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Mia Österlund, István Prause, Chunlin Xu and Dragos Truscan inaugurated as professors at Åbo Akademi University

Four new professors were inaugurated at Åbo Akademi University on 26 September 2025.

Inaugurated from the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences (FHS) is professor in Comparative Literature Mia Österlund, Department of Humanities.

Inaugurated from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FNT) are Professor in Mathematics István Prause, Department of Natural and Health Sciences. Professor in Fiber and Biopolymer Chemistry Chunlin Xu and Professor in Computer Science Dragos Truscan, Department of Engineering and Information Technology.

The professors’ inauguration ceremony is one of the highlights of the academic year when the newly appointed professors give their inaugural lectures, which are open to the public.

Mia Österlund’s lecture was titled ”Vad gör vi med skönlitteraturen, och vad gör den med oss?” and she spoke about the impact literature has on us and vice versa. Read more about her research here.

István Prause’s lecture was titled “The unreasonable effectiveness of complex analysis in mathematics.” Read more about his research here.

Chunlin Xu’s lecture was titled, “Sustainable chemistry for the forest bioeconomy of the future.” Read more about his research here.

Dragos Truscan’s lecture was titled, “Computer Science and AI – Friends or Foes?”. Read more about his research here.

 

During the ceremony, music was performed by the Academic Orchestra under the direction of conductor Sauli Huhtala.