Hannu Fritze will continue as a research professor at Luke

Hannu Fritze has been invited as a research professor for the 5-year extension period of Luke in the soil ecosystems group of the Natural Resources unit. Fritze started his position on 1 December 2022.

Fritze's focus in his work has been the response of the microbial community of forest land to changes in the environment. Especially the microbial communities that affect the methane production and oxidation of bogs have been objects of interest during the last 15 years, although at the moment one focus has also shifted to farmland through the formation of Luke and several EU project funding. In these, for example, the effect of microplastics on the soil's microbiota or the connection of the diversity of the microbial community of farmland to the soil's carbon storage is studied.

-As a new research direction, the impact of the diversity of green areas in cities in preventing a pandemic should also be mentioned, where the connection of environmental microbes to human morbidity is examined in a multifaceted project funded by the Academy of Finland. This research professors appointment gives the opportunity to write the projects that are being completed into high-quality scientific publications and to guide the unfinished ones that have just received funding towards the finish line, Fritze comments on his continuing term.

-Hannu Fritzen has achieved excellent results as a professor, and it was easy to make the decision to continue the professorship. It is great that Hannu continues his internationally respected career at Luke and leads Luke's high-level soil microbiology research as a professor. There is great interest in the field of research, and Luke wants to continue to be among the leading research organizations in the field in Europe, comments Sirpa Thessler, the director of Luke's Natural Resources unit.

Research Professors are in key positions for the scientific expertise and international visibility and effectiveness of Luke. The aim is to ensure top-level research in Luke’s strategic fields, as well as applicability of research in business.