Student Story - How to Combine Biomechanics and Machine Learning

#GetToKnowJYU with Neil J. Cronin, an associate professor of Biomechanics at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences and Master's student in Cognitive Computing and Collective Intelligence.

Neil moved from England to Finland for the first time in 2005 and then lived in other countries for a few years. But he moved back to Finland in 2011, and has been here for almost 10 years! As an associate professor of Biomechanics, Neil teaches and studies how our muscles and tendons work in different situations. Traditionally, researchers in the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences do not need machine learning technologies. But in every exciting project, there is always some boring repetitive work. Therefore, Neil started to learn machine learning and applied it on his projects for improving the research process. Let’s see how he combines these two interesting fields!

One of Neil’s favourite work so far is monitoring muscles movement by ultrasound devices. They observe how muscles and tendons from different parts of the human body change in real-time, such as length and thickness. In the picture above, Neil is showing how to observe the end of a muscle with an ultrasound device. Neil said this is a simple imaging method, and sometimes not as good as MRI. But this is real-time and an MRI machine might cost 1 million euros.

For research purposes, each muscle and tendon has to be marked and measured as shown in the picture above. Imagining how difficult and annoying it is! To solve this problem, Neil started to try utilizing artificial intelligence method for analysing ultrasound images since 2011. However, AI is not magic, the results were not that satisfying at the beginning. But as you can see, after all these years, they have managed to make fully automated ultrasound analysis! You can learn more about this from here: Neil Cronin Fully automated ultrasound analysis

Besides ultrasound imaging, they also analyse human body movements with RGB videos, as shown in the picture above. In the past, they needed specialized camera system for marking. But now, with neural network, they can do motion analysis without markers or special cameras. This kind of approach is widely used in the sports field to understand how our joints are configured, which is particularly useful for rehabing.

There are also other interesting equipment in their lab. For example, this machine can help they experiment how our stretching, age and other factors influence our reflexis function. They have a 4-people technic team for making and maintaining all these devices. The machine shown in the above picture is one of their great works! If you want to learn about Neil’s projects, you can visit his homepage: Neil J. Cronin - Home. Or follow him on Twitter:  Neil Cronin @NeilJCronin84

Now, have you found interdisciplinarity charming? To explore deeper in artificial intelligence, Neil started studying at COIN (Cognitive Computing and Collective Intelligence) programme at JYU from 2018. If you are also interested in our International Master's Degree Programmes, stay tuned with us!

Nanoscience Days

Hey there, science people!

Just recently, University of Jyväskylä held Nanoscience Days event, , an annual conference that brings together “nano-researchers” from all over the world. Two-day forum included eight major speeches, three short-sessions and poster session where researchers could share and discuss their recent projects.

Photo by Ariane Vartanian | Instagram: @arianevartanian

What makes Nanoscience days event unique is its multidisciplinary nature of the conference. Invited speakers come from fields of chemical, biological and physical research but since they deal with objects at nanoscale they are warmly welcomed. This year's speeches were addressing protein engineering, DNA-based complexes,  quantum computing and some more topics which you can check here.

The most notable speakers of this year’s gathering were Wiliam Shih from Harvard University, Johnathan Clayden, University of Bristol, the author of the beloved “Organic Chemistry” textbook and Ariane Vartnian, chief editor of Nature Communications journal. 

Professor Shih is a leading researcher in the field of self assembling DNA-based structures, or simply DNA origami. He presented a creative concept of detecting an enormously small concentration of any compound (in far perspective) using DNA origami that can assemble itself into much larger structures on signal. Prof. Shih mentioned the concept is based on “Jack and the beanstalk” fairytale and playing around with Legos. They key issues of this project is to find a proper signal to start the assembly. More about prof. Shih research can be found here

Photo by Tanja Heikkinen

Professor Clayden had given enlightening presentation on how the information can be transferred across the large protein complexes. The mechanism can simply be visualized by rotating a rainbow sling toy  (what else can be discovered in a kid’s store?!) along the axis . Helical protein structures transfer signal in the same way, by rotation,that changes chemistry on the other end. This clever way to transmit a signal at molecular scale may be used for communication between different parts of protein and open new possibilities in protein engineering. You can check more here.

Professor Göran Johansson, Chalmers University, introduced the audience into a current state of quantum computing and speculated about applications which it can support and the upcoming milestone projects. Be sure to check the discussion on recent announcement of Google’s quantum supremacy here. And, by the way, new research group is starting a project to work silicon based hybrid quantum technologies, and recruiting new team. More on that -> here.

Nature’s Chief Editor, Ariana Vartanian, in an entertaining manner has discussed key aspects of how to make your paper be accepted, preferably, in a single go. Good question that everyone in academic field should have asked at least once! Ariane’s brief answer is “be honest and rigorous with your reporting and try to sell it to the editor but do not oversell”. That is definitely something to consider.

After the talks, it was a time for a leg-stretch while checking poster presentations in the main hall. Lively science chats were heard from every corner  - such a great opportunity to get to know people and their work.

Photo by Alexander Plyushch

The poster presentations smoothly transitioned into the dinner where everyone could relax and casually chat with other “nano-people” while raising glasses for the future of science. At the end of the evening, a resident rock band of JYU professors, called  “Tiny nano-band” played contemporary rock and pop hits. Time to practice my air-guitar skills! At the end, everybody was invited to relax in the nano-sauna (Yes, there is a sauna in the research center, and no, it is not that small),  where the bravest could jump into a lake. 

It was a great event! Huge thanks to speakers and organization team! We’ll see you next year!

Alexander Plyushch

Jyväskylä - the city of lights

Jyväskylä is a quiet town. On a normal day, even during the weekend and even if you go to the center, you will never cross an astounding amount of people, after all, there are only so many people in Finland as a whole. However, there are a couple of days at the end of September when everything changes and people start emerging out of everywhere, that ́s Valon kaupunki or the City of Lights. Navigating through flooded streets you can go and check how the city that you are used to seeing changes completely thanks to an amazing display of art pieces all centred around light.

Kirkkopuisto

A good place to start the tour was at the church at Kirkkopuisto. There, a space which ( to our most apologetic honesty) barely pays one’s attention to after being around JKL for a while, looked like an explosion of light mandalas forming the most spectacular tree shapes. It was certainly mind blowing and the psychedelic music certainly helped.

From there we went down Kauppakatu (shops street), through a maze of food stands with flavours from all around the world. These stands are there quite often but them combined with the amazing lighting made us feel like this little town was as great as any European capital. 

The big statue at the harbour

And last, but not least, after a short walk we probably saw the best art piece of the night. A statue of a sitting person, 10 meters tall, lit inside with a contrasting white light that could be seen from a kilometer away. That statue, right in the middle of the big square in front of Paviljonki, was hypnotizing. Hundreds of people just stood there contemplating, or walking around or through it (some kids were actually running under the statue’s legs (okay...we might have done that too)).

The happy faces of your Student Ambassadors

Experiences at the Researcher's Night

Researchers' Night is an annual event of JYU where everyone could have a look at and play with the university's research. This year more than 14,500 visitors came to the campus to celebrate with us!

photo by Nordic Art Network

In Agora, IT faculty provided entertaining and learning programs for all ages. From 80s game machine to VR games, everyone could find something to participate in.

In Liikunta  the sports faculty provided several interesting experiences from adapted physical activity, like wheel chair parcours, over jumping test and body composition measurements.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, attractions of the Researcher’s night was Ylistö campus area, where faculties of mathematics and natural sciences reside. During the night, visitors had a unique chance to access “the dungeon” of physics department and whiteness a complex machinery of particle accelerator lab and learn how matter and energy can be studied at the deepest level of human understanding. For entertainment purposes students had prepared an interesting exhibition of various natural phenomena, where visitors could see and even touch (under supervision, of course) the physics itself.

Department of biology, had focused on a very important topic of environmental awareness. Visitors could see and learn how human activity changes the nature what consequences those changes bring and what are the possible solutions. As a fun part, visitors could look into the objective of the microscope and see tiny cells swimming, dividing and having the time of their life. 

Nanoscience center opened its doors to all facilities. Visitors could take a look at cleanroom and laser-lab laboratories where researchers manipulate matter at the smallest, almost atomic scale. You could also taste cryo-marshmallow and see the “miracle” of magnetic levitation. In the lobby, a rock band called “Tiny Nanoband” led by 3 proffesorss from departments of chemistry, physics and biology were entertaining visitors with some modern and not-so-modern rock hits. 

Researcher’s night is truly one-of-a-kind even here in Jyväskylä. It was heartwarming to see children faces full of curiosity as they were experiencing the science and natural phenomena at its basics. This event brings a remarkable contribution to popularisation of science among children as well as adults. 

If you didn't come this time, hope we can see you for the next year!

Introduction of the new student ambassadors #7

Guille

Hello there!

My name is Guille (short for Guillermo, if you are not from a spanish speaking country, you will probably be like: “What the hell?”, yeah, #sorrynotsorry) and I am from Barcelona, Spain. At the moment I am a MSc student here in Jyväskylä taking part of the MSc. Programme in Biological and Environmental Science. 

At first Jyväskylä seemed like a place lost in the middle of Finland with an unpronounceable name, but the moment I got here I realised it was the perfect student city. Right now, I have got something to do everyday ; go to the pool, play basketball, student hangouts and parties ( for a town of 140.000 people the nightlife is quite impressive…). To me, discovering new things and meeting people from all over the world has almost become a routine.

The University of Jyväskylä offers an incredible chance to attend a great university with awesome MSc. programmes that will definitely help you seek for new opportunities in your career. If you are looking for the best education and the chance to meet new people doing all kinds of activities, I would say that this little town in the middle of the winter wonderland is the right place for you!

I first heard about JKL during my bachelor’s, when I found an opportunity to come to the city as part of an Erasmus traineeship programme. My experience here was amazing, both because of what I learned and because of the people I met. With that experience in mind, later, when I had to choose a destination where to a MSc. programme this town was on the top of the list. 

Introduction of the new student ambassadors #6

Faraz

Hi,

I am Faraz, a second-year master’s degree student from Iran. I study Educational Sciences and my specialization is Educational Leadership.

Before my studies, I had visited Jyväskylä on four occasions. What stood out for me was the fact that even though the city is small, you can find basically whatever that you are looking for in it. There are a lot of lakes and mesmerizing sceneries in Jyväskylä together with tones of fun activities. I also realized that JYU is famous for its education programs in Finland and it is one of a kind. When I decided to study a master’s degree in education my first choice was Finland because of the reputation of Finnish educational system. So JYU became my first choice because I liked the city and I knew about its quality of education.

After studying two semesters, I can say that JYU exceeded all my expectations. It is quite remarkable that you are given the chance to personalize your studies, from creating your study plan to deciding how to demonstrate your learning. There is nice balance between the level of support and autonomy. Above all, every single activity at JYU is student-centered. Everybody is valued here and you get to be you. I do recommend studying at JYU because you can not only develop professionally but also personally.

Introduction of the new student ambassadors #5

Tjaša

Hi,my name is Tjaša and I study Biology of Physical Activity at Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences.

A couple of years ago I did my exchange year in Jyväskylä and it stole my heart. I have met many amazing people, spend hours in the finnish nature and travelled to snowy Lapland. Needles to say I had desire to come back and thus chose to continue my studies in this amazing post graduate-programme.

Jyväskylä is a small city but if you keep your mind open there are plenty things to do. Whether you enjoy getting lost in the forest or having beer in bars downtown, you will find something that you like. Dancing classes, ice skating, bouldering, karaoke, movie nights.. the options are endless. Moreover, the university is quite international and I never struggled to get help when I needed it and all classes are in English. I would recommend Jyväskylä to anyone who likes the blend of international environment, amazing landscapes and good quality university.

I like Jyväskylä because there are so many possibilities to do sports and that is where you will find me in my spare time. Running around the lakes, hiking in nature, spending time in the gym, trying new dancing classes or just enjoying some coffee with friends are my go to ways to pass time.

Introduction of the new student ambassadors #4

Yindong

Hi there!

I’m Yindong from Sichuan, China. And I have been in Jyväskylä for 2 years. Time flies! I was an exchange student in the beginning. Then I decided to do my Master here too in IT faculty. My program is Cognitive Computing and Collective Intelligence which is filled with fun and challenges!

Jyväskylä is a perfect place if you want to stay away from unnecessary issues and focus on your own things, like studies. JYU gives trust and support to its students. Firstly, you don’t have to worry much about languages. Although Finnish is quite difficult for me, everyone here speaks English. Secondly, JYU allows students to study at their own pace. You could make your own study plan, such as when you want to take the exam or how you want to complete the course. You are considered as a total independent person. Thirdly, professors are amiable and easy to approach. You could discuss with them about your confusion and ask for help. Last but not least, JYU tries its best to help with students’ career life. You could find CV tailoring service and a lot of intern positions from its website.

Also the beautiful nature here is so pleasant. Buildings are basically located in forests and around lakes. Therefore, in winter, I like skiing and skating in the city. As for summer, I would go swimming in the lake or jogging around the lake. After a long day, I prefer to go to the sauna to release my stress.