On the eve of the anniversary of the republic, President Alar Karis will award state decorations to Estonian people in recognition of their services to the state. The Rector of Tallinn University of Technology Tiit Land will be awarded the III Class Order of the White Star for his contributions to promoting Estonia, and professor emeritus Jüri Krustok, a promoter of physics, will be awarded the IV Class Order of the White Star.
Tiit Land is the Rector of Tallinn University of Technology. He has headed two of the largest universities in Estonia: he was the rector of Tallinn University in 2011–2020 and has been the rector of Tallinn University of Technology since September 2020.
He graduated cum laude from the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Tartu in 1989. In 1990–1994 he was a doctoral student in the Stockholm University where he also defended his PhD dissertation.
In 2014, he was awarded the Tallinn City Decoration of Honour for the establishment of the Centre for Innovation in Education which he also managed at the time as a rector of Tallinn University. Thanks to this achievement, he was also declared an honorary citizen of Tallinn.
Jüri Krustok is a professor emeritus of Tallinn University of Technology and a promoter of physics.
He defended his doctoral dissertation in physics in the University of Tartu in 1987. He started working in Tallinn University of Technology as a professor of physics while also researching the luminescence and defective composition of complex semiconductor materials. He is also committed to popularising science in Estonian media.
In 1998 and 2021 he was a laureate of the Estonian National Research Award.
The Order of the White Star is awarded to persons working for the state or local government, as well as in the recognition of services and achievements in the field of economy, education, science, culture, or sports or for other public services.