Research & Art

ERC Starting Grant funding

The European Research Council (ERC) funding is awarded to leading researchers for pioneering work at the frontiers of science. ERC Starting Grants are designed to support talented early-career scientist (2-7 years since completion of PhD) who has already produced excellent supervised work, is ready to work independently and shows potential to be a research leader.

Parinya Chalermsook

Project: "New Algorithmic Techniques through the Lens of Combinatorics"
Duration: 2018 - 2023

Person profile Parinya Chalermsook Web page

Elisa Mekler

Project: "Bridging the Games Research-Practice Gap through Theory Translation"
Duration: 2022 - 2027

Person profile Elisa Mekler

News: Harnessing psychological theory for better video games

Lauri Parkkonen

Project: "High-resolution magnetoencephalography: Towards non-invasive corticography"
Duration: 2016 - 2021

Professor Lauri Parkkonen has been awardes a Starting Grant to develop a new sensor technique for measuring human brain activity from outside the head.

The objective of this project is to develop a new type of MEG system in which the neuromagnetic fields produced by electrical activity in the brain are measured much closer to the surface of the head than what is possible with existing MEG equipment. The project will also study the combination of transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS) with the HRMEG method, which would enable much more accurate monitoring of the effects of electrical brain stimulation.

Person profile Lauri Parkkonen

News: Major funding for developing a new brain research method at Aalto University

Jaakko Timonen

Project: "Interacting with Active Particles"
Duration: 2019 -2023

This five-year research project Interacting with Active Particles will design a new kind of magnetic tweezers with which to control and study the interaction of moving active particles. The tweezers could be used in microbiological research, for example, to separate and differentiate between various types of cells.

The new extensive research projects led by Professor Jaakko Timonen seek a breakthrough in controlling microscopic active particles with magnetic tweezers. The research focuses on particles that move in different ways: bacteria, microalgae, and synthetic active particles.

The aim is to develop a new type of magnetic tweezers to manipulate rapidly moving active particles in real-time and also to study the mechanisms underlying the interaction between the particles.

Person profile Jaakko Timonen News: New multi-million euro projects design magnetic tweezers to explore interaction and swarming dynamics of moving particles Watch the Youtube video

Jaana Vapaavuori

Project: "Autonomously adapting and communicating modular textiles"
Duration: 2021 - 2025

Jaana Vapaavuori carries out pioneering research with functional fibres. The study aims to develop smart materials that react to changes in their environment, exploring how soft materials change colours or move in response to changes in light or temperature. These fibres will be built into modular multifunctional textiles using traditional techniques, which enable more complex networks when compared to widely used knitting and weaving techniques.

News: EU grants for smart materials and next generation LEDs

Person profile Jaana Vapaavuor