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Areas of expertise
Biography
Currently I am a professor in Materials Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. I started my studies in theoretical physics in the University of Turku in 1976. I took my degrees in Theoretical physics: BSc in 1980, MSc in 1983, Lic. Phil. in 1986, and PhD in 1991. Since 1981 I have had seven different posts in the university. I was a post-doc in the Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokio 1991-1992. I have been a long-term visitor in Australian National University, Canberra and in Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg. I have been a principal supervisor for six PhD thesis and 13 MSc thesis. I have had several positions of trust in different levels in the University of Turku.
Teaching
I have been developing and teaching 32 different courses in University level and several courses in college, high school and secondary school level. I have developed and tried several different teaching methodologies during during last four decades. Sometimes I have achieved great success sometimes I created a disaster.
Research
My main interest in research is in computational materials physics, specifically electronic, thermodynamical, and mechanical properties of metallic alloys and semiconductors. The systems studied most frequently include iron and noble metal alloys and compound semiconductors. I have always worked in close collaboration with researchers working in experimental materials physics. I have been organizing several international workshops.