Eight new Academy Research Fellows appointed from the Aalto University School of Science and Technology
14.04.2010
The Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering of the Academy appointed 19 new Academy Research Fellows on 12 April 2010. 8 researchers from the School of Science and Technology were appointed as new Academy Research Fellows.
The new Academy Research Fellows are:
Hasan Ala: Optimal multi-objective design in integrated renewable energy systems and buildings (Department of Energy Technology, HVAC Technology)
In this project, a multi-objective simulation-based optimisation tool is to be created for the purpose of design of Integrated Renewable Energy Systems and Buildings for Zero and Net-Zero Energy Building Concepts.
Hyvönen Nuutti: Inverse problems with incomplete data (Department of Mathematics).
An inverse problem considers determining the model parameters of some (physical) system from indirect measurements. Usually, mathematicians approach such situations by making simplifications, which lead to assuming idealized measurement data that cannot be obtained using real-world devices. The leading idea of this project is to take the limitations of practical measurements into account in theoretical considerations. The studied inverse problems (or imaging modalities) fall roughly into three categories: electrical impedance tomography, inverse source problems and optical tomography. The project can be categorized as applied mathematics, with special emphasis on mathematical modeling, numerical analysis, theory of partial differential equations and functional analysis.
Liljeroth Peter: Nanostructured graphene through scanning probe lithography and molecular self-assembly (Low Temperature Laboratory).
Graphene is a one-atom-thick planar sheet of carbon atoms packed into a honeycomb crystal lattice. In addition to the conceptual interest in a material that is just a single atom thick, researchers have been attracted to graphene due to its unique electronic properties. This project is aimed at engineering the electronic properties of graphene through scanning probe-based lithography and molecular self-assembly with atomic level control of their structure. If successful, this research would open the possibility of using graphene in next-generation electronic components.
Martikainen Jani Cold quantum gases (Physics).
I study dilute atomic gases whose quantum mechanical properties become very important at low temperatures. These system can form, for example, a Bose-Einstein condensate or different correlated quantum many-body states.
Möttönen Mikko: Geometric phases in adiabatic quantum evolution (Department of Applied Physics).
Mikko Möttönen is the leader of the Quantum Computing and Devices group in the Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University. His research topics include quantum information processing, nanoelctronics, and Bose-Einstein condensation. Across these topics, he studies adiabatic quantum dynamics and the closely related geometric effects and phases.
Ollila Esa: Advanced and robust multichannel signal processing with applications (the Dept. of Signal Processing and Acoustics).
Array and multichannel signal processing techniques are key technologies in wireless communications, radar, sonar and biomedical systems. The research in this proposal will focus on constructing robust and advanced multichannel signal processing techniques for independent component analysis, sensor array and complex-valued signal processing. Developed techniques are applied to medical imaging (fMRI) and radar data. The unifying theme of the research is that the developed techniques are robust (i.e. insensitive to largely deviating observations and non-Gaussian noise environments), which is of key importance due to emergence of impulsive measurement environments and outliers in practical engineering systems.
Palomäki Kalle: Noise Robust Automatic Speech Recognition - Searching for Answers from Human Hearing (Dept. of Information and Computer Science).
One of the major challenges in automatic speech recognition (ASR) is its operation in noisy real world conditions, where the performance gap between human listeners and machine remains large. The objective of this fellowship is to develop algorithms and methods that are based on the models of the human speech recognition process in order to improve noise robustness of ASR.
Sammalkorpi Maria: Surfactant aggregates in solutions and at liquid-solid interface (Department of Chemistry).
The research will apply computational and theoretical methods toward engineering drug delivery, biosensing, and separation membrane systems based on surfactant self-assembly. Amphiphilic surfactant aggregates and their capacity to change form, structure, and dynamics lie at the heart of many natural and synthetic processes. For example, lipid and detergent micelles, vesicles, and membranes play a key role both in cellular and synthetic molecular transport and regulation. The same molecules form tunable coatings, lubrication layers, and novel nanoscale functional soft materials.
