Rate My Professor Emil Kurvinen

Emil Kurvinen is Professor of Machine Design in the Materials and Mechanical Engineering research unit within the Faculty of Technology at the University of Oulu. He earned his B.Sc. (Tech.) in 2011, M.Sc. (Tech.) in 2012, and D.Sc. (Tech.) in 2016, all in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Machine Design from Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). His professional career encompasses a Fulbright visiting scholarship at the University of Virginia's Rotating Machinery and Controls Laboratory from 2014 to 2015, where he researched active magnetic bearings; an engineering role in structural dynamics at FS Dynamics Finland Ltd. from 2016 to 2017; a postdoctoral position at LUT from 2017 to 2021; and his current professorship since January 2022. Kurvinen leads the Machine and Vehicle Design (MVD) research group, supervising four doctoral researchers and collaborating extensively with the Finnish and international mechanical and metal industries. His research specializations include the design, simulation, and analysis of rotating machines, particularly high-speed machines; digital twins; integration of industrial engineering and management into technology; vehicle propulsion technology; and new synthetic fuels and engine technology.

Kurvinen has secured significant research funding as principal investigator or project manager, including over 1.6 million euros in 2018 from Business Finland projects like BRAIN and MOSIM, 1.8 million euros in 2019 from DigiBuzz-LUT, and 2.7 million euros in 2020 encompassing Academy of Finland's SIE project and others. He has supervised numerous master's and bachelor's theses. His academic merits include serving on the reviewer board for Energies journal, guest editing the special issue 'Optimal Design of a High-Speed Machine' in Machines journal, refereeing for journals such as Mechanism and Machine Theory and Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, chairing sessions at the International Electric Machines & Drives Conference (2019) and Finnish Mechanics Days (2022), and membership in the ISO/TC 184 Robotics and Automation Systems standardization group since 2020. Key publications include 'Workflow for real-time simulation-based fatigue assessment in mobile machinery' (2026), 'A generative adversarial network-based methodology in systematic machine design at concept phase for solutions' (2026), 'Inverse Design Methodology Applied to Designing High-Speed Electric Machines' (2025), 'Assessment of Fatigue Lifetime of a Forestry Crane Based on Flexible Dynamic Simulation' (2025), and 'Dynamics of a High-Power AMB–Multirotor Drivetrain' (2024). With approximately 770 citations across 83 publications, his work influences advancements in heavy machinery, rotor dynamics, AI in manufacturing, and energy-efficient systems.