Dr. Heli Kangas studied Forest Products Chemistry in Helsinki University of Technology, nowadays known as Aalto University, in Espoo, Finland. She completed her Master of Science studies in 2000 and started her career in R&D working for a private research organisation, KCL, which was owned by the Finnish Pulp and Paper companies. While working as a Research Engineer at KCL, she also pursued her Doctoral studies and received her Doctoral degree in 2007. The topic of her thesis was “Surface chemical properties of mechanical pulps, fibers and fines”. During her career at KCL, she worked with various P&P related topics covering most of the value chain of wood processing, from pulping processes to printing and fiber-based products. She also had her first experiences in project management. Upon joining VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., in 2010, she became involved in research on cellulose nanomaterials with research interest related to manufacturing, especially with chemo-enzymatic means, as well as characterisation, EHS considerations and various application, with focus on films and coatings for packaging purposes. At VTT, she worked in different positions as Senior scientist, Research Team Leader and Technology Manager in the field of Biomass Processing and Products.
In 2023, she joined Valmet Technologies and currently holds a position of Development Manager in Stock Preparation and Recycled Fiber. Her focus is in Textile concept and MFC development projects.
She participated in her first TAPPI International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials in 2012 and has been an enthusiastic member of the Nano Community ever since. In 2015 she became a member of the NanoDivision Research Committee and acted as the vice-chair of the EHS sub-committee from 2016 to 2022. She participated in organising the 2019 TAPPI Nano Conference as Technical co-chair and acted as the Chair for the 2020 & 2021 TAPPI Nano virtual conferences and was the Co-chair of the TAPPI Nano Conference in 2022 in Helsinki!
Her plans as the Chair of the NanoDivision include (but are not limited to) making sure that everyone feels at home within the Nano Community, increasing the student involvement and promoting their networking opportunities and growing the number of end users involved in the Community. You are most welcome to share your ideas and thoughts!
Email: [email protected]