Tuija Pulkkinen (née Mali) was considering future studies either in Finnish or in natural sciences but chose to study physics to avoid becoming a teacher of Finnish. In her youth, she advanced a long way in her research career as she chose a topic not purely theoretical, but where observations could be made to develop the theory further. The gifted young woman made rapid academic progress, completing her Masters degree in just five years. In 1992, she became the first Finnish woman to complete a Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics. The topic of her dissertation was Magnetic field modeling during dynamic magnetospheric processes. She has applied this model to auroral storms. Earths magnetic field has a tail pointing away from the direction from where the solar wind is arriving (i.e., away from the Sun). Pulkkinen started with the electric current systems prior to auroral storms and later also included the recovery phase current systems in her model. In this way, it becomes possible to find out the causal relationships between the electric current systems of the tail of the magnetic field, and the observed aurora.

Researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute have also developed a magnetohydro-dynamic simulation model with which they give a space weather forecast. The results of this simulation model are compared with ground based or satellite photographs of the aurora and with the magnetic field models developed by Pulkkinen. The simulation code used at the Finnish Meteorological Institute is unique in Europe. Other codes are in use in the U.S.A. and in Japan. Pulkkinen is also familiar with these, as she has worked with American research groups involved with modeling. Among the current challenges for Pulkkinen and the space plasma physics group at the Finnish Meteorological Institute is the idea of establishing a European space weather program.

Tuija Pulkkinens research has received well-deserved recognition. Her publication record includes over 160 peer-reviewed articles and several encyclopedia articles. Prof. Pulkkinen has been a member of the European Space Agency Solar System Working Group, and is currently a member of the Space Research Advisory Committee of the Swedish National Space Board and the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering of the Academy of Finland. She has been active at both AGU (several committee memberships) and EGU (ST division secretary and president, Annales Geophysicae editor). She has been the organizer, convener, or programme committee member of over 20 scientific meetings. Tuija Pulkkinen has been granted the James B. Macelwane Medal and American Geophysical Union fellowship. She is a member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and an associate member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Pulkkinen received the science prize of the City of Helsinki. Tuija Pulkkinen calls her family one of her main resources.

Author: SABINA TAGORE IMMANUEL