The Optimization and Systems Engineering (OSE) group at Åbo Akademi University is an interdisciplinary research group focusing on theory and methods in optimization and systems analysis, as well as their applications in science and engineering. The OSE group bridges the systems engineering, systems theory and mathematical disciplines at Åbo Akademi University and represent the kernel of expertise at the university. The group was appointed an internal Center of Excellence within research at the university for the time-period 2010-14.

The research group consists of professors, post doctoral researchers, PhD students, Master’s students and technical personnel; in total about 30 persons.

Group leadership

The principal investigator is professor Tapio Westerlund. More information about the PI, including a short bio can be found here. The research group is coordinated by a steering group, responsible for strategic decision making.

International scientific panel

Forming a basis for the international collaboration is the International Scientific Panel of the OSE group. It consists of the following five members, all renowned researchers in the OSE field:

• Professor Ignacio Grossmann, Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
• Professor Efstratios Pistikopoulos, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
• Professor Professor Leo Liberti, LIX, École Polytechnique, France, and IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, USA
• Professor Montaz Ali, The Centre for Systems and Engineering, University of Witwatersrand, South-Africa

Affiliated researchers

Affiliated researchers at Åbo Akademi University include Prof. Hannu Toivonen (Process Control Laboratory), Prof. Ralf Östermark (School of Business and Economics), Acting Prof. Frank Pettersson (Process Design and Systems Engineering) as well as  Prof. em. Göran Högnäs (Mathematics and Statistics) and Prof. em.  Olof Staffans (Mathematics and Statistics). Prof. Jukka Corander, part-time professor in statistics at ÅAU, and Dr. Ray Pörn, lecturer at Novia University of Applied Sciences, are additional important in-house collaborators.