Evaluation Report Publications of the Academy of Finland 1/11

Research networking and interaction
The unit appears to be rather isolated, with limited internal, departmental and 
national collaboration and interaction. The unit has been participating in (and 
coordinating) some EU projects.
The unit has good contacts with local industry. However, due to the lack of 
integration of the basic and applied aspects of the research activity in the unit, the 
longevity of these collaborations is not properly secured.
Recommendations
The unit needs to define a research strategy that clearly states the ambitions of the 
unit and the means for achieving them. In particular, the unit needs to focus its 
scientific attention on a few key areas where it can have international impact. In 
recruiting new permanent staff members, recruitment should support the strategic 
goals of the unit and should not broaden the profile of the unit any further. 
Theoretical and computational chemistry is very strong in Finland, both in volume 
and in quality, and it is not obvious that the unit will be able to make an impact on 
this field in the future, even though computational sciences are a strategic priority for 
the university. The importance of lithium-battery research is unquestionable, but it is 
not clear whether the unit’s size would enable it to have considerable impact in this 
field. The unit should seek to integrate better the basic and applied aspects of their 
research, with the aim of increasing the scientific quality and impact of the applied 
research, and securing the more basic research in local industry.
The unit should develop a clear strategy for increasing its international visibility 
and collaboration. The unit also needs to promote its scientific activity more 
aggressively, by participating at international meetings and through networks, for 
instance.
The panel acknowledges the strong involvement of the unit in time-consuming 
administrative positions, but recommends that the unit limit the number of staff 
members engaged in such duties at any given time.