Esko Ukkonen, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and researcher in algorithms and machine learning, has received the Academy Award of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Ukkonen, who has had a nearly 50-year career at the University of Helsinki, is particularly known as a developer of efficient computational methods used, for example, in the search for disease-causing genes.
The Academy Award is presented annually to a distinguished member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in recognition of their life’s work. The value of the award is 30,000 euros.
Esko Ukkonen’s work combines the formulation of new computational concepts and the development of new computational methods, their analysis, and the practical application of these methods. His research has focused in particular on so-called string methods, which are used, among other things, in the analysis of text data and in bioinformatics in the study of biological sequences, such as DNA and protein sequences.
“The methods we have developed have helped us understand how genes and diseases function, which in turn can help in the development of new drugs,” says Ukkonen.
Over the course of his nearly 50-year career, Ukkonen has witnessed the incredible development of computer science. When he began his studies in the late 1960s, the field had only recently been established and was still in its infancy. Today, the field is one of the largest in Finland in terms of number of university researchers.
“Many of the results of computer science, such as the so-called large language models, have led to commercial applications. They have a significant impact on people’s everyday lives, and they form the basis for the operations of many of the world’s largest companies today,” says Ukkonen.
Ukkonen has had a significant impact on international research in the field, and many of the methods he developed have become essential tools in the field, as is stated in the award citation.
“String methods became a hot topic in the early 1980s, when computers began assisting in the management of DNA data. The research results we achieved back then have become standard tools in the field,” Ukkonen says.
He is also known as an outstanding mentor who has supervised many successful researchers and has significantly influenced the development of Finnish algorithm research.
“Training researchers, as well as working with fellow researchers and students to build a world-class, internationally attractive research environment, has been the most meaningful part of my career.”
Ukkonen has had many highlights over the course of his career. An especially memorable one is the writing of his first research article.
“Me and my friend were young postgraduate students, and one day while sitting in the cafeteria, we came up with a great idea. Instead of asking our supervisors for permission, we just wrote a research article about it, which was accepted straight away by a publication forum that we admired. We were pretty excited about that,” Ukkonen says with a smile.
“I hope that the work will continue and that young people will still be interested in conducting research in the future.”
Esko Ukkonen
• Served as an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki from 1981 to 1985 and as a professor from 1985 until his retirement.
• Led the Center of Excellence for Algorithmic Data Analysis Research funded by the Research Council of Finland (formerly known as the Academy of Finland) from 2002 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2013.
• Served as an Academy Professor from 1999 to 2004.
• Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters since 2000.
Academy Award of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters
• The most prominent recognition from the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, awarded annually to a distinguished member of the Academy for their life’s work.
• The aim of the Academy Award is to recognize the scientific careers of its distinguished members.
• The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Academy Award since 1945. The value of the award is 30,000 euros.