The joint Academic Day of the staff of the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University was celebrated on March 25, 2021. The Academic Day is held annually at the end of March in honor of the Royal Academy of Turku, founded in 1640. The recipient of the Vuoden dosentti (Adjunct Professor of the year) diploma is also announced on that day.
This year, Turun Yliopistojen Dosenttiyhdistys ry (The Adjunct Professors’ Society of the Universities of Turku) society selected Mika Lastusaari, the leader of our research group’s photonic materials team, as the Adjunct Professor of the year. Brilliant work and congratulations, Mika!
Tiina Mahlamäki, President of the Turun Yliopistojen Dosenttiyhdistys ry (The Adjunct Professors’ Society of the Universities of Turku) society, said in her introduction that the selection criteria have emphasized not only the Adjunct Professor’s academic merits but also social impact and interaction.
Ari Lehtonen from the society continued with detailed description about Mika’s achievements: “Mika is an active researcher and has published almost 200 articles on inorganic materials chemistry, most of all photonic materials and light-emitting materials. He has produced a large number of new luminescent materials with many practical applications and has also filed many patents on these materials. In addition, he has studied natural luminescent materials: the well-known Bologna stone and hackmanite minerals, and solved the mystery of the luminescent properties of these materials.“
“Mika has also published a lot of research on learning and teaching chemistry, and the way he works is well illustrated by the fact that he started university pedagogical studies but did not settle for 10 credits or even 60 credits: he did his second dissertation on the subject. Not only is Mika a good researcher and a good teacher, he also knows how to compose, sing and play guitar, and he has composed and produced the theme song for the Inorganic Materials Chemistry Research Group and the group’s music video on YouTube.“
