills. Recycling waste is a global business of which recovered paper makes up a significant part. Bales of recovered paper alone are bought and sold yearly with 20 billion euros worldwide. As a third of potentially recyclable paper is lost among other waste, the market still stands to grow.
Managing floods on nature’s terms
19.06.2012 Mathematical models describing the interaction between water flow, vegetation and sediments in river basins are being developed at Aalto University. The hydraulic models will be used to create a basis for environmentally sound flood management.
New deans sought for three Schools
19.06.2012 Aalto University seeks to appoint new deans to lead the operations of the School of Engineering, the School of Chemical Technology and the School of Science. The new deans will start in their positions at the beginning of 2013. At Aalto University, deans are elected for a five-year term.
Admission results for BA programmes at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture released
21.06.2012 A total of 2 874 hopefuls interested in pursuing studies in the field of applied art applied for the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture this year.
EIT ICT Labs and FI-PPP signing Memorandum of Collaboration on 21 June 2012
21.06.2012 EIT ICT Labs Press release June 21,2012 Building stronger synergies between research, innovation and education in European ICT. An agreement bringing together EIT ICT Labs of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and the EU's Future Internet Public-Private Partnership (FI-PPP) will be signed on 21 June in the presence of Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for Digital Agenda, and Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
Energy efficiency program to start at Aalto University
21.06.2012 Aalto Energy Efficiency Research Programme (AEF) has been established to strengthen energy research and teaching at Aalto University. The aim of the programme is to launch ambitious interdisciplinary research projects that could produce solutions that significantly improve energy efficiency, with a wide scope. In the Aalto University strategy, energy was included from the very beginning, and all Aalto schools study and teach energy issues.
Condition of bridges, nuclear power plants or roller-coasters monitored with a new system
25.06.2012 Researchers are developing an intelligent system to monitor the condition of valuable structures automatically, at times even in real time. The system has the ability to alert users of damage for ex. to the structures of skyscrapers.
Significant sea-level rise in a 2-degree warming world
25.06.2012 Sea levels around the world can be expected to rise by several metres in coming centuries, if global warming carries on. Even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, global-mean sea level could continue to rise, reaching between 1.5 and 4 metres above present-day levels by the year 2300, with the best estimate being at 2.7 metres, according to a study just published in Nature Climate Change.
City Sets - Discover the Design Urban Design and Media Art of Aalto University in Paris
26.06.2012 The City Sets - Discover the Design Paris exhibition (from 31 May to 31 Aug 2012) introduces the Aalto University's MA and doctoral students' talent side by side with experienced Finnish media artists in the context of Designer's Days, one of the biggest yearly design events in France.
Masters of Aalto took over Jätkäsaari
26.06.2012 The Masters of Aalto festival, which has grown into an event encompassing the entire Aalto University, drew visitors throughout May to the exhibition featuring the future's professionals. In addition to the exhibition, the festival included public events, seminars and workshops. A 100-year-old harbour warehouse designed by Lars Sonck functioned as the exhibition space in Jätkäsaari.
Seven tenure track or tenured professor positions open at the School of Electrical Engineering
27.06.2012 Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering transforms scientific and technological research results to advanced solutions and applications ranging from nanotechnology to space robotics.
EU visibility to Rail Baltica projects
28.06.2012 Rail Baltica Growth Corridor (RBGC) and RBGC Russia were presented in Copenhagen on 18.-19.6.2012 at the BDF Summit and the Annual Meeting of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).
The most significant academic conference on data communication to gather leading experts to Finlandia Hall in August
29.06.2012 ACM Sigcomm, the most scientifically significant academic conference on ICT research, will be organised for the first time in Finland on 13–18 August 2012. The conference will be hosted by Aalto University and Nokia.
