Dr. Ari Laaksonen received his Ph.D from the University of Helsinki in 1992, worked as a visiting scholar in the University of Chicago from 1993-95, and became a professor in 1998. He has supervised 23 Ph.D. students, and published over 270 peer reviewed scientific articles on nucleation, atmospheric aerosols and clouds, and on climate research. His scientific work has lately focused on heterogeneous nucleation of water and ice on different types of surfaces. He was nominated as a Thomson Reuters highly cited researcher for the past seven years.