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Four professors from Aalto University’s Department of Applied Physics have received from the most recent round of grants handed out by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The recipients include Professor Jukka Pekola, Professor Robin Ras, Professor Sebastiaan van Dijken and Assistant Professor Anton Zasedatelev. The four-year fundings total around 5.4 million euros.

Professor Jukka Pekola is one of the leading global experts on quantum thermodynamics. His share, around 1.8 million euros, is the largest granted to Aalto during this round. The aim is to find a solution for a major quantum technology bottleneck: overheating quantum computers.

‘We study thermodynamics in quantum systems and ways of controlling heat to meet the needs of future devices.’

Professor and incoming School of Science Vice Dean Robin Ras studies the physics of water droplets and surfaces. 

‘We research nucleation on surfaces, specifically with a new approach to study the very early stages of water condensation, both experimentally and computationally. A better understanding of nucleation on surfaces affects things like weather so we will work together with the Finnish Meteorological Institute, for example. It can also lead to technologies like improved anti-fogging in glass.’

Professor and Vice-Head of the Department of Applied Physics Sebastiaan van Dijken studies microwave-to-optical quantum connections mediated by quasiparticles called magnons.

Assistant Professor Anton Zasedatelev researches quantum optics, which is the interaction of light and matter in the quantum realm. 

The Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation supported a total of eight projects in the fields of technology, economics and culture, that aim to find solutions to grand challenges of the future. These grants bring the total amount of funding given by the foundation to over half a billion euros since its inception in 2002.