Distinguished researchers and teachers awarded in the Annual Celebration 2025
The traditional annual celebration of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ was held on 5 March. At the event, various awards were presented to distinguished researchers and teachers from the University. The Jyväskylä University Foundation granted nine awards of €3,000 each. The Award of Ellen and Artturi Nyyssönen Foundation, €5,000, was also handed in the event.
The Good Teacher Award was granted to University Teacher Vojna Tapola from the Department of Psychology based on the proposals of students and the Student Union. Students find that Vonja Tapola has a genuinely honest way of teaching. As a teacher, she is motivating and encouraging and generates a sense of hope. In her teaching, Tapola draws on her extensive practical experience from different healthcare duties as well as her work as an educator in the field of psychiatry and as a supervisor of individual and group work. Her teaching focuses on spreading knowledge and skills related to clinical psychology and psychotherapy.
The Developer of Teaching Award was given to University Teacher Jarkko Nurmi from the Faculty of Information Technology. The learner-centred development work of Nurmi is characterised by perseverance and his cooperation with the world of work. Nurmi has developed his teaching based on research in collaboration with colleagues from JYU and Uppsala University. His approach to teaching increases the critical thinking and research skills of students in a statistically significant way. Nurmi has created a model for experience-based project teaching that develops students’ working life skills. He has also developed an AI assistant to support teaching and presented it to the whole university community.
The Good Leadership Award was granted to Assistant Professor Teea Kortetmäki, a head of research groups from the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy. According to her work community, Teea Kortetmäki is an excellent example of emphatic and empowering leadership. She creates an inclusive atmosphere that encourages collaboration and makes everyone feel respected and inspired. Kortetmäki supports her work community not only professionally but also in terms of personal wellbeing. She listens to others, and her leadership style encourages creativity and initiative. As a leader she promotes the team spirit of the JYU.Wisdom community and multidisciplinary dialogue.
Postdoctoral Researcher Anna-Maria Raita-Hakola from the Faculty of Information Technology received the Community Builder Award 2025. Raita-Hakola, who currently works in the spectral imaging laboratory, has looked after the welfare of the team in all her roles, from research assistant to postdoctoral researcher. Raita-Hakola has organised regular Agora Grand prix races, which have provided refreshing breaks in people’s daily work and helped build team spirit. In addition to such spontaneous and self-funded activities to lift people’s spirits, Raita-Hakola has introduced a strong coaching and sparring culture to her lab. For this reason, many researchers have included special thanks to her in their dissertations for supporting them along the way.
The Good Dissertation Award was awarded to Postdoctoral Researcher Giovanni Misitano from the Faculty of Information Technology. Misitano’s dissertation Enhancing the decision-support capabilities of interactive multiobjective optimization with explainability deals with making compromise solutions with the help of explainable AI. In his dissertation, Misitano presents three new multiobjective optimitisation methods. It is of central importance for the methods that the compromise solutions given by the computer can be explained. In this case, the user can understand the computer’s suggestion and, if necessary, influence it by editing their preferences. Misitano’s research is built on his independent ideas and its results bring the world of multiobjective optimisation closer to other fields of research. The methods are openly available and applicable to practice. .
The Scientific Breakthrough Award was granted to Senior Researcher MarÃa Francisca Matus from the Department of Physics. MarÃa Francisca Matus has established a new research orientation that combines computational nanosciences and bioinformatics. Her research concentrates on simulating the atomic-scale interaction of metal nanoparticles and biomolecules. The results predict that nanoparticles, when prepared and made functional in a suitable way, can play an important role in the future as deliverers of drug molecules or indicators of harmful tracers. Initiating a new research orientation is a rare and meritorious achievement from a young researcher.
The Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Collaboration Award was handed to Professor Ari Väisänen. Professor of circular economy Ari Väisänen cooperates extensively with industry and has co-founded and led the university-based company WeeeFinera. He holds one patent related to chemical catalysts and another with the utilities provider Alva related to the dissolution of fly ash, and two patent applications related to the recovery of metals. He has several ongoing thesis and other research projects, each involving extensive cooperation with companies. Väisänen also leads the Centre of Expertise for Circular Economy that combines high-level research with the challenges related to the development needs of companies. Väisänen is an exemplary communicator of research results who helps make science understandable and credible.
The Science Communication Award was granted to Professor Antero Holmila from the Department of History and Ethnology. Professor Antero Holmila is a distinguished researcher of history, an in-demand lecturer, a non-fiction writer and a recognised societal commentator. He is known as a thoughtful interpreter of world politics, especially crisis issues. In his newspaper columns and extensive articles, Holmila applies his research interests, for example, to the impact of the war in Ukraine on Finland, Europe and the Western world order. His popular non-fiction books, including a book about Russia written with Martti J. Kari, have been widely read and appreciated.
The Influencer Award was granted to Conservation biologist and Senior Lecturer Panu Halme. Halme is a bold influencer who aims to apply his expertise using science and art while also facilitating the sustainability transformation in the business world. One of his main areas of research is the development of ecological compensation. Halme has been involved in several projects to determine the impact of different sectors on biodiversity and develop nature positive measures. Halme is also working on cost-effective solutions for forest conservation and management. In addition to active influencing in traditional and social media, he has combined science and art through plays, musical performances and children’s books.
The purpose of the Ellen and Artturi Nyyssönen Foundation is to promote quality research at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. The foundation’s award was handed to Associate Professor Miriam Nokia from the Department of Psychology. Nokia has a long history of research in behavioural neuroscience. She is a talented researcher who uses a variety of methods to study the neural basis of memory and learning. Her particular areas of expertise are electrophysiological measurements and the analysis of measured signals in relation to behaviour. Nokia is a board member of the Brain Research Society of Finland and represents Finland in the European Brain Council.
