News: 2011-01-01 - 2011-12-31

29.04.2011 Irrespective of the person’s age, social position or family relationships, the choice of home and living environment tends to generate strong emotions. Today, aspects such as ecology, communities and aesthetics have an increasing impact on the choice of housing. The final critique day of the Sustainable Urban Design course arranged at the City of Helsinki City Planning Department’s information service and exhibition space Laituri in April provoked many thoughts – and emotions.

The many faces of wood

02.05.2011 Wood can be used, for example, to clad an unattractive old stone house. As a construction material, wood is energy efficient, and it can be used, for example, to make a hut that can withstand cold weather, termites and a hurricane.

Wonders of Mechatronics

02.05.2011 How does it stay up there? A group of students is staring at a white curved surface along which a small blue ball is travelling towards the peak of the arch managing to come to a halt at exactly the highest point.

Best Paper Award goes to BES researchers - again

02.05.2011 BES (Built Environment Research Group) researchers Liisa Lehtiranta, Sami Kärnä and Juha-Matti Junnonen received the award for Best Paper within the scope of the journal Construction Management and Economics (CM&E) at the 6th Nordic Conference on Construction Economics and Organisation in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The School of Engineering represented by seven students at Masters or Arts 2011

11.05.2011 The Masters of Arts festival (MoA) is a meeting place presenting the thesis projects of new graduates and offering interesting events and seminars, as well as a showcase for Aalto University. For the first time the exhibition also includes theses by students of business and technology.

A New World Record in Combustion Engines Achieved at Aalto University

14.05.2011 The Combustion Engine Research Group at Aalto University, has put the performance values of combustion engines to a new extreme level. The research group was able to reach 30 MPa cylinder pressure with the unique medium-speed research engine EVE (Extreme Value Engine)on 20th of April 2011.

Petri Varsta to continue as Dean in 2012

16.05.2011 The Board of Aalto University has re-appointed Dean, Professor Petri Varsta for the School of Engineering for another one year period starting on January 1, 2012. In November, 2010, Professor Varsta was appointed as Dean for a one year period in 2011.

Finnish expertise helps to improve land ownership conditions in developing countries

16.05.2011 Global prosperity and well-being are threatened by rapid growth in the world’s population. - In order to ensure that the poorest people in the world have at least reasonable living conditions, we should slow population growth. This would also have an impact on climate change, says Professor Kauko Viitanen, Head of the Department of Surveying.

Research project on timber construction receives award

01.06.2011 The TES Energy Facade timber construction research project was announced winner of the Deutscher Holzbaupreis 2011 award on Tuesday 31 May 2011. The project carried out jointly by Aalto University, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) took first place in the “Komponenten / Konzepte” category.

Aalto University main campus to be located in Otaniemi

17.06.2011 The Aalto University Board has discussed the university’s future campus solution in its meeting today. The board decided that the main campus of Aalto University will be located in Otaniemi, Espoo. This decision was in line with the proposal previously delivered to students and staff members. The model with one main campus is best for supporting the mission of Aalto University as a multidisciplinary and creative university.

The New School at Aalto University brings together art and architecture

17.06.2011 In its meeting on Friday 17 June, the Board of Aalto University decided to approve the proposal submitted by the New School project led by Dean Helena Hyvönen. According to the proposal, Aalto University School of Art and Design and the Department of Architecture at the School of Engineering will form a new School on 1 January 2012.

Fastest Sea-Level Rise in Two Millennia Linked to Increasing Temperatures

21.06.2011 An international research team has shown that the rate of sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years and have shown a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level.

Seven Postdoctoral Researchers

22.06.2011 Aalto University School of Engineering invites applications for 7 postdoctoral research positions. The areas of the post-doctoral research should fall within the fields covered by the departments at the School of Engineering (see http://eng.aalto.fi/en).

City dwellers produce as much CO2 as countryside people do

22.06.2011 Most previous studies have indicated that people in cities have a smaller carbon footprint than people who live in the country. By using more complex methods of analysis than in the past, scientists at Aalto University in Finland have discovered that people's carbon emissions are practically the same in the city and in the rural areas. More than anything else, CO2 emissions that cause climate change are dependent upon how much goods and services people consume, not where they live.

New steel converter model saves energy, time, raw materials and the environment

25.08.2011 The development of steel grades has become significantly faster due to a computationally efficient new simulation programme called SteelConverterSimulator. The new steel converter model saves energy, time, raw materials and the environment. The model is a powerful tool due to its solid physical basis and its sufficient simplicity. Simulation tools of this kind have not been released anywhere else in the world.

New students arrived

26.08.2011 Over 500 new Bachelor and Master students, both Finnish and international, arrived on Monday 29th August to the School of Engineering.

Interdisciplinary team of students builds triumphant field robot

28.08.2011 Every year, Aalto University and the University of Helsinki organise a joint project course where students build a field robot from scratch. The robot built on the latest course won first prize at a field robot contest in Denmark this summer. Twelve student teams from all over Europe participated in the competition. “The key to success was that our students performed each phase thoroughly and meticulously,” says Timo Oksanen, one of the instructors of the course from the Department of Automation and Systems Technology.

Professor Risto Lahdelma appointed second Vice Dean of Aalto University School of Engineering

09.09.2011 University President Tuula Teeri has appointed Professor Risto Lahdelma Vice Dean of the Aalto University School of Engineering for the period of 1 September 2011 to 31 December 2012. Lahdelma’s area of responsibility will be research and research infrastructure at the school. At the same time, Professor Juha Paavola’s term of office as Vice Dean of the School of Engineering was extended until 31 December 2012. Paavola’s areas of responsibility are basic education and quality.

A paper dealing with soft sensors receives an honourable mention from a congress on automation and process control

29.09.2011 A paper concerned with soft (virtual) sensors, “Estimating nitrate concentration in the post-denitrification unit of a municipal wastewater treatment”, has received an honourable mention in an international congress on automation and process control. The honourable mention in the Best Applications Paper Price series was awarded to five finalists from among 2 400 accepted articles.

Finland - from car dependency to oil dependency?

03.10.2011 - Finland has a car-dependent urban structure, stated Professor Raine Mäntysalo at the fifth Sino-Finnish Innovation Forum held at Dipoli in late September. - But does that necessarily have to translate into a dependency on oil? he immediately adds. In his speech, Mäntysalo addressed how innovative cities recognise their dependency on oil and how to eliminate it, so that they can truly represent sustainable development free from carbon dioxide emissions.

Doctoral dissertation: Industries can improve their energy performance through measurement

10.10.2011 Industrial companies do not always invest in energy efficiency even though it would bring economic benefits. A doctoral dissertation examined at Aalto University tells why: there are no indicators for energy performance.

Applications are invited for Doctoral Program in Energy Efficiency and Systems

16.10.2011 The Academy of Finland has granted funding for a new doctoral program for Energy Efficiency and Systems (EES) during 2012-2015. Improving the energy and material efficiency in communities and industry is technologically feasible and economically feasible way to dramatically reduce the environmental impacts. The EES program educates researchers and experts for the needs of universities, industry and authorities.

Graduate Program of Engineering Mechanics - Deadline October 28, 2011

20.10.2011 The Graduate Program of Engineering Mechanics is jointly offered by Aalto University, University of Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta University of Technology, University of Oulu and Tampere University of Technology. The graduate program provides up to four-year funding for doctoral studies on the basis of an applicant's Master's degree in engineering mechanics or a closely related field.

Information on climate change now at one address Ilmasto-opas.fi

24.10.2011 Ilmasto-opas.fi, a new website bringing together climate information under one address, was opened in October. The website provides information about the Finnish climate and climate change, analysed down to individual regions. The Swedish and English versions of the site will be launched later this year.

Foam core stiffens steel

01.11.2011 Aalto University's researcher Jani Romanoff developed a lightweight ship deck structure. Rigid, foam-filled steel panel lightens the ship, and lowers its centre of gravity.

The new school to be called Aalto University School of Arts and Creativity: A name that reflects the common denominators

08.11.2011 The new school formed by the current Aalto University School of Art and Design and the Department of Architecture at the School of Engineering will begin to operate on the 1st of January 2012. Its name will be the Aalto University School of Arts and Creativity.

AYY awarded the Best International Teacher and the International Act of the Year prizes

14.11.2011 Tuomas Paloposki from Department of Energy Technology was awarded the Best International Teacher prize of Aalto University Student Union (AYY) and Pamela Spokes was awarded the International Act of the Year prize for her work on providing health insurance for international students across Finland.

Aalto University listened to the voice of the community – the English and Swedish names of the new school were reviewed

28.11.2011 The current Aalto University School of Art and Design and the Department of Architecture at the Aalto University School of Engineering will combine forces and begin to operate as a new entity within the university on the 1 January 2012. Based on a decision made on 8 November 2011, the Finnish name for the new school will be Aalto-yliopiston taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu.

Professor Sanna Syri and researcher Sirkku Juhola appointed as experts on the Ministry of the Environment climate panel

07.12.2011 Professor Sanna Syri from the Department of Energy Technology and researcher Sirkku Juhola from the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies have been nominated as members of the national climate panel appointed by the Ministry of the Environment. The panel aims at promoting dialogue between science and politics in climate issues.

The technology students of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture

08.12.2011 The colleagues around the world recommended that Aalto University’s architects should increase their numbers and intake instead of forming a new school with the School of Art and Design. However, the Department of Architecture took a different approach and the integration decision was made unanimously. What will the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture offer architects? Will there be a difference compared to the current situation as part of the School of Engineering?

News: Archive 2011