Aalto doctoral thesis awards
The Schools grant Aalto University Doctoral Thesis Awards according to
the following principles:
- Each school rewards doctoral theses which are among the most meritorious top ten percent of the doctoral theses of the school.
- The awards are granted annually every calendar year.
- The awards granted are 3000 euro each. (In the School of Engineering, 1000 euro.)
- The core criteria for the awards are academic quality, impact and originality.
- The recipients of the awards are selected among the doctoral students / graduated doctors whose doctoral thesis has been approved within the previous calendar year of the award in question.
- Award decisions take into account the statements given by the preliminary examiners and opponents.
- The decisions are made by the Dean of the School on the proposal of the School's Doctoral programme committee.
- Joint Aalto University Certificate of Honour is given to the recipients of the awards.
- The Schools present the awards in a ceremonial event.
The scheme of Aalto University Thesis Awards and the related rewarding criteria are valid from 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2025 and concern the recognition of the doctoral theses approved during the years 2021–2024. During the period the scheme is evaluated and revised for continuation if it is deemed appropriate.
The aim is to encourage doctoral students to good performance and to reward the doctoral students at different Aalto University Schools according to uniform principles. In addition to these awards, the Schools may also
reward their doctoral students otherwise in accordance with the School's objectives and strategy.
Recipients of the thesis awards
Thesis Awards 2025
(for doctoral theses published in 2024)
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Pasi Toiviainen, Department of Architecture: Genius or Charlatanry? , supervising professor Panu Savolainen
Solip Park, Department of Art and Media: , supervising professor Perttu Hämäläinen and thesis advisor Annakaisa Kultima
School of Business
Laura Kangas-Müller, Department of Management Studies: , supervising professor Johanna Moisander and thesis advisor Kirsi Eräranta
Mary Dillon, Department of Information and Service Management: , supervising professor Eeva Vilkkumaan and thesis advisor Louisa Flander
School of Chemical Engineering
Zahra Ahaliabadeh, Department of Chemistry and Materials Science: , supervising professor Tanja Kallio and thesis advisors Asst. Prof. Ville Miikkulainen, Aalto University and Dr. Miia Mäntymäki, University of Helsinki
Christopher Jonkergouw, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems: , supervising professor Markus B. Linder
Daniel Langerreiter, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems: , supervising professor Mauri Kostiainen and thesis advisors Dr. Eduardo Anaya-Plaza, Aalto University and Prof. Sandra Kaabel, Aalto University
Junjie Shi, Department of Chemistry and Materials Science: , supervising professor Tanja Kallio and thesis advisors Tanja Kallio and Dr. Milla Suominen, Aalto University
Jihong Yim, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering: , supervising professor Riikka Puurunen and thesis advisors Riikka Puurunen and D.Sc. (Tech.) Reetta Karinen, Aalto University
School of Electrical Engineering
Adrien Corenflos, Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation: , supervsising professor and thesis advisor Simo Särkkä
Ismet Gurbuz, Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation: , supervising professor Anouar Belahcen and thesis advisors Floran Martin, Aalto University and Ugur Aydin, ABB Oy
Xiaoqi Cui, Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Zhipei Sun
Nils Meyer-Kahlen, Department of Information and Communications Engineering: , supervising professor Tapio Lokki and thesis advisor Sebastian J. Schlecht, Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Dariush Salami, Department of Information and Communications Engineering: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Stephan Sigg
Joel Lamberg, Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering: , supervising professor Zachary Taylor and thesis advisors Aleksi Tamminen, Aalto University and Juha Ala-Laurinaho, Aalto University
Lauri Vähä-Savo, Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering: , supervising professor Katsuyuki Haneda and thesis advisor Clemens Icheln, Aalto University
School of Engineering
Lauri Ahopelto, Department of Built Environment: , supervising professor Marko Keskinen and thesis advisors Dr. Noora Veijalainen, Finnish Environment Institute and Profesor Olli Varis, Aalto University
Eric A.K. Fangnon, Department of Mechanical Engineering: , supervising professor Pedro Vilaca and thesis advisors Dr. Evgenii Malitckii, Aalto University and Dr. Yuriy Yagodzinskyy, Aalto University
Christopher Görsch, Department of Civil Engineering: , supervising professor Olli Seppänen and thesis advisors Dr. Rita Lavikka, VTT and Professor Olli Seppänen
Federica Mancini, Department of Mechanical Engineering: supervising professor Heikki Remes and thesis advisor Professor Jani Romanoff
Lorenzo Giorio, Department of Energy and Mechanical Engineering: , supervising professor Raine Viitala, Aalto University and supervising professor Eugenio Brusa, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
School of Science
Eric Hyyppä, Department of Applied Physics: , supervising professor Mikko Möttönen and thesis advisors Quantum Engineer, Doctor of Sciences Johannes Heinsoo, IQM Quantum Computers & Quantum Engineer, PhD Brian Tarasinski, IQM Quantum Computers
Sakari Lepikko, Department of Applied Physics: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Robin Ras
Kim Myyryläinen, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Juha Kinnunen
Julia Jaatela, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering : , supervising professor Lauri Parkkonen and thesis advisor Associate Professor Harri Piitulainen, University of Jyväskylä
Jane Seppälä, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Associate Professor Timo Vuori
Shuzhe Wang, Department of Computer Science: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Associate Professor Juho Kannala
Ana Maria Triana Hoyos, Department of Computer Science: , supervising professor Professor Jari Saramäki and thesis advisors Staff Scientist Enrico Glerean, School of Science, Senior Advisor Mikko Sams, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
Petrus Mikkola, Department of Computer Science: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Professor Samuel Kaski
Thesis Awards 2024
(for doctoral theses published in 2023)
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Rebecca Close, Department of Art and Media: , supervising professor and advisor Mira Kallio-Tavin
Kaisu Savola, Department of Design: , supervising professor Guy Julier and advisor Pekka Korvenmaa
School of Business
Alice Wickström, Department of Management Studies: , supervising professor Johanna Moisander and thesis advisor Kirsi Eräranta.
Aleksi Pitkäjärvi, Department of Finance: , supervising professor Matti Suominen and thesis advisors Petri Jylhä and Matthijs Lof.
School of Chemical Engineering
Muhammad Awais, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems: , supervising professor Lauri Rautkari and thesis advisors Dr. Michael Altgen, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Prof. Mikko Mäkelä, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Dr. Tiina Belt, Natural Resources Institute Finland.
Karl Alexander Henn, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems: , supervising professor and thesis advisor professor Monika Österberg.
Sofia Julin, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems: , supervising professor and thesis advisor professor Mauri Kostiainen and thesis advisor assistant professor Veikko Linko, University of Tartu.
School of Electrical Engineering
Henri Hentilä, Department of Information and Communications Engineering. . Supervising professor and thesis advisor Visa Koivunen.
Lassi Hällström, Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering. . Supervising professor and thesis advisor Ilkka Tittonen.
Henrik Kahanpää, Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering. . Supervising professor and thesis advisor Esa Kallio.
Elli Leppänen, Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation. Supervising professor and thesis advisor Tomi Laurila.
Alec Wright, Department of Information and Communications Engineering. . Supervising professor and thesis advisor Vesa Välimäki.
School of Engineering
Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen, Department of Built Environment. , Supervising professor Anna Mikola
Joonas Lehtovaara, Department of Civil Engineering. , Supervising professor Olli Seppänen
Zhenkun Li, Department of Civil Engineering. , Supervising professor Weiwei Lin
Milad Omidi, Department of Mechanical Engineering. , Supervising professor Luc St-Pierre
Malith Prasanna Rupasingha Arachchige, Department of Mechanical Engineering: , Supervising Professor Arttu Polojärvi
School of Science
Kukka-Emilia Huhtinen, Department of Applied Physics: , supervising professor and thesis advisor: Professor Päivi Törmä
Lassi Meronen, Department of Computer Science: , supervising professor and thesis advisor Professor Arno Solin
Juho Roponen, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis: , supervising professor and thesis advisor: Professor Ahti Salo
Sebastian Szyller, Department of Computer Science: , supervising professor: Adjunct Professor N. Asokan and thesis advisor: Research Fellow, Dr. Samuel Marchal, WithSecure
Viliam Vaňo, Department of Applied Physics: , supervising professor and thesis advisor: Professor Peter Liljeroth
Sorrachai Yingchareonthawornchai, Department of Computer Science: , supervising professor: Professor Parinya Chalermsook and thesis advisor: Professor Danupon Nanongkai, Max Planck Institute for Informatics and Saarland University, Saksa
Koos Zevenhoven, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering: , supervising professor: Professor Lauri Parkkonen and thesis advisor: Professor (emer.) Risto Ilmoniemi
Thesis Awards 2023
(for doctoral theses published in 2022)
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
DA Hella Hernberg: Architects as ‘Mediators’: Socio-political roles in mediating the ‘temporary use’ of vacant spaces,
DA Ilan Manouach: Estranging Comics – Towards a novel comics praxeology,
School of Business
Lauri Laine (Entrepreneurship): Metaentrepreneurship
Tolga Benzer (Economics): Essays on the Economics and Politics of Religious Institutions
School of Chemical Engineering
D.Sc. (Tech.) Janne Naapuri: Biocatalytic and chemoenzymatic synthesis of O-heterocycles from allenols,
D.Sc. (Tech.) Katariina Solin: Nanocellulose Interactions with Protein and Water in Advanced Sensing Systems,
D.Sc. (Tech.) Anna Vanderbruggen:
Lithium-ion batteries recycling with froth flotation – A study on characterization and liberation strategies,
School of Electrical Engineering
D.Sc. (Tech) Juha Heinonen: High-sensitivity photodiodes using black silicon and induced junction,
D.Sc. (Tech) Jens Lundell: Towards Robust 6-DoF Multi-Finger Grasping in Clutter with Explicit Scene Understanding,
D.Sc. (Tech) Grigorii Ptitcyn: On Electromagnetics of Time-Modulated Structures,
D.Sc. (Tech) Elias Raninen: Contributions to the Theory and Estimation of High-dimensional Covariance Matrices,
School of Engineering
D.Sc. (Tech) Matias Heino: Susceptibility of global crop production to climate variability and change,
D.Sc. (Tech) Kaisa Jaalama: 3D geovisualizations in human-centered quality assessments of urban and green spaces — from point clouds to nonabsolute spaces,
D.Sc. (Tech) Antti Surma-aho: The role of empathy in design practice - Theoretical development and empirical exploration of an integrated model,
D.Sc. (Tech) Xiaolei Yuan: Optimization of row-and-rack level airflow management in data centers,
School of Science
Bayan Karimi, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Jukka Pekola
Antonis Matakos, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Aristides Gionis
Topi Paananen, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Aki Vehtari
Joosef Valli, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Henri Schildt
Julian Weigt, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Juha Kinnunen
Hanna Halme, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Lauri Parkkonen
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
D.Sc. (Arch) Ashish Mohite: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
DA Henrika Ylirisku: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
School of Business
School of Chemical Engineering
D.Sc. Moheb Abdelaziz: Nanocomposite with Polarizonic Reflective Coloration: from Fabrication to Function
D.Sc. Pelin Altinkaya: Leaching and Recovery of Gold from Low Grade Raw Materials in Cyanide-free Media
D.Sc. Imtisal-e-Noor: Waste Heat Driven Membrane Distillation for Industrial Wastewater Treatment
D.Sc. Tao Zou: Lignin Nanoparticles: Understanding of Their Properties and Modifications for Versatile Applications
School of Electrical Engineering
D.Sc. (Tech.) Tuomas Haapala: Microwatt integrated radio transceiver circuits
for aggressively duty-cycled wireless networks
D.Sc. (Tech.) Robin Rajamäki: Sparse sensor arrays for active sensing – Array
configurations and signal processing
D.Sc. (Tech.) Sabin Karki: Beam-switching antennas for millimeter-wave
communications
D.Sc. (Tech.) Mahafugur Rahman: Weak-Grid Tolerant Control Methods for
Voltage-Source Converters
School of Engineering
D.Sc. (Tech.) Lei Du: Maritime Traffic Risk Analysis in the Northern Baltic Sea
from AIS Data
D.Sc. (Tech.) Jarkko Laine: Ductile iron modelling and optimisation for
mechanically and thermally loaded components
D.Sc. (Tech.) Pekka Koivisto: New Aerodynamic Aspects of Aircraft De/Anti-
icing fluids
D.Sc. (Tech.) Bruno Reinaldo Concalves: A nonlinear modelling approach for
corrugated sandwich beams
School of Science
Valentina Candiani, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Nuutti Hyvönen
Antti Moilanen, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Päivi Törmä
Robert van der Have, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Markku Maula
Vikas Verma, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Juho Kannala, thesis advisors Yoshua Bengio, Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Tapani Raiko and Juha Karhunen
Ivan Zubarev, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Lauri Parkkonen
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
DA David Muñoz Alcantara: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
School of Science
Jori Bomanson, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Ilkka Niemelä, thesis advisors Martin Gebser, University of Klagenfurt and Tomi Janhunen, Tampere University
Zeerim Cheung, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Robin Gustafsson
Mohamed Taoufiq Damir, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Camilla Hollanti
Lauri Himanen, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Patrick Rinke, thesis advisor Adam Foster
Matti Karppa, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Petteri Kaski
Markus Kettunen, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Jaakko Lehtinen
Antti Mäkinen, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Risto Ilmoniemi
Aaro Väkeväinen, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Päivi Törmä
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
DA Khalil Klouche: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
DA Taneli Luotoniemi: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
School of Science
Alex Karrila, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Kalle Kytölä
Jere Mäkinen, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Pertti Hakonen, thesis advisor Vladimir Eltsov
Tuomas Ollikainen, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Mikko Möttönen, thesis advisor David S. Hall, Amherst College, USA
Teemu Kämäräinen, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Antti Ylä-Jääski, thesis advisor Matti Siekkinen
Juho Piironen, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Aki Vehtari
Mikael Öhman, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Jan Holmström
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
DA Sanna Marttila: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
School of Science
Abdulmelik Mohammed, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Pekka Orponen
Anna Cichonska, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Juho Rousu and thesis advisors Tero Aittokallio, FIMM (Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland) and University of Turku, and Matti Pirinen, FIMM (Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland)
Polina Rozenshtein, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Aristides Gionis and thesis advisor Nikolaj Tatti, F-Secure
Siavash Khajavi, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor Jan Holmström and thesis advisor Jouni Partanen
Juulia Suvilehto, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
- Supervising professor Mikko Sams and thesis advisor Lauri Nummenmaa, University of Turku
Alex Westström, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Christian Flindt and thesis advisor Teemu Ojanen, Tampere University
Tuomas Vanhala, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Päivi Törmä and thesis advisor Ari Harju, Varian medical systems
Sampo Hämäläinen, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Sebastiaan van Dijken
Tom Gustafsson, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor Rolf Stenberg and thesis advisor Juha Videman, University of Lisbon
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
DA Claudia Garduño GarcÃa: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
DA Lena Séraphin: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
D.Sc. (Arch) Tuija Lind: (link 91ÇàÇà²Ýdoc)
School of Science
Lari Koponen, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
- Supervising professor Risto Ilmoniemi and thesis advisors Risto Ilmoniemi, Jaakko Nieminen and Matti Stenroos
Orestis Kostakis, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Aristides Gionis
Ville Liljeström, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Mauri Kostiainen
Yu Liu, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Markku Maula
Ilya Nikolaevskiy, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Antti Ylä-Jääski and thesis advisor Andrei Gurtov, Linköping University
Natalie Segercrantz, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Filip Tuomisto and thesis advisor Jonatan Slotte
Konstantin Tiurev, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Päivi Törmä and thesis advisor Mikko Möttönen
Emanuele Ventura, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Alexander Engström
School of Science
2017
Miika Aittala, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Jaakko Lehtinen
Enrico Glerean, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Mikko Sams
Jonne Koski, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Jukka Pekola
2016
Emmi Ruokokoski, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Risto Nieminen, thesis advisor Mikko Möttönen
Jaakko Luttinen, Department of Computer Science
- Supervising professor Juha Karhunen, thesis advisor Alexander Ilin
Pekka Töytäri, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor Risto Rajala, thesis advisors Jan Holmström ja Petri Parvinen
2015
Paula Savioja, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
- Supervising professor Marko Nieminen, thesis advisor Leena Norros, VTT
Atte Aalto, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor Rolf Stenberg, thesis advisor Jarmo Malinen
Riku Ruotsalainen, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor Matti Vartiainen, thesis advisor Henri Schildt
2014
Mari Ijäs, Department of Applied Physics
- Supervising professor Risto Nieminen, thesis advisor Ari Harju
Olli-Pentti Saira, OVL Laboratory
- Supervising professor Jukka Pekola, thesis advisor Mikko Möttönen
Jefrey Lijffijt, Department of Information and Computer Science
- Supervising professor Juho Rousu, thesis advisor Heikki Mannila
2013
Billy Bob Brumley, Department of Information and Computer Science
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Kaisa Nyberg
Allan Perämäki, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor Olavi Nevanlinna, thesis advisor Marko Huhtanen
Juha Uotila, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor Markku Maula, thesis advisor Thomas Keil
2012
Antti Hyvärinen, Department of Information and Computer Science
- Supervising professor Ilkka Niemelä, thesis advisor Tommi Junttila
Joonas Järvinen, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Supervising professor and thesis advisor Juha-Antti Lamberg
Jirka Poropudas, Department of Mathematics and Systems Analysis
- Supervising professor Raimo Hämäläinen, thesis advisor Kai Virtanen
Doctoral page index
Index of all aalto.fi pages about doctoral education
