Inauguration of New Professors

Name: Inauguration of New Professors
Start: 2026-12-09T10:15:00
End: 2026-12-09T12:00:00

New professors introduce themselves to the academic community and the general public by providing an overview of their research, reflecting on its significance, and discussing its future.

Both events will be recorded. Links to the records will be added on this event page later.

Event information

Event date

9.12.2026 12:15 - 9.12.2026 14:00

Registration period

2.11.2026 - 27.11.2026

Event type

Academic celebrations

Citizen science

Student events

Science events

Public lectures, seminars and round tables

Event language

Finnish

English

Event accessibility

The event is partially accessible, see description for details

Accessible toilet available

Hearing loop available, on request in advance

Sign language interpretation available, on request in advance

Event organizer

Communications and Community

Event payment

Free of charge

Show location on map

Event location category

Seminaarinmäki

Päärakennus C, juhlasali C1 ja Seminarium (S), vanha juhlasali (S212).

Inauguration of new professors will take place on Wednesday, 9 December 2026, starting at 12:15 p.m. in the Main Building's (C) Assembly Hall (C1) and in Seminarium's (S) Old Assembly Hall (S212, 2nd floor).

Both events will take place at the same day and time on different buildings. Please note that there are two separate registration forms for the events.

We kindly ask the audience to be seated by 12:00 noon in the event venues.
Doors to the halls will open at 11:30 a.m.

The lecturers in the main building:

Professor of sports coaching science
Juha Ahtiainen, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences
Professor of music psychology
Tuomas Eerola, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor of psychology
Virpi-Liisa Kykyri, Faculty of Education and Psychology

Opening words by Vice Rector Marja-Leena Laakso.

The lecturers in Seminarium:

Professor of multiobjective optimization
Michael Emmerich, Faculty of Information Technology
Professor of cognitive science
Tuomo Kujala, Faculty of Information Technology
Professor of organic chemistry and supramolecular chemistry
Fabien Cougnon, Faculty of Mathematics and Science

Opening words by Vice Rector Kaisa Miettinen.

Both events will be followed by a coffee service for registered participants on the event buildings.
Dress code for the audience is smart casual.

Registration / Enrollment

Registration for the events is open until 4.00 p.m. on Friday 27 November.
Please note that there are two separate registration forms for the events.

In the photo (from left to right): Juha Ahtiainen, Tuomas Eerola and Virpi-Liisa Kykyri.

New professors at the main building

Juha Ahtiainen’s research examines how different individuals can benefit from resistance training as effectively as possible to promote their physical performance, health and functional capacity. Ahtiainen’s research interests include the adaptation of the neuromuscular system in training, muscle growth and the cellular and molecular processes that regulate it, as well as the impacts of ageing on force production. His research benefits high-performance athletes, fitness enthusiasts, people in rehabilitation, and the ageing population. The title of Ahtiainen’s inauguration lecture is "Miten sama harjoitteluohjelma voi saada aikaan erilaisia vasteita?".

Tuomas Eerola and his research group intend to use interdisciplinary methods in the study of emotions. In Eerola’s research, interdisciplinary methods will be used that combine data from surveys, interviews, and experiments with physiological, neural, and movement data. The research seeks to better understand and apply the mechanisms that promote wellbeing. The title of Eerolas’s inauguration lecture is “Mitä musiikki tekee meille? Hyvinvointia, tunteita ja yhteisöllisyyttä".

Virpi-Liisa Kykyri is researching how social interaction is developed in therapy and how it can support people’s wellbeing, inclusion and psychological change. Using new methods, interaction can be studied not only through speech and emotions but also through bodily synchrony, which is the unconscious alignment of reactions, movements, facial expressions and nervous system activity – as it were, tuning them to the same wavelength. The title of Kykyri’s inauguration lecture is "Kohtaamisesta muutokseen: hyvinvointia tukevan muutoksen rakentuminen kehollisessa vuorovaikutuksessa".

To register for the inauguration lectures at the main building, open the registration form via this link.

In the photo (from left to right): Michael Emmerich, Tuomo Kujala and Fabien Cougnon.

New professors in Seminarium

Michael Emmerich recently joined the University of Jyväskylä as a professor of multiobjective optimization. Multiobjective optimization is applied in many fields to identify optimal solutions for complex problems involving multiple, often conflicting, criteria. Multiobjective optimization is applied in fields from industrial process design and logistics to healthcare. The title of Emmerich’s inauguration lecture is "What Combinatorial Chemistry and Multiobjective Optimization Teach Us About AI - and Its Limits".

Tuomo Kujala’s research focuses on the interaction between humans and machines. He specialises in human inattention and its effects on road safety and he is currently leading a research project analyzing drivers’ attention allocation while driving and performing secondary tasks. The project aims to identify which tasks performed on a car’s infotainment system whilst driving distract the driver the most, and how these tasks affect the risk of road accidents. The aim is to identify user interface design features that distract drivers whilst driving and to contribute to the improvement of road safety. The title of Kujala’s inauguration lecture is "Kognitiotieteen merkitys kasvaa, kun ajattelua ulkoistetaan tekoälylle".

Fabien Cougnon’s research group develops new approaches for controlling the self-assembly of molecules into increasingly sophisticated architectures, including molecular knots, helices, and cage-like structures. By uncovering the principles that govern nature’s own self-assembly processes, the group aims to develop new functional materials. His work opens new possibilities for applications in environmental technologies, advanced materials, and biomedicine. The title of Cougnon’s inauguration lecture is "Tying molecules into knots to change their properties".

To register for the inauguration lectures in Seminarium, open the registration form via this link.

Good to know about the event

Parking on JYU campus
The University of Jyväskylä uses the eParking app. To make parking in the University campus easier, be sure you have the eParking app in use. If you are a JYU student or staff member, login to the application with your Haka credentials. Visitor parking follows the street parking prices in the area. A parking session must be started every time a car is parked, regardless of whether it concerns paid or free parking.

Read more about the parking and instructions for activating the eParking app here.

Event venues
The venues for the inauguration of new professors are the main buildings (C) assembly hall (C1, 2nd floor) and Seminarium's (S) old assembly hall (S212, 2nd floor). Both events will be followed by a coffee service for registered participants on the event buildings: main buildings lobby (1st floor) and the Tissari art collection hall in Seminarium (1st floor). You can view venues on the campus map.

S View the venues on the campus map here.

The dress code for the public is casual.

Read more about the dress code in academic events

The inauguration of new professors is part of the academic traditions in the University of Jyväskylä.
The lectures involve some academic procedures:

Doors to the venues will open to the audience at 11:30 a.m.
The audience is expected to be seated at 12:00 noon.
According to an academic tradition, the event will start at 12:15 p.m.
At the beginning of the event, the audience stands as the Vice Rector and the new professors enter the hall.
The audience can be seated after the Vice Rector and the new professors have sat down.
At the end of the event, the audience stands as the Vice Rector and the new professors leave the hall.
The audience stands and waits until the Vice Rector and the new professors have left the hall.
The audience will then proceed to greet the Vice Rector and the new professors before a coffee service.

You may bring a gift to the new professor. The gifts will be given to the professors during the greeting before the coffee service. Gifts can be brought into the hall.

Accessible parking
Parking for people with disabilities is free of charge in all parking areas on JYU campuses provided that the vehicle has a permit for disabled parking. The eParking application does not need to be used for parking if the vehicle has a permit for disabled drivers.

Accessible parking for the main building is available on the parking area in front of the building, where there is one parking space marked with wheelchair symbol. Accessible parking for the Seminarium building is available on the side of building A, where there is no parking space specially marked for this purpose.

Accessibility of buildings
Access to the main building is via the main entrance. The assembly hall can be accessed via the lift located on the right-hand side of the building (approx. 35 m when entering through the main entrance). Lift dimensions: 990 x 1480 mm. To reach the assembly hall, select the second floor when using the lift. Those arriving with mobility aids are asked to take their places on the right side of the assembly hall (when facing the stage). Personal assistants accompanying them are asked to sit in the second row on the right side of the assembly hall. There are no specifically reserved seats for personal assistants at the event. If you need any extra assistance, please ask the event staff or the building’s janitors for help.

Access to the Seminarium is via a ramp on the side of the building, from the side of the A building. The door threshold is approximately 50 mm and the door width is 690 mm, with an additional door that opens separately. Access to the old assembly hall is via the lift located 12 metres forward from the entrance. The lift has sliding doors and the lift car size is 1410 x 1000 mm. To reach the old assembly hall, select the second floor when using the lift. Audiences arriving with mobility aids and any accompanying personal assistants are free to take any unmarked seats in the old assembly hall. The Tissari Art Collection Hall can be accessed via the same lift by selecting the first floor. Please note that the Tissari Art Collection Hall has minor accessibility issues: the doorways are narrower than usual and there are obstacles within the space.

See more about the accessibility of premises here.

Other accessibility information
Induction loop will be in use during the events on both event venues. Sign language interpretation is also available by ordering the service in advance. The accessible toilet is located in the main building first (1) floor, behind the coat racks and near the lift. In the Seminarium, the accessible toilet is located on the first (1) floor, to the right from the lift and through the hall to the left about 8 m.

A smoke-free and fragrance-free campus
Our University is a smoke-free and fragrance-free study and workplace. Refraining from using fragranced products shows that we all care for your work and study community, and it is also better for our respiratory health. Please arrive at the event fragrance-free.

Please submit any other accessibility concerns or questions to the event organiser by email. Contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.

See more about the equality, non-discrimination and accessibility here.

Further information

External Relations

University Communications

Inauguration of New Professors