From a small countryside high school to the forefront of climate research

22 Oct, 2012

Jussi Malila was awarded a shared second prize in the first ever Viksu competition in 1998. Taking part in the competition guided Jussi’s choice of future field of study, and his hope of becoming a researcher also came true.  Today, Jussi is working at the University of Eastern Finland as a member of the Aerosol Physics Group, which is part of the Finnish Academy Centre of Excellence in the field of climate change.

“As a student in a small high school in the countryside, success in the competition gave me plenty of self-confidence. The project also contributed to my decision to start studying physics instead of biology, as I had planned earlier. The value of the prize money was no less significant in terms of financing my first years of study,” Jussi says considering the significance of the Viksu competition.

Anthills and environmental physics

In 1998, Jussi took part in the Viksu competition with a study on anthills and their means of protecting themselves from moisture. “One rainy day when I was walking my dog, I passed an anthill. It left me wondering what protects an anthill against flooding and saves the ants from drowning, and that’s how I found the subject for my study. The experimental part of the work was rather improvised, based on a self-made multimeter measuring probe.  During the measurements, I became quite familiar with the smell of formic acid and picking ants out from my beard,” he remembers.

After the Viksu competition, Jussi started studies at the University of Kuopio, since he was interested in environmental physics.  Already in the first week’s introductory lectures he knew that he had made the right decision. “For a person like me, who has an all-round interest in natural sciences, research related to the global climate change is not only important but also extremely fascinating,” explains Jussi.

Graduation with a Master’s degree took Jussi quite a few years, but the long time is explained by the multitude of his concurrent activities.  “In many cases I took courses more for the sake of curiosity than for functional or purposeful reasons, and at the end, my degree included numerous minor subjects. During my studies, I was also active in various associations, studied as an exchange student at the University of Tartu in Estonia, and completed a vocational qualification in agriculture within the adult education system. Moreover, the military service and certain positions of trust took their time. I also started my research work years before my graduation. My leisure activities included, and still do, volleyball, badminton and reading.”

Challenges are the salt of scientific work

Jussi’s interest in working as a researcher arose already in his childhood. When other boys his age wanted to become police officers or engine drivers, Jussi dreamed of becoming a scientist. His wish has come true, since today he’s working as a member in the Aerosol Physics Group at the Department of Applied Physics in the University of Eastern Finland.  The group is part of the Finnish Centre of Excellence for research concerning the atmospheric composition and climate change, as well as part of the Nordic top-level research initiative involved in the research of cryosphere-atmosphere interactions (CRAICC).  

“Our research focuses on the dynamics of atmospheric aerosols and their impact on climate change. My own research topic concerns the theory of the formation mechanics of new aerosol particles, which covers only a minimal part of the entire research field. It is, nevertheless, extremely interesting to be at the forefront of a research chain that ranges from the molecular level and time scale of femtoseconds to global, even astronomical changes over the course of tens of thousands of years.  Along the path, there will be diversions deep into the fields of biochemistry, ecology and social sciences as well.  All this, of course, is too much for an individual researcher to thoroughly understand, but it is exactly this challenge that is the salt of the scientific work,” Jussi describes.

Apart from research, Jussi has also served in teaching and administration, and been involved in co-operation between educational institutions. For instance, he has given lectures about atmospheric physics and the basics of climate change for varying audiences, from students in upper comprehensive schools to universities of applied sciences. “Unfortunately, I haven’t met any high-school student who would have shown interest in taking part in the Viksu competition with a project in this field,” Jussi regrets.

“I’ve personally found both administrative and teaching tasks interesting, and they have offered me a welcome change to the constant pondering over problems in research. Through teaching, I’ve also been able to find interesting areas outside my own, strictly limited research topic.  My natural curiosity has been a great help, it’s given me delight in the form of several eureka moments, sometimes more for myself than for the students!”

The future: farming and learning about new things

In the near future, the most important plan for Jussi is to finish his doctoral dissertation. After that, his intention is to take over responsibility for the family’s farm in Pyhäjärvi. He’s also interested in educational or administrative duties in the future.

“So, while I’m about to become a part-time farmer, my intention is to gain my primary livelihood from the field of science in the future. I already have some potential areas of post-doc research in mind. I will always be interested in learning new things, and recently I’ve taken some major courses in Finnish language. One attractive application would be, for example, scientific terminology work, which has become more active lately,” Jussi explains.

What advice would a researcher of aerosol physics give to future Viksu contestants? “In comparison to the year 1998, the more recent Viksu projects appear to be more scientific and mature. Today, the opportunities to access scientific information without leaving home are much better than they were in those days. As advice, I would say that a student should be active and, for the choice of topic, ask for tips from someone involved in that particular field of study. It’s also worthwhile to boldly consider and experiment with topics that cross the borders between various subjects,” Jussi suggests.

Text: Heidi Blomqvist
Photos: Jussi Malila