New professors join the School of Chemical Engineering
Erdal Aydin
Erdal was born in Istanbul in 1990. He earned his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from METU, master's degree from Koç University, and PhD degree from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Germany. He continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.
He has recently joined the School of Chemical Engineering, bringing expertise in artificial intelligence for chemical engineering. He will do theoretical and application-based research on process and optimal control, design and optimisation of integrated chemical and energy systems, and further develop AI-based approaches at the School. His work combines mathematical modelling with machine learning and optimisation to develop and maintain cost-effective, sustainable and resilient process and energy systems.
Iina Vaajamo
Iina Vaajamo graduated from Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) with a Master of Science in Technology in 2009. She later joined Professor Pekka Taskinen’s Metallurgical Thermodynamics and Modelling research group as a doctoral student, focusing on experimental equilibrium measurements of lead alloys and thermodynamic modelling.
After completing her doctoral studies, she joined Outotec, where she worked as a metallurgist, product manager and project manager. Following the merger with Metso, she moved into sales, working as a site account manager and later as Sales Director for Finland and the Baltic countries.
She has recently joined the School of Chemical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Pyrometallurgy, focusing on high-temperature metallurgy, secondary raw materials, recycling and process modelling, with an emphasis on experimental research.
Miika Mattinen
Miika Mattinen is an inorganic materials chemist by training, with a BSc (2013), MSc (2015), and PhD (2020) from the University of Helsinki. He has worked on thin film deposition using atomic layer deposition (ALD) since his Master’s studies, with an interest in applications in microelectronics and energy. Following his PhD, he has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in ALD groups at Eindhoven University of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of Helsinki.
He has recently joined the School of Chemical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Chemistries and Processes for Sustainable Microelectronics. His work focuses on making microelectronics more sustainable, including the use of more environmentally friendly chemicals and new types of computing such as neuromorphic and quantum computing. He will also work on thin films for catalysis and protective coatings in water electrolysers used to create green hydrogen.
Bruno Mattos
Bruno Mattos received his doctorate from Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba-PR, Brazil, in 2018. After his defence, he joined Aalto University as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Biobased Colloids and Materials Research Group, then led by Professor Orlando Rojas. He later continued as a Research Fellow in the same group and most recently worked as a Senior Scientist at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems. In total, he has worked at Aalto since 2018, progressing through research roles in the field of biobased materials.
Most recently he has worked as Senior Scientist at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems.
He brings new perspectives to the bioeconomy, with a particular focus on recycling, and has recently joined the School of Chemical Engineering as a professor.
Charles Cai
Charles Cai has recently joined the School of Chemical Engineering as a tenured Associate Professor at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, where his professorship focuses on Sustainable Bioproducts and Processes.
Cai received his doctorate from the University of California, Riverside, in 2014. Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a researcher in several companies and also served as an Adjunct Professor. He is the co-founder and CTO of two startups, The Hurd Co and MG Fuels. Most recently, he worked as an Associate Research Professor in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside.
His research focuses on developing technologies to convert plant biomass into fuels and functional materials, particularly through the processing of agricultural and forestry waste. He is the inventor of the patented CELF process, or co-solvent enhanced lignocellulosic fractionation, which can be used to produce biofuels, dissolving pulp for textiles and other products.
School of Chemical Engineering
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