News

Teuvo Kohonen in memoriam

Academician of Science, Professor Teuvo Kohonen (1934–2021) has passed away. Kohonen was a pioneer of research and education in information technology. His work on neural networks received global acknowledgement.
Teuvo Kohonen. Kuva: Lasse Lecklin

Professor and Academician of Science Teuvo Kohonen passed away at the age of 87 on December 13th, 2021.

Kohonen led a prominent academic career at the University of Technology, which preceded Aalto University. He retired in the late 1990s as an Academy Professor and the director of the neural networks research unit at the Helsinki University of Technology.

Kohonen is one of the world's best-known neural network researchers. He is best known for his self-organizing maps (SOMs), which brought Finnish artificial intelligence research onto the world stage in the early 1980s.

Kohonen graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology with a master's degree in engineering in 1957 and received his doctorate in 1962. 

Teuvo Kohonen received the honorary title of Academician of Science from the President of the Republic of Finland in 2000.

  • Updated:
  • Published:
Share
URL copied!

Read more news

Two people in blue shirts are looking at a laptop screen in an industrial setting.
Cooperation, Research & Art Published:

Seizing opportunities

Vuong Vo's path led through Aalto University and VTT to a startup, where he is helping build the protein factory of the future.
A table with bowls, bottles, and cups. People are working with various items, including a bottle of dark liquid.
Research & Art, Studies Published:

Growing Materials, Growing Ideas: Inside the BioMaker Studio

At Aalto University’s BioMaker Studio, initiated by Ena Naito, students and researchers experiment with living materials, from algae to mycelium, creating an open, interdisciplinary space where design, biology, and collaboration grow together.
A person speaking into a smartwatch with a silver mesh band, displaying a waveform on the screen.
Press releases, Research & Art Published:

Your voice gives away valuable personal information, so how do you keep that data safe?

With speech technologies becoming increasingly common, researchers want to make sure we don’t give away more information than we mean to.
Three people sitting at a bus stop with maps and signs behind them. One has a backpack on the ground.
Research & Art Published:

Aalto in 2025: Quantum leaps, creative breakthroughs and solutions for a better life

Growth, technology and industrial renewal; human-centred solutions; health and everyday wellbeing; and enjoyable daily life and thriving communities.