Tamlink is the operator of DSII Doctoral School of Industry Innovations. Great news from there! Samu-Pekka Ojanen, whose research subject at DSII is silicon photonics-enabled multi-wavelength gas sensors in collaboration with VAISALA, won a prize for the best student paper at the International Semiconductor Laser Conference (ISLC 2022) in Japan. We reached Ojanen to answer some questions about his trip to other side of the world. It turned out that it was not his first visit to Japan!
Samu Pekka Ojanen, how was your journey to Japan and what kind of experience was it?
“I actually have visited Japan a couple of times. First as an exchange student and later to visit my wife’s family. As a conference, ISLC was nice to me because there are no simultaneous presentations, as is usually the case at conferences, but all presentations were in the same hall. You don't have to think about which shows you're going to listen to and in which hall, and it also gives you the opportunity to learn about topics that you're not that familiar with.
It's always nice to visit Japan because I like the local food and culture. At the conference dinner, we got to taste local delicacies and we were treated to an Iwami Kagura performance, which was a kind of traditional ritual or a performance in which a Shinto god slays an eight-headed dragon. It was an unforgettable experience.”
And what was it like to receive the prize?
“I was pleasantly surprised to receive the award, considering how many high-quality presentations there were at the conference. It's always a good feeling when one's own research is recognized and it also increases motivation. I also want to thank the Tampere University ORC-team for their input and support.”
How did you end up at this particular conference in Japan?
“I was wondering which conference I should attend this year and my academic supervisor Professor Mircea Guina suggested that I go to the ISLC conference because it is a good conference to learn about semiconductor lasers. This year it also happened to be held in Japan, so I definitely wanted to go there.”
It was not the first time that Ojanen won a prize during his DSII studies. Check out the news from last years Millenium Pitching Contest: