NODUS Researchers

Dr. İdil GAZİULUSOY, NODUS Leader

Associate Professor, Sustainable Design
idil.gaziulusoy[at]aalto.fi

İdil Gaziulusoy is a design researcher with a PhD in sustainability science from University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research is situated within the emerging area of design for sustainability transitions. She is interested in the new ways of designing and the agencies enabled, enacted and embodied by design that emerge in transformations/transitions contexts. In her work she develops theories, tools and methods to link the day to day activities and strategic decisions of design and innovation teams to the longer-term, systemic and radical transformations which need to take place at the societal level to achieve sustainability. 

You can find İdil’s publications here.

Dr. Mikko JALAS

Associate Professor, Co-Innovating for Circular Solutions
mikko.jalas[at]aalto.fi

Mikko Jalas holds a PhD in Organization and Management from the Aalto University School of Business. He has worked on sustainable consumption, time use, energy consumption and on time use rebound-effects. More recently he has worked on renewable energy investments, the local embedding of energy technologies, self-building activities as well as everyday practices related to energy. His contributions to the study of social practices include theorizing the temporalities of everyday life, developing methodological approaches to use diaries as a method, and empirical studies of everyday practice including bicycling, heat provision and wooden boating. Mikko is the Leader of Creative Sustainability masters program. 

You can find Mikko’s publications here.

Saga-Sofia SANTALA

saga.santala[at]aalto.fi

Saga-Sofia Santala's doctoral research project focuses on sustainable mobility practices and design for behaviour change. Her thesis is based on work conducted at KONE, where she has been leading community engagement work in the EU Horizon 2020 funded SPARCS project for the past years focusing on coordinating citizen engagement activities and conducting design research in the context of sustainable mobility transitions and social behaviour change. As a Doctoral Candidate at Aalto University, she studies the value and ways of including social context understanding in designing behaviour change interventions for effective adoption of sustainable urban mobility practices.

She holds an MA in collaborative and industrial design (2019) and a BA in industrial design (2016) from Aalto University. Through her exchange studies at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, she has studied systems-oriented design and design management.

You can find Saga's publications here.

Tomi RANTANEN

tomi.rantanen[at]aalto.fi

Tomi Rantanen holds an MA in Art and Design from Aalto University (2024). His doctoral research is focused on provoking equity transitions in music. Tomi aims to find out how theories and practices of transition design can facilitate change towards equal futures. Through co-design activities and quantitative and qualitative assessments, he generates knowledge of how these processes might be and what kind of impact they could create. 

Tomi has a background as a DJ and graphic designer in the music industry. He is interested in design for social change, transition design, co-design, systems thinking, and futures thinking. 

You can find Tomi's publications here.

Talvikki KOLLMANN

talvikki.kollmann[at]aalto.fi

Talvikki Kollmann's doctoral research project focuses on remote work and future ways of working. She conducts qualitative research about remote work practices, work environments and the future of work. The aim is to understand the long-term sustainability implications of remote work in Finland and to develop up-to-date conceptual premises of sustainable work and business environments.

You can find Talvikki's publications here.

Delphine RUMO

delphine.rumo[at]aalto.fi

Delphine Rumo's doctoral research focuses on sustainable construction. In her research, she investigates communities of practice that restructure conventional economic spaces towards post-development economies. Her aim is to develop ways to engage with plants, mycelium and synthetic entities through construction materials. She is an industrial and product designer by profession, holds a BA in Industrial and Product Design (ECAL, 2009), a BA in Social Sciences (University of Lausanne, 2017) and an MA in Creative Sustainability (Aalto University, 2021).

You can find Delphine's publications here.

Maria FERREIRA LITOWTSCHENKO

maria.ferreiralitowtschenko[at]aalto.fi

Maria Ferreira's research focuses on design in the public sector, especially in experimental institutional forms like public innovation labs. The aim is to understand the interactions and collaborations between various actors seeking to influence governance, particularly in the Latin American context.

You can find Maria’s publications here.

Kata FODOR

kata.fodor[at]aalto.fi

Kata Fodor’s PhD research is entitled ‘Kitchen Think-over: The Hybridisation of Food Spaces & Their Potential to Facilitate Sustainable Diets’ and focuses on collaborative urban food spaces across European cities. Kata is also a co-founder of the multidisciplinary design studio Atelier Kite. 

You can find Kata’s publications here.

Tommi VASKO

tommi.vasko[at]aalto.fi

Tommi Vasko is a researcher, designer, and organizer. His doctoral research focuses on Live Action Role-plays and gaming in the context of sustainability transitions. The aim is to understand how fictional scenarios and game mechanics can be used to orchestrate socio-technological transformations. Tommi is also a co-founder of an autonomous educational platform Trojan Horse.

You can find Tommi’s publications here

Satu LÄHTEENOJA

satu.lahteenoja[at]aalto.fi

Satu Lähteenoja’s research interests include sustainable development at different policy levels and the role of design in accelerating sustainability transformations. Satu has 15 years of experience in facilitation, consultancy, research and activism on sustainability related topics. In parallel with her studies, she works as a senior expert at the think tank Demos Helsinki.

Emilija VESELOVA

emilija.veselova[at]aalto.fi

Emilija Veselova is developing a theoretical and methodological framework for involving nonhuman stakeholders in collaborative and participatory design processes. She has proposed a bioinclusive approach to co-design and, currently, she researches about which nonhuman entities and structural elements are relevant in a project. 

You can find Emilija’s publications here.

Elif ERDOĞAN ÖZTEKİN

Elif Erdoğan Öztekin focuses on the multidimensional learning processes of transitions in her PhD research across four cases of eco-settlements in Europe. Her research relates to design for sustainability transitions, transdisciplinary research, and participatory methods of knowledge production.

You can find Elif’s publications here.

Thesis: Design in community-led sustainability transitions - Learning across contexts, actors, dimensions and levels of change

Hella HERNBERG

Hella Hernbeg is an architect, whose practice-based research explores temporary reuse of vacant space in the context of sustainable urban development. Her doctoral research is funded partly by Kone Foundation and partly by Aalto. Since 2014 she is also a founding member and teacher at Design for Government course under Aalto Creative Sustainability. Before her doctoral studies, Hella has run her own company Urban Dream Management and worked at the Ministry of the Environment as strategic designer. 

You can find Hella’s publications here.