New FiDiPro professors join TUT

The Finland Distinguished Professor Programme (FiDiPro) is a funding programme that enables the recruitment of world-class foreign and expatriate professors to Finland for a fixed period of time.

FiDiPro Professor: Professor Ian F. Akyildiz, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Professor Ian F. Akyildiz is a world-leading scientist in nanonetworks. He is internationally one of the most cited scientists in the field of electrical and computing engineering and has been granted a number of prestigious honours and awards.

Research project: Nanonetworks, i.e. networks of nano devices, under the Internet of Things (IoT) concept, will enable more advanced applications of nanotechnology in the biomedical, environmental, energy, military and other fields. The mission of the project is to conduct research on nanoscale machines networking and communications as a next step in modern communication technologies. In particular, this field is an unexplored area riddled with numerous research challenges. More specifically, many fundamental communication network requirements and functionalities will be redefined and redesigned (incl. network architectures, topologies, algorithms for nanoscale communication, coverage/connectivity, relay, broadcast, and medium access control mechanisms, synchronization, routing, addressing, reliable information coding, error control).

Finnish host and university: Professor Evgeni Kucheryavy, Tampere University of Technology, tel. +358 40 7710 619, evgeni.kucheryavy(at)tut.fi

FiDiPro Professor: Professor Pavel Jungwirth, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

Professor Pavel Jungwirth’s (b. 1966) research is characterised by interdisciplinarity and a wide range of topics, such as the effects of salts on proteins and cell membranes, the chemistry of atmospheric aerosols, and damage to DNA and lipids due to oxidative stress.

Research project: The research project focuses efforts to unravel questions related to molecular translocation across cell membranes. Particular attention is paid to effects due to oxidative stress, ions, and specific membrane-associated peptides and proteins that are involved in numerous human diseases. The research will promote health by providing better understanding of the underlying principles and mechanisms by which molecular engines (proteins) function under physiological conditions, thus proposing novel ideas and means to modulate their function with lipids, develop drugs for better health, and minimise effects due to oxidation. The scientific breakthroughs will pave way to biotechnological innovations in the development of drug and gene delivery techniques using completely new concepts.

Finnish host and university: Professor Ilpo Vattulainen, Tampere University of Technology, tel. +358 400 510 592, ilpo.vattulainen(at)tut.fi