Kutsuvierasluennoitsijat 2019

5. Karelia Symposiumin kutsuvierasluennoitsijat 2019

Dr. Tobias Keplinger

Dr. Tobias Keplinger is group leader of the “Functional Wood Materials Characterization Group” at the Institute of Building Materials/Wood Materials Science at ETH Zürich. Before he has worked as PostDoc and completed his PhD with a thesis on versatile strategies for wood cell wall functionalization in 2016 at the same institute.

By profession he is a chemist and studied at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. His current research interests are the development of novel hybrid wood based materials, the nano-structural and chemical analysis of wood functionalization processes by Confocal Raman Spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy, and the fabrication of new types of wood based composite materials equipped with excellent mechanical properties, functionality and formability.

Research Prof. Ali Harlin

Research Professor Ali Harlin describes himself as an industrial inventor. It is an apt description, seeing as he has created some 60 patented inventions. Harlin’s areas of expertise cover the petrochemical, machinery and forest industries. He is currently in charge of VTT’s bioeconomy research agenda, where his focus lies on, for example, developing substitutes for plastics. Harlin has an extensive career both in academia and industry. His focus in industry has varied from petrochemistry to cable machinery, giving him a wide perspective on innovation policy. Research commercialisation is also one of his main interests in his current position as a research professor. He has also been involved in several startups, where he has been able to apply his expertise comprehensively.

Assistant Prof. Lauri Rautkari

Prof. Rautkari is leading a research group “Wood Science and Technology” at Aalto University, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems since 2014. The main aim of the research group is to develop sustainable processes and products, especially in the area of wood modification. Nowadays the group is concentrating more and more fundamental research on wood-water interactions. Rautkari is author of more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and author of another 60+ conference papers.

Before tenure track professorship (currently assistant professor II), he was a postdoc at Edinburg Napier University (UK). During his doctoral studies (2008-2012) he was working in different universities: Aalto University, Bern University of Applied Science (CH) and Oregon State University (USA). Recently, in 2018 he was a visiting professor at Uppsala University for 2 months.

CEO Jukka Kantola

Mr. Jukka Kantola, CEO, NC Partnering Ltd, has broad experience of the woody biomass related industries. He has held various executive positions in Europe and in Asia. Hence, he has a profound comprehension of the challenges and opportunities of these economies. Jukka is widely networked in the bioeconomy sector and he has a good grasp of the new and emerging applications for the wood.

He has established NC Partnering, a novel bio-consulting company focusing on the versatile valorisation of woody biomass for novel applications. Mr. Kantola is a great advocator for the bio-economy and is tenaciously facilitating novel and existing biomass applications. He and his company has played active role to advocate bioeconomy in practice. They have been launching biorefineries and currently they are major operator for KaiCell Fibers venture. He is also a founder of World BioEconomy Forum. Mr. Kantola holds a Master of Science degree from the Aalto University. He also holds an eMBA from the Rutgers University. He is married with three sons.

Associate Prof. Antti Haapala

Tenure track Associate Professor Antti Haapala studies different ways of converting woody biomass in industrial processes and the application areas for the refined products. He is a senior researcher in the recently established Wood Materials Science research group and a docent of applied physics at the University of Eastern Finland Kuopio campus. Current interests in research range from functional composite materials innovations and biomass valorisation processes to industry-academia research partnerships and bioeconomy business activities. This includes systematic development of the UEF research infrastructures related on wood, fibre and biochemicals refining, testing and analysis. Research activities focus on natural fibre based materials and biorefining, the processes and analytics yielding to more than 55 scientific publications.

Prof. Reijo Lappalainen

Prof. Reijo Lappalainen received his PhD degree in Physics at the University of Helsinki, Finland in 1986. From 1990 to 1992 he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. After that he acted as a senior researcher or associate professor at the University of Helsinki until 1999. He has been a professor of Biomaterials Technology at the University of Kuopio 1999–2010 and at the University of Eastern Finland since 2010. Recently R. Lappalainen has been very active in the development of ultra-short pulsed laser ablation techniques, wood distillate coatings, composites, novel nanomaterials and bio-based products. Furthermore, new methods related to spectroscopic analysis and lithography have been developed and utilized. He has published more than 200 peer reviewed scientific articles and more than 40 patents.