Dr. Tapio Alvesalo (born November 19, 1943, in

Jokioinen Jokioinen ( sv, Jockis) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Tavastia Proper regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population de ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) acted as the Secretary General of the Millennium Prize Foundation (2004–2009) and as the Secretary of the Foundation's International Prize Selection Committee. Before joining the Millennium Prize Foundation he held the position of

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

, Corporate Technology at Fortum Corporation until his retirement from that position in 2004. Dr. Alvesalo has served as a Board Member in a number of high technology companies both within and outside Fortum Corporation.

Education

Dr. Alvesalo earned his M.Sc. degree in technical physics in 1970 and his Ph.D. degree in the field of atomic and solid state physics in 1974 at Helsinki University of Technology.

Career

1970's In 1975 he was invited to the USA to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physici ...

. He worked at Cornell as a post doctoral research associate in 1975-1978 in collaboration with Professor

Robert Coleman Richardson Robert Coleman Richardson (June 26, 1937 – February 19, 2013) was an American experimental physicist whose area of research included sub-millikelvin temperature studies of helium-3. Richardson, along with David Lee, as senior researchers, ...

, a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

laureate in physics in 1996. After returning to Finland in 1978 Dr. Alvesalo was invited to join

Neste Oy Neste Oyj (international name: Neste Corporation; former names Neste Oil Corporation and Fortum Oil and Gas Oy) is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines and markets oil products, provides eng ...

, the Finnish national oil company, as a Corporate R&D Officer. 1980's During 1983-1989 Dr. Alvesalo headed Neste Battery Division's strategic R&D on advanced energy storage technologies and electric vehicle concepts. In 1986 a new Neste Corporate business venture Neste Advanced Power Systems (NAPS) was launched under Dr. Alvesalo's leadership and management. He acted as the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of NAPS in 1986-1998 and as the Chairman of the Board of NAPS International in 1998- 2004. NAPS developed and marketed advanced energy systems based on solar electricity, wind, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and supplied products to over hundred countries world wide. 1990's In 1993-1998 Dr. Alvesalo chaired NEMO, the Finnish National Research Program on Advanced Energy Systems and Technologies. He has also acted as the Chairman of the Board of EPIAArticle on EPIA homepag
"Millennium Technology Prize"
, '' EPIA'', Brussels, 14 November 2007. Retrieved on 2011-2-6.( European Photovoltaic Industry Association) and as Member of the Board of the Finnish Academies of Technology. In 1993 Dr. Alvesalo was awarded the Medal of Honor, Knight 1. Class,

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

, granted by the President of the Republic of Finland. 2000-2010 In 2000, after the merger of

with the national power company IVO Oy and the subsequent formation of the Nordic leading energy company, Fortum Corporation, Dr. Alvesalo was appointed Vice President, Corporate Technology. After his retirement in 2004 he was invited to direct the Millennium Prize Foundation and he acted as Seceratery General during 2004-2009.

References

External links

Millennium Technology Prize website

NAPS Systems website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvesalo, Tapio 1943 births Finnish physicists Cornell Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics Living people Knights First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland