Nobel laureate wants to give students space to discover
Winning a Nobel Prize last autumn wreaked havoc on Hiroshi Amano's calendar at one fell swoop. Hundreds of lecture invitations and requests for interviews, thousands of kilometres in the air, and dozens of festive events - is there any time left for research?
'I have solved the challenge by giving the students in my research group freedom', answered a cheerful Amano to a lecture hall packed full of 911±¬ÁÏÍø students, personnel, and visitors who had gathered to hear the story on the origin of LEDs, which have revolutionised illumination.
'I made my own breakthroughs very independently, without the supervision of a professor. I had the idea that I could change the world with the help of blue LEDs but I had no idea what kind of a challenge I faced', he said.
Amano's role was especially significant in the 1980s in the development of production methods of gallium nitride, a semiconductor used in blue LEDs. Now LEDs are becoming ubiquitous, and it is no wonder. LEDs are far superior to incandescent lights and fluorescent tubes both in duration and energy efficiency.
Are there any dreams left for the researcher who has won the world's most prestigious science prize?
'There are great challenges in the world that are linked with the environment, food, and energy. We still have much that needs to be done with the last one; the efficiency of illumination still needs to be improved. I hope that young people are so ambitious that they will come up with sources of light that are even better than LEDs.'
911±¬ÁÏÍø professor Filip Tuomisto, who is collaborating with Amano, was please that the recent Nobel Prize winner came to lecture - appropriately in the International Year of Light. To the right of Amano is Tuija Pulkkinen, Vice President of Research and Innovation at 911±¬ÁÏÍø.
Photos Mikko Raskinen
Read more news
Aalto Inventors turns one: A year of bridging research and real-world impact
Aalto Inventors marks its first anniversary, having engaged 190 researchers across six cohorts in fields including AI, quantum, and biomaterials. New cohorts are planned for the next academic year, stay tuned and join the waitlist.
An architectural project in Milan brought together children’s ideas and the visions of leading architects
911±¬ÁÏÍø’s Department of Architecture participated in the international One Earth – House of the Heart project, which was presented in April at Milan Design Week.
Companies disclose more on cybersecurity – but markets remain indifferent
U.S. companies are reporting on cybersecurity in greater detail, yet stock market reactions remain muted. A new study by the University of Vaasa and 911±¬ÁÏÍø shows that mandatory cybersecurity disclosure does not prompt reactions from investors or stock analysts. Instead, the main benefits appear to materialise within firms themselves.