News

Andreas Mortensen to Aalto University Board

The new member brings broad international expertise of the university environment to the board.

The Aalto University Academic Affairs Committee has appointed Professor Andreas Mortensen as a new member of the university board and PhD Susanna Pettersson for a new termas of 1 January 2020.

Andreas Mortensen
Andreas Mortensen

Andreas Mortensen is currently working as a professor at the Institute of Materials and also as Vice President of Research at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Prior to joining EPFL he has been a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research focuses on the processing, physical metallurgy and mechanical behaviour of advanced metallic materials. Professor Mortensen has strong credentials in research, and he has been rewarded for his teaching.

Mortensen is also currently the Director General of the EU FET Flagship Human Brain Project. He has been involved in various European high-level expert groups, research and scientific councils, and foundations.

Susanne Pettersson at the Harald Herlin Learning Centre in Otaniemi.
Susanna Pettersson. Photo: Aalto University / Jaakko Kahilaniemi

Susanna Pettersson, whose term of office is ending, has served as a board member for two terms since the beginning of 2014. The Academic Affairs Committee selected Pettersson, the Director General of the Swedish National Museum, for a new term as of 1 January 2020.

Pettersson has previously acted as the Director of the Ateneum Art Museum, Director of the Finnish Institute in London, Director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Alvar Aalto Museum, and held various positions with the Finnish National Gallery. Pettersson is a part-time visiting professor at Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam and an adjunct professor in museology at the University of Jyväskylä. She has extensive networks in both the Finnish and international cultural sectors. She  has also been a member of several working groups with the Ministry of Education and Culture, and an expert member in several EU and international working groups.

‘I am extremely pleased to note that Aalto University is of genuine interest to top level international experts like Andreas Mortensen and Susanna Pettersson. They both have the enthusiasm and motivation to advance the university’s ambitious goals’, remarks Professor Yrjö Neuvo, Chair of the Board Nomination Committee.

Stepping down from the board is Professor Colin Whitehouse, who has been a member of the Aalto University Board since the beginning of 2013 when he was nominated to replace a resigning member of the board for a one-year term. According to the Aalto University Foundation’s Constitution, he cannot thus be reappointed for a new three-year term.

‘Colin Whitehouse has served the university with distinction to raise Aalto’s reputation as an internationally recognised university. I am grateful to him for the outstanding work he has performed and the wisdom he has shown while on the board,’ remarks Chair of the Board Mikko Kosonen.

As of 1 January  2020, the Aalto University Board will comprise Sari Baldauf, Ilkka Kivimäki, Mikko Kosonen (Chair of the Board), Karel Ch. A. M. Luyben, Liqiu Meng, Andreas Mortensen and Susanna Pettersson (Vice Chair of the Board).The term of office of the members of the board is three years.

  • Published:
  • Updated:

Read more news

Marjo Kettunen
Appointments Published:

Marjo Kettunen appointed development manager at the School of Science

Marjo Kettunen has been appointed development manager at the School of Science (SCI). She is transitioning from the School of Chemical Engineering, where she has served as development manager since spring 2018.
A woman with blonde hair stands with arm resting on a ledge with a grey background.
Appointments Published:

Physics professor: Nuclear simulations need powerful computers, and ‘Finland is at the forefront’

Andrea Sand leads the Nuclear Materials and Engineering research group – a large team of international researchers with funding resources and collaboration opportunities spanning the European continent.
Sekajätekasa Ämmässuon jätteenkäsittelylaitoksella.
Campus, Cooperation, University Published:

Recycling campaign starts on Otaniemi campus

We will launch a waste recycling campaign on the Otaniemi campus in early October. The aim is to increase the recycling rate and reduce the amount of mixed waste.
Professor Maarit Karppinen
Appointments, Research & Art Published:

Professor Maarit Karppinen appointed as a member of the European Research Council

Maarit Karppinen, professor of inorganic materials chemistry at Aalto University, will begin her term as member of the ERC Scientific Council on January 1, 2025.