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Nuclear astrophysics aims to clarify how chemical elements are made in the cosmos. In her research, Professor Anu Kankainen has focused especially on the precise mass measurements of radioactive isotopes. Through masses, it is possible to get information on the binding energies of nuclei and how much energy is freed via nuclear reactions in stars. These impact the likelihood of nuclear reactions in stellar events.

Kankainen completed her doctoral degree in 2006 in the Department of Physics at the Ģ��ֱ�� . She has been an Academy postdoctoral researcher and an Academy Research Fellow at the Ģ��ֱ��. From 2013 to 2014, Kankainen worked as a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

“After many twists and turns, I ended up studying physics at the Ģ��ֱ�� and as my studies progressed, Igot more enthusiastic about research,” Kankainen says. 

“In the final phase of my studies, I completed a course in nuclear physics, which put me on the path to becoming a nuclear physicist: the course was extremely inspiring and led me to become a summer trainee in the Accelerator Laboratory of the Ģ��ֱ��. Soon after that, I applied for doctoral studies.”

In 2017, Kankainen received the distinguished and extensive Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for her project MAIDEN (Masses, Isomers and Decay studies for Elemental Nucleosynthesis). She was appointed as an associate professor in 2019 and a professor in 2022.

Cutting-edge research on the international level

Kankainen is one of the most distinguished young experts in her field of research and she has a wide international cooperation network. She has published almost 200 research articles, including numerous publications in renowned journals. In addition, she has several positions of trust related to research.

“Research in the field of astrophysics is very international,” she says. “We make measurements in large research groups from one to two weeks at a time. The best part of my work are the measurements and what we may find in them as well as working together with many interesting people.”

Kankainen’s experimental research has been conducted mainly at the Accelerator Laboratory of the Ģ��ֱ��, but also at other leading research centres of the field, such as CERN and GSI-FAIR. Her research has produced high-precision mass and binding energy data for more than hundred rare radioisotopes and several isomeric nuclear states.

“It is always a great feeling to find something nobody has found before,” says Kankainen. 

“There is currently a lot going on internationally in nuclear astrophysics research. For example, a new accelerator laboratory has just been opened in the United States and new laboratories will be opened in Europe as well. These will enable us to study even more neutron-rich nuclei and their properties. My personal dreams are related to how much we can discover in the years to come.”

Väisälä Prizes are awarded to distinguished young researchers

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters also awarded the Väisälä Prize to Professor of Applied Mathematics Lauri Oksanen from the University of Helsinki. Oksanen studies inverse problems. Oksanen’s research is applied, for example, when there is a need to know what is inside an object in medical or soil imaging. Oksanen studies the mathematical methods needed to produce these images.

The Väisälä Prize is worth €15,000. The prize is awarded annually to outstanding young researchers in the fields of mathematics and natural sciences. The prizes were handed out at a public event in the House of Nobility in Helsinki on 11 December 2023.