Our Team: Jani Patrakka

Jani Patrakka, a 28-year old photonics PhD-student, is responsible for sensor development in the INTENSE-project.

Jani graduated with a MSc in Photonics in 2020, and his BSc and MSc-theses were on the topics of thermal and humidity sensing with polymer films. During his studies, he worked as a research assistant and a TA for Chemistry and Advanced Materials.

Jani is especially interested in how instruments work: their operating principle, sensitivity, limitations, and so on. Therefore, the product developer-role in this project fits him perfectly! His responsibilities include for example material development from the photonics background, building the measurement setups, and developing the sensing materials.

What excites Jani about this project is exploring the potential of our product: all we can measure with our newly developed fibers. Our proof-of-concept studies have been very promising, and our product shows a lot of potential. But there are many avenues still to explore, and we might not even be yet aware of everything the product is capable of. “It is amazing how simple optical waveguides can be used to monitor environmental conditions”, Jani says.

Outside the lab, Jani is an avid disc golf player and finds that the best way to start the day is by losing a disc in the woods (or snow)! An excellent hobby, and a great way to recover from the long days in the lab!

To learn more about Jani’s research, please visit: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9204-1318