Bioinnovation Center’s research will focus on sustainable textiles and packaging
The Bioinnovation Center is launching a doctoral school and offers funding for in total 10-12 doctoral candidates. The aim is to encourage professors from different fields and disciplines of Aalto University to combine their expertise and to develop jointly interdisciplinary research endeavors.
‘Bioeconomy is a cornerstone of the Finnish economy, and I am confident that this research will contribute to generating new beginnings for this sector’, says Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring, and a member of the Bioinnovation Center’s project evaluation panel. ‘Many existing industrial processes, especially related to bioeconomy, have been born from research seeking answers to natural phenomena. Also, in today’s globalised world strong interdisciplinarity as well as working on industrial development and basic research in parallel have become success factors.
The selected projects to the doctoral school are:
- “Cellulose-based spatial origami metamaterials and structures for sustainable and versatile packaging solutions” by Jarkko Niiranen (ENG), Kirsi Peltonen (SCI), and Masood Masodian (ARTS)
- “AI-guided biohybrid assembly platform for e-textiles” by Patrick Rinke (SCI) and Jaana Vapaavuori (CHEM)
- “Coatings of Lignin Spheres for Packaging/Textiles” by Monika Österberg (CHEM), Karl Alexander Henn (CHEM), and Pekka Oinas (CHEM)
- “Computational fabric” by Simo Särkkä (ELEC+FCAI), Kirsi Niinimäki (ARTS), Jaana Vapaavuori (CHEM), Yu Xiao (ELEC), and Emmi Pouta (ARTS)
- “Sustainable Intelligent Packaging Solutions” by Jouni Paltakari (CHEM) and Riku Jäntti (ELEC)
‘I was very impressed by the great number of excellent project ideas that we received. Ranking the applications was a difficult task’, says Michael Hummel, the Director of the Bioinnovation Center. ‘Our future research looks really fascinating and I am excited to start the cooperation with all the parties in this Center. I am also grateful for the valuable input that we receive from our industrial partners as well as the internal experts.’
Bioinnovation Center will now open 5 PhD positions for these projects. The aim is to start the recruitment process in November and have the first doctoral candidates starting in the doctoral school in early 2022. Another project call will be opened during the year 2022.
The evaluation committee consisted of 12 Aalto university’s internal and industry representatives. The open call received 17 proposals.
Niklas von Weymarn, CEO, Metsä SpringBioeconomy is a cornerstone of the Finnish economy, and this research will contribute to generating new beginnings for this sector
Read more news
Major funding powers development of next-generation machine technology aimed at productivity leap in export sectors
The BEST research project is developing new types of sealing, bearing, and damping technology.
The TAIMI project builds an equal working life – a six-year consortium project seeks solutions to recruitment and skill challenges
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing skill requirements, the population is aging, and the labor shortage is deepening. Meanwhile, the potential of international experts often remains unused in Finland. These challenges in working life are addressed by the six-year TAIMI project funded by the Strategic Research Council, and implemented by a broad consortium.
Unite! Seed Fund 2026: Call opens on 20 January 2026
Gain an early overview of the Unite! Seed Fund Call of Spring 2026. The call includes three funding lines: Student Activities, Teaching and Learning, and Research and PhD.