Meet Max, our new X-ray diffractometer

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It is with great delight that we introduce the latest addition to the line of instruments at our group’s disposal, the Aeris Research Edition powder X-ray diffractometer, namely “Max”, manufactured by Malvern Panalytical in Holland. Max is a compact benchtop instrument for the structural analysis of polycrystalline powders, and bears the name of the discoverer of X-ray diffraction by crystals as well as the 2021 Dutch Formula 1 champion.

The new instrument will be of great importance in the characterization of materials synthesized in our group and we would like to give a huge thanks for the Department of Chemistry for making the acquisition possible!

Open vacancy: Doctoral Candidate / Project Researcher

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Deadline for applications: Thursday 27th of January 2022 (23:59)

Doctoral Candidate / Project Researcher Position in Material Chemistry Research Group

The doctoral candidate / project researcher will be working at the Department of Chemistry in a research project funded by the Academy of Finland: ”GlowTrack“. The fixed term position starts at the earliest on the 1st of February 2022 (upon mutual agreement) and ends in the end of November 2022.

Expectations for the candidates

The candidates must

– hold a master´s degree in chemistry or related fields
– have a proven experience in the field of solid state chemistry, especially in luminescent materials
– have the ability to conduct independent scientific work and good English skills.


Salary

Salary will be determined in a contract. Salary will be determined through University salary system for research and teaching personnel at levels 2-4, where the task specific salary is 2078,27 – 2591,28 €/month). In addition, a personal work performance component will be paid. The personal performance component is a 6-50% of task specific salary.

A four months trial period applies to the position.

The qualification requirements of the position are stated in the University of Turku Rules of Procedure: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/organisation

Working in Finland

Please learn more about the culture and people in Finland:

Career in Southwestern Finland (with information on Turku)
Working culture
This is Finland
University of Turku

Applications & additional information

Candidates must include their list of publications, CV, cover (motivation) letter, a copy of diploma of a master degree and 2-3 contacts of academic referees.

Final day for completing the application is Thursday 27th of January 2022 (23:59) through electronic recruitment system. Electronic link for the system is at the beginning of this job advertisement (Fill the form). Advertisement can be found from: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies

Additional information is given by Mika Lastusaari, mika.lastusaari@utu.fi, +358 50 328 6237.

The University is committed to promoting non-discrimination, equality and diversity in our community. All interested applicants, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply.

IMC and JYU receive € 500,000 for a recycling project

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Image credits: Wikipedia, ThoughtCo

From waste to next generation molecular materials

The joint project of IMC and the University of Jyväskylä received a total of € 500,000 in funding from the Technology Industries of Finland’s Centennial Foundation and the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation in The Future Makers funding round. The project is led by Professor Ari Väisänen while Academy Researcher Jani Moilanen and IMC’s Mika Lastusaari lead their sub-projects.

About the project: “The need for critical metals, such as rare earths, will increase in the future. These metals are needed in electric cars, lights, wind turbines and electronic devices, for example. The recycling of rare earths is low due to the lack of efficient and environmentally friendly recycling methods. The project will develop new next-generation materials based on rare earths. The metals to be processed are recovered from industrial waste and by-product streams.“

Read more: https://techfinland100.fi/tulevaisuuden-tekijat-2021-vaisanen/

Open vacancy: Postdoctoral Researcher

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Postdoctoral Researcher in the field of Material Chemistry
The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education.

Postdoctoral Researcher Position
The doctoral candidate or postdoctoral researcher will be working at the Deparment of Chemistry in a research project funded by Business Finland :”NIR-Sieve”. The fixed term position starts at the earliest on 1st of February 2022 and lasts until the end of June 2023.

Expectations for the candidates
– must hold a doctoral degree in materials chemistry or related fields
– should have a proven experience in the field of solid state chemistry, especially in luminescent materials and inorganic photochromism
– need to have the ability to conduct independent scientific work and to report own research results with good spoken and written English

Willingness to take part in a company that is possibly established after the project is considered as an advantage for the applicant.
The qualification requirements of the position are written in the University of Turku rules of procedure.The job comprises carrying out and supervising materials research and participation to commercialization research in the project as well as the supervision of undergraduates’ lab work.

The University is committed to promoting non-discrimination, equality and diversity in our community. All interested applicants, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply.

Salary

The salary is determined in accordance with the university salary system for teaching and research personnel. For a postdoctoral researcher, the salary is at levels 4-6 on the job demands chart, where the task specific salary component is 2591,28 – 3498,98 €/month. The component based on personal performance adds 6–50 % to this salary.

There is a trial period of six months.

Working in Finland
Please learn more about the culture and people in Finland:
Career in Southwestern Finland (with information on Turku)
Working culture
This is Finland
University of Turku

Applications & additional information

The application should include
– letter of motivation
– CV
– a list of publications
– a copy of diploma of the doctoral degree
– addresses of 2-3 potential academic referees and
– other documents that may affect to the selection.

Applications must be submitted by 26 January 2022 using the electronic application form of the University of Turku on the following address: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies

Additional information is given by University Lecturer Mika Lastusaari, mika.lastusaari@utu.fi, +358 50 328 6237.
For questions related to the application process, contact HR specialist Susanna Virtanen (susanna.virtanen@utu.fi)

Akseli Mansikkamäki from Oulu visits IMC

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From left to right: Anssi Peuronen, Akseli Mansikkamäki and Ari Lehtonen.

Today we had the honor of hosting a visit of Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Fellow Akseli Mansikkamäki, who works in the NMR Research Unit of the University of Oulu, giving a talk about “Recent Advances in Organometallic Lanthanide Single-Molecule Magnets“. Akseli’s publishing activities are of a very high quality, and in 2018 he was an author in an article in the Science journal “Magnetic hysteresis up to 80 kelvin in a dysprosium metallocene single-molecule magnet“. Thanks for visiting and see you again, Akseli!

IMC goes into space!

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Photo by ESA, modified by Sami Vuori.

Our hackmanite research levels up with a collaboration project with European Space Agency (ESA). The agency expressed interest in the color-changing property of hackmanite for the task of bringing various detector materials into space for examination. Hackmanite passed the initial qualifiers, and now the project can start with full power, meaning that… hackmanite has a chance to go into space!

IMC represents at Optics & Photonics Days 2021

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IMC’s PhD students Sobia Rashid, Hannah Byron, Cecilia Agamah, and Sami Vuori went to the Optics & Photonics Days 2021 conference held on 1.–3.12. in Logomo, Turku. It was amazing to meet other photonics enthusiasts, listen to interesting presentations and tell other participants about our research. Next year OPD will be held in Tampere so see you there!

We presented our posters made by Mika Lastusaari, Sobia Rashid, Cecilia Agamah, Sami Vuori, and Hannah Byron.
The conference had interesting speakers from many different optics & photonics fields. Here University of Eastern Finland’s professor Tanja Tarvainen gives her plenary talk about optical tomography.