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Professor Olli Ikkala has received the Humboldt Research Award. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants these awards to internationally renowned academics in recognition of their entire academic record to date. The discoveries, theories, or insights made by these academics have had a significant impact on their own discipline and beyond, and they are expected to continue producing cutting-edge academic achievements in the future.

Olli Ikkala has been invited to start a research collaboration with Professor Josef Breu at Bayreuth University. The new project will combine Professor Ikkala’s expertise in functional materials and Josef Breu’s knowledge of 2D nanomaterials.

Professor Ikkala is a two-time ERC Advanced Grant recipient, for the years 2012–2016 and 2017–2021. He has also twice been appointed as an Academy Professor by the Academy of Finland, during 2005–2010 and 2012–2016. Ikkala leads the national Centre of Excellence in Molecular Engineering of Biosynthetic Hybrid Materials research (HYBER). The Centre of Excellence has encouraged multidisciplinarity and a collaborative spirit from its outset, and currently encompasses ca. 100 researchers from different fields of science.

Ikkala has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles, which have been cited over 18 000 times. His research team’s recent achievements include novel artificial materials that “learn”.