The Family Gatherings of Aerosol Scientists

Scientific conferences are a major part of any PhD journey and by now have become just as normal to me as having Finnish lunch at 11 o’clock – or sauna.

Speaking from my experience, these three things are very similar in nature in a multitude of ways: discussing current developments in research, debating technical details that only a handful of people in the room (can pretend to) understand and yes, even sharing food. But conferences are much more than just these moments and formalities paving the path toward completing a doctorate. Conferences are occasions where people connect over a beverage or maybe a few more, and occasions where ideas are born and collaborations begin.

Especially in my rather niche field of research, conferences often exhibit characteristics best described as “large family gatherings.” Everybody knows everyone, the same stories get told all over again and despite episodic disagreements over (mostly) trivial matters, there is always this feeling of participants being genuinely happy seeing each other.

This May, I once again, had the opportunity to perform a presention at the Air Ion and Aerosol Workshop. This time in Pühajärve, Estonia. The conference was especially remarkable to me as it indicated the beginning of a new segment in my journey: The first conference to attend after publishing my first scientific article earlier this spring.

In my first article, we focused on the comparison of several instruments for measuring aerosol particles already available on the market with an instrument subject to my thesis and developed by our industrial partner, Airmodus Ltd. The aim was not merely a determination of which one appears to be the “best”, but rather to enhance our knowledge about the individual strengths and limitations of each approach.

In atmospheric measurements, there is barely an instrument suitable for all situations. Some devices are exceptionally sensitive, others tend to shine with robustness in difficult environments, while some others excel as doorstoppers. Understanding these trade-offs is the first and probably most important contribution to my PhD efforts.

However, the work I presented in Estonia is built directly on these earlier results, but this time with the focus shifted towards Airmodus’ instrumentation. It revolves around a proper characterization of their newest product by studying an entire ensemble consisting of 25 (and counting) identical devices – more fingers than I can spare to count.

The idea behind this approach is simple: The behavior of a single instrument is rarely enough to entirely describe that instrument type’s performance in general. Much to every researcher’s dismay, every measurement involves uncertainties and small random variations. By studying an entire ensemble of instruments instead of only one device, we can separate these individual quirks from overall patterns and gain much deeper insights into the instrument itself.

While preparing my presentation, doubts about the audience’s reaction to something as delicate as “Instrument characterization by means of an ensemble” crossed my mind, as it does not exactly sound as appealing as “The Population Dynamics of the Vietnamese Fruit Fly During the Monsoon Season Between 1994 and 1995”– a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Fortunately, the discussions afterwards proved otherwise. Maybe this was owed to the fact that it is rather uncommon to have access to such a large ensemble of identical instruments – thanks a lot, Airmodus. Or maybe it was the fruits of my genuine efforts of making even this highly technical topic engaging and accessible to a broad audience.

As always, the most memorable moments happened outside the official framework. Fortunately, the organizers were experienced enough to select a venue perfectly suited for what scientists refer to as “networking,” with the conference taking place in a spa hotel equipped with its own bowling alley. In such a setting, discussions have a natural tendency to continue long after the final presentation slide faded into the dark screen displaying the familiar white letters: “End of slide show, click to exit.”

That is perhaps what makes conferences feel so much like family gatherings in the end: people return year after year and somehow manage to combine scientific debates with bowling scores I can count with my fingers. Luckily, the next family gathering is already planned for 2027 – this time in Helsinki.