Arto Koistinen (arto.koistinen@uef.fi)
My duties include e.g. development and coordination of UEF infrastructure program and further, strategic planning, cooperation with other institutes and companies, and decision preparation.
Based on the above mentioned duties, University’s collaboration within innovation ecosystems and companies will be strengthened. Collaboration is carried out e.g. with other educational institutes, local councils and national CLIC Innovation consortium.
My expertise in the research include research on biomaterial science, especially on material interactions and chemical analysis. We are one of the leading teams for microplastics analysis in Finland. I will continue leading microplastic research project funded by the Academy of Finland.
Circular Economy of water in industrial processes
This “Circular Economy of water in industrial processes”, CEIWA project develops solutions for digitalization, technology development, management of different pollutants, and legislative aspects to enhance circular economy of industrial waters. In addition to providing solutions to water intensive industries, the project also serves technology and service providers. This project supports various industries to obtain circular economy of waters as core business. University of Eastern Finland will concentrate on development of multimetal and microplastic analysis.
Circular Economy Solutions for Microplastics: Indo-Finnish Scientific Collaboration for Innovation
Direct microplastic exposure via foodstuff and food packaging – plastic leachables and their health effects (diMPex)
Hanna Lehtimäki (hanna.lehtimaki@uef.fi)
Hanna Lehtimäki (Ph.D. Bus Econ) is a professor of Innovation Management in Business School and a Director of Research Center for Sustainable Circular Economy (CECE) at the University of Eastern Finland. Her research examines circular economy with theoretical frameworks on innovation management, strategic management, organization theory, leadership, and entrepreneurship. She and her research team, SunLab, advance transdisciplinary social sciences research and societal impact in sustainable circular economy transition. In her capacity as a Vice Director of UEF strategic research community Sustainable Resource Society: Circular Economy, Energy and Raw Materials (RESOURCE RC), she advances multidisciplinary social sciences research agenda for sustainability transition in business and society. Her research has appeared in journals internationally and she has recently co-edited books on art and sustainability and catalyzing sustainable circular economy.
She leads a Finnish Indian research consortium Circular Economy Solutions for Microplastics: Indo-Finnish Scientific Collaboration for Innovation (CESMI). She also leads a research project Leading Regenerative Circular Economy (LEADSUS) funded by the Finnish Foundation for Economic Education and is a work package leader in Academy of Finland funded research project Multi-level governance of critical materials for future electric mobility (GOVERMAT). She was a vicePI and a work package leader in an Academy of Finland Strategic Research Council project Circular Economy Catalysts: From Innovation to Business Ecosystems (2019-2023).
She is the leader of Sustainability leadership international Master’s programme at the UEF Business School and a multidisciplinary minor Sustainable Business and Society.
Joni Järvenpää (joni.jarvenpaa@uef.fi)
I study the health effects and movements of nano-sized microplastics in the human body and cells using molecular modeling. I also do modeling for our sirtuin research group.
Kaisa Raninen (kaisa.raninen@uef.fi)
Researcher in the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and in the SIB Labs (Science – Innovation – Business) team in the Department of Technical Physics in the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology.
I have knowhow in food analysis, clinical nutrition interventions, microbiology, microplastics and biorefining, and special expertise in analysis of volatile compounds (GC-MS).
Kristina Leppälä (kristina.leppala@uef.fi)
My mission is to create knowledge and understandings of the phenomena of practices in life, work, and work life practices, particularly during technology innovations and during sustainability transitions and implementations. I study practitioner logics, emergence, and co-creation with qualitative methodologies and adopt a practice theoretical approach.
Microplastics and health are particular emerging topics which interest me.
Laura Tomppo (laura.tomppo@uef.fi)
I manage the SIB Labs services. We offer versatile imaging and characterisation services for both companies and research groups. In addition to service activities, we implement research and development projects in cooperation with educational institutions, research organisations and industry.
I am involved in a number of projects that focus on material technology, material characterization and continuous monitoring, the use of artificial intelligence in the analysis of continuous measurements, biorefining and microplastics. My background is in research on natural materials such wood and natural fibers, like hemp, and composites produced from these. I am involved in the implementation and development of education in materials technology and bioeconomy.