SPPS-News

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE SPPS 2026 CONGRESS!

The next SPPS Congress will be held from the 18th to the 20th of August 2026 in Auditorium F2044 in the main building of the University of Helsinki (link). The building is located in the city center.

See you in Helsinki in 2026!

In memoriam: Jaakko Kangasjärvi

The Society has received with great sadness the news of the recent and unexpected passing of Professor Jaakko Kangasjärvi, one of their most influential members of the last decades. Until recently Jaakko has been professor in the Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme and the dean of the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Helsinki University. His research into the biological functions of reactive oxygen species in plants led him to be co-author on more than 230 peer-reviewed publications, attracting more than 24000 citations in google scholar. He was invited to join the Finnish Academy of Sciences in 2012 and was ranked one of the most cited plant and animal biologists on the planet in 2016.

In addition to being an excellent research scientist he has also contributed to the development of the plant biology community in Scandinavia by serving as president of the Scandinavian Plant Biology Society from 2008 to 2015. During that time, he and the council produced a booklet about the history of SPPS. Jaakko stated in the introduction to this booklet: “The Society’s Council hopes that this booklet can give both old and young members a good view of the function and significance of a scientific society, a long tradition that aims at bringing people together to create both professional and personal connections between scientists. Furthermore, we hope, that this booklet will also help the younger members of the community to better understand the existence, tradition, and significance of scientific societies – being a member and acting in a professional society is really part of being a scientist.” These words reflect Jaakko´s believes and attitude towards science, traditions and his conviction that scientists are obliged to serve society at large by delivering scientific outputs and contributing to the development of the scientific community.

He will be sorely missed by many colleagues and fellow scientists whose lives he has influenced throughout his career. Our thoughts are with Saijaliisa Kangasjärvi, his family, friends and close coworkers. (Text: Thorsten Hamann, Secretary General and Anke Carius)