Tampere University of Technology

Institutional profile

Tampere University (TAU, Tampereen korkeakoulusaatio sr,) was created on 1 January 2019. It was created as a merger of Tampere University of Technology (TUT) and University of Tampere (UTA).

Multidisciplinary, foundation-based Tampere University is Finland’s second largest university.

TAU conducts scientific research in technology, health and society. It provides the highest education within these fields.

Tampere University Foundation, that operates as Tampere University, is also the majority shareholder of Tampere University of Applied Sciences.

This new higher education community in Tampere consists of 30,000 students, 330 professors and 4,400 employees.

In 2017, the total income of the two universities was 322 M€ of which 42 % was external research funding. TAU ranks fourth among all Finnish participants in H2020 funding.

TAU’s predecessors, TUT and UTA, have many experiences on EU funding. They have an EU support team dealing with legal, financial and administrative issues. Both

TUT and UTA have been awarded with the European Commission’s 'HR Excellence in Research' logo.

Engineering Materials Science (EMS) and Automation Technology and Mechanical Engineering (ATME)

Materials Science and Environmental Engineering (MSEE) is merged from Laboratory of Materials Science and Laboratory of Chemistry and Bioengineering. MSEE has 20 professors, and around 190 academic staff.

Around half of the MSEE consists of the Engineering Materials Science (EMS) section. The EMS is led by Profesor Erkki Levänen.

The EMS's teaching and research activities cover all material groups. This includes metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. The cornerstone of research and teaching at Engineering Materials Science is high-level basic research of the materials structure, processing and performance.

The Automation Technology and Mechanical Engineering (ATME) offers a wide-ranging environment for teaching and research, corresponding to the needs of a more complex world.

Teaching and research of the laboratory covers the basic technologies for automation and mechanical engineering. It also covers the whole product process of a mechanical system, from product development to production engineering. It also looks at life-cycle management with intersecting areas of engineering intelligence and sustainable mechanical systems.

Project roles

The roles Tampere University contribute to the project include

• participating in surface interactions with pulsed laser interference patterns
• participating in the design and prototyping of laser interference lithography systems for in-situ application
• demonstrating synthesis of locally photoactive functional surfaces and nanowires
• contributing to project management through leadership of dissemination and exploitation

Personnel

Professor Erkki Levänen leads the NanoStencil activity at TAU. He is the head of the Engineering Materials Science.

His research interests focus on functional ceramics, especially at the energy and environmental applications.

His work ranges from material synthesis to novel processing techniques. It also includes advanced characterisation methods and application oriented research.

The nanoparticle and thin film synthesis include sol-gel, supercritical carbon dioxide assisted synthesis, pulsed laser ablation and pyrolysis methods aiming to multi-functionalise materials with enhanced durability and self-recovery.

Professor Levänen is currently author of 97 peer reviewed papers and three patents.

Contact: erkki.levanen@tut.fi