​Maria Lohela, Speaker of Parliament, has awarded the innovation award for women to Professor Hele Savin.

Professor Savin has developed an applied nanotechnology method for producing high-capacity solar cells with the help of “black silicon” that employs nanostructures. The technology lowers the production costs of solar cells and improves their efficiency, making the production of solar power more efficient, particularly in the north. The same innovation could also be used in medical imaging, to reduce the radiation dose of patients, and in several space and security applications.

Professor Hele Savin has contributed to the development of her own field of science and cooperated with the leading Finnish and international research institutions and enterprises in the field with excellent merits. Professor Savin works at Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering.

The innovation award from the Parliament commemorates the anniversary of universal and equal suffrage on 1 June. The award is worth EUR 110,000 and it will be granted in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The award is granted to a woman or a group of women for a scientifically significant innovation in the field of technology or economy.

The Technology Academy Finland foundation has arranged the award process in practice. The Chancellery Commission of the Parliament has selected the winner from the group of candidates.