University of Eastern Finland Will Confer an Honorary Doctorate upon Professor Pekka Vallittu
The University of Eastern Finland will hold a doctoral conferment ceremony at the Kuopio Campus on 4-6 June 2020. In addition to conferring doctorates upon its graduates, the university will also confer 13 honorary doctorates. An honorary doctorate is the highest distinction the university may confer upon a person.
In the doctoral conferment ceremony to be held in Kuopio, honorary doctorates will be conferred by the faculties operating on the campus, i.e. by the Faculty of Science and Forestry, the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.
– The faculties will confer honorary doctorates upon major influencers from the realms of science, arts and society to serve as an inspiration not only to our newly minted doctors, but to eastern Finland as a whole, says Katri Vehviläinen-Julkunen, Chair of the Conferment Organising Committee.
The Faculty of Health Sciences will confer an honorary doctorate in dentistry upon Professor Pekka Vallittu. Professor of Biomaterials Science Pekka Vallittu, Dean of the Institute of Dentistry at the University of Turku and Director of Turku Clinical Biomaterials Centre, is one of the most esteemed dentistry scholars in the world. His innovative research focuses, e.g., on the development of non-metallic, fibre-reinforced composites for tissue repair, including implants that are suitable for the treatment of skull injuries. His research findings have led to several patented inventions and new business activities.
Professor Vallittu completed his dentistry training in Kuopio. He has collaborated with the Institute of Dentistry at the University of Eastern Finland, both in research and education, ever since its establishment. Professor Vallittu is an inspiring teacher, an active science policy commentator and an avid advocate of research funding for the field of dentistry.
