Six new academicians are from the University of Tartu

On 3 December, the general assembly of the Estonian Academy of Sciences elected seven new members of the academy, including six from the University of Tartu: Heikki Junninen, Joel Starkopf, Rainis Haller, Maarja Öpik, Veronika Kalmus and Meelis Kull.

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Heiki Junninen, Professor of Environmental Physics and Head of the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the Institute of Physics, was elected an academician in the field of physics. Junninen studies atmospheric processes that influence the climate system, the formation of climate and its changes resulting from human activity. In recent years, he has advocated for conducting continuous high-quality atmospheric measurements in Estonia and promoted cutting-edge international research.

Heiki Junninen leads the University of Tartu team in the CERN experiment CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets), which investigates particle and cloud formation processes under controlled laboratory conditions. In 2023–2024, he was the academy research professor in Arctic studies of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. View his profile on ETIS.

Joel Starkopf, Professor of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care and Head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, was elected an academician in the field of medicine. His research covers a broad range of clinical research areas – from animal testing to clinical intervention studies, observational studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and compiling international treatment guidelines.

Starkopf has studied gastrointestinal failure, myocardial preconditioning, and the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics in intensive care. He has built up a modern training system in anaesthesiology and intensive care in Estonia, and served as the head of the Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Clinic at Tartu University Hospital for 20 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led the work of the hospital’s crisis task force and the South Estonian medical task force. In 2018, Joel Starkopf, together with Annika Reintam Blaser, received the national research award in medicine. View his profile on ETIS.

The new academician in mathematics is Rainis Haller, Professor of Mathematical Analysis at the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics. His research focuses on functional analysis, or studying the properties of infinite-dimensional vector spaces and the relationships between them. Functional analysis is the meeting point of algebra and analysis, where geometry and topology also play significant roles. Its main object of research is the Banach space, the geometry and influence of which Haller has explored most extensively.

From 2018 to 2022, Haller was the President of the Estonian Mathematical Society. View his profile on ETIS.

In the field of soil science, Maarja Öpik, Professor in Molecular Ecology in the Chair of Plant Ecology, Department of Botany, and Director of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, was elected as an academician. Her research focuses on soil ecosystems, using molecular methods to study the biodiversity and role of mycorrhiza-forming soil fungi (particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi).

Her approach to DNA-based virtual taxa and the public database MaarjAM, which she leads, has helped make research in this field globally comparable and standardised. In addition to fundamental research, she leads applied projects that promote the sustainable use of agricultural soils and the restoration of soil ecosystems. In 2016, Maarja Öpik and her colleagues were awarded the national research award in geology and biology. View her profile on ETIS.

In sociology, the new academician is Veronika Kalmus, Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Social Studies, and programme director of the doctoral programme in Sociology. Kalmus is an internationally recognised sociologist and media researcher who studies social and technological change. Her interdisciplinary research covers topics such as mediatisation, datafication, the spread of artificial intelligence, the emergence of the surveillance society, the acceleration of social and personal time, changes in value orientations, and aspects of people’s lifeworld and well-being, etc.

Kalmus has conceptualised the role of generations in social change and contributed to the development of social science methodology. In 2019, she was elected a member of Academia Europaea. In 2022, she was granted the national research award in social sciences as a co-author of a series of works. View her profile on ETIS.

The newest member of the academy in artificial intelligence is Meelis Kull, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Chair of Data Science, Institute of Computer Science. His research focuses on the foundations of trustworthy artificial intelligence: modelling uncertainty and detecting when a model operates outside its competence. Kull aims to develop methods that help determine when the response of an artificial intelligence system is justly certain and when it should be treated with caution.

One of the goals of Kull’s research is the calibration of predictions, which aligns a model’s probabilistic output statistically with real-world frequencies. He has developed internationally recognised methods, such as beta calibration and Dirichlet calibration. This way, Kull contributes to creating reliable, machine-learning-based artificial intelligence for risk-sensitive applications. He is a member of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS). In 2024–2025, he held the academy research professorship in artificial intelligence at the Estonian Academy of Sciences. View his profile on ETIS.

“Estonia can be proud that the academy of sciences has gained seven new members who represent excellence in scientific research and, which is very important, applications important for society. The results of today’s election will strengthen the academy and significantly enhance its social impact,” said Mart Saarma, President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, on 3 December.

To be elected a member, the candidate had to receive two-thirds of the votes of the academy members present at the general assembly. With the addition of new members, the Estonian Academy of Sciences now comprises 79 members and 19 foreign members.