Despite the some­what mediocre weath­er we’ve expe­ri­enced this June, today brought a wel­come burst of sun­shine, allow­ing us to cel­e­brate in style. We gath­ered (in Teuras­ta­mo) to bid farewell to our remark­able team mem­bers: Jonathan Ray, Kert­tu Pänkäläi­nen, and Nooa Myl­lykos­ki, whose intern­ships and research assist­ant­ship have come to a close.

The day was filled with laugh­ter and cama­raderie as we indulged in deli­cious ice cream, savored some well-deserved piz­za, and enjoyed a spir­it­ed game of Mölkky. For those unfa­mil­iar, Mölkky (Finnish pro­nun­ci­a­tion: [ˈmølkːy]) is a Finnish throw­ing game invent­ed by the Lah­den Paik­ka com­pa­ny in 1996. Rem­i­nis­cent of kyykkä, a cen­turies-old game with Kare­lian roots, Mölkky offers a per­fect blend of chance and skill, mak­ing it acces­si­ble and enjoy­able for play­ers of all ages and phys­i­cal conditions.

In addi­tion to cel­e­brat­ing our cur­rent team mem­bers, we were delight­ed to recon­nect with Beyza Pocan, a pre­vi­ous intern, who shared excit­ing updates about her Master’s edu­ca­tion and life. It was won­der­ful to hear about her progress and achieve­ments, and we are proud to see her thriv­ing. We also had the plea­sure of spend­ing time with lab alum­ni Hen­drik Hart­mann, whose pres­ence added to the joy of the day and remind­ed us of the last­ing con­nec­tions formed with­in our team.

Jonathan, Kert­tu, and Nooa have been invalu­able mem­bers of our team, con­tribut­ing their ener­gy, cre­ativ­i­ty, and ded­i­ca­tion to the MARVEL and LUMINA Projects. Their pres­ence will be sore­ly missed.
As they embark on new jour­neys, we wish them the very best in their future endeav­ors. We extend our heart­felt thanks for their com­pa­ny, hard work, and contributions.

Here’s to sun­ny days ahead and excit­ing new chap­ters for Jonathan, Kert­tu, and Nooa!