Akseli Mansikkamäki

I study the magnetic properties of molecules and materials constructed from molecules utilizing high-performance computing and theoretical methods. The research aims to understand and develop new molecules that can be applied in the futures, for example, as computational units of quantum computers or as components of microscopic quantum electronics. The research is multidisciplinary and involves both chemistry and physics. My personal work focuses on theoretical chemistry and physics, but a large part of the research is done in collaboration with international research groups who work on the synthetic and experimental aspects of the same problems.

I defended my thesis in the field of chemistry at the University of Jyväskylä in 2018. During my doctoral research I also stayed at KU Leuven in Belgium as a visiting scholar. In 2019 I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä. My research project "Computational Investigations of the Electronic Structures and Magnetic Properties of Low-Valent Lanthanide Complexes" was funded by the Magnus Ehrnrooth Foundation. In 2020 I started as a postdoctoral researcher at the NMR Research Unit, University of Oulu, within the degree program in physics, and since 2023 I have worked as a faculty member at the University of Oulu with the title of university researcher. In 2021 University of Oulu awarded me with the Title of Docent in the field of molecular magnetism. The Research Council of Finland has funded two of my research projects: a postdoctoral research project "Dynamic Magnetic Properties of Single-Molecule Magnets" in 2020 to 2023 and an academy research fellow project "Spin-Delocalized Lanthanide Single-Molecule Magnets" in 2024 to 2028.