Evaluation Report Publications of the Academy of Finland 1/11

Research networking and interaction
The unit’s collaborations are exceptionally strong. The exchange of personnel with 
Japan is very active. The unit cooperates with the ALD group at UH. There is 
extensive collaboration with industry, in part embodied by the presence of a part-time 
professor with extensive industrial experience. The expertise of the group is sought by 
a number of industrial companies and has resulted in a number of patents. The 
different collaborations have not led to a very large number of incoming visiting 
students to the unit.
Recommendations
The group should maintain its direction and level of achievement, which is impressive 
in such an important and challenging area. In time, a strategy should be evolved for 
moving into new related areas. The group could possibly benefit from interaction 
with the theory group of the Physics Department at AU and from a strengthening of 
the collaboration with the electrochemistry group. The group should try to increase 
the number of visiting postgraduate students. The panel recommends that AU 
consider strengthening the group’s activity through additional faculty members as