Space Physicist Dr. Esa Turunen retired in 2019 from his position as Director Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO). There he last worked as acting Director in 2013-2019. SGO is a separate institute of University of Oulu, with a national task - geophysical measurements and related research, specially including research of Northern Lights. SGO carries out measurements of geoenvironment and geospace environment in the longitude of Finland from Svalbard in the north to Antarctic in the south. In spring 2015 he worked as a visiting professor in Nagoya University, Japan. Previously he worked in 2009-2012 as the Director of EISCAT Scientific Association, an international organization which operates high-power incoherent scatter radars in Svalbard and Tromso Norway, Kiruna Sweden and Sodankylä Finland for upper atmospheric, ionospheric and near-Earth space research, such as research of Northern Lights. He was the Principal Investigator of Finland’s participation in the EISCAT_3D project, where a new 3- dimensionally imaging radar with 30 000 individual antennas is being constructed in Northern Finland, Sweden and Norway by 2023. His main research interest is high-latitude ionosphere and atmospheric and geospace interactions, including the chemical effects by Northern Lights in atmosphere. He is the original developer of an internationally established theoretical model of the lower ionosphere, the Sodankyla Ion Chemistry model (SIC). In his early career he was responsible for ionospheric research and measurements at SGO, coordinating EISCAT radar and rocket measurement campaigns and participating in several EU projects, such as mobility schemes in international student education activities, and research coordination funded by EU.

He is also known for his efforts in providing information about scientific research to general public and promoting higher education in natural sciences.