Assistant professor Matti T. Vaaja (born 1983), is professor of digital photogrammetry at Aalto University (appointed in June 2017) and the vice leader of Research Institute of Measuring and Modelling for the Built Environment. He is specialized in close-range and terrestrial laser scanning systems. He is also appointed as Associate Professor of laser scanning and forestry applications at Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University, Japan (appointed in July 2017).

His doctoral thesis (2014) from Aalto University focused on mobile laser scanning and change detection studies in a riverine environment. Since 2010, Vaaja has served in various teaching and research assignments and as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Laser Scanning Research. Currently, he is the supervisor and advisor of eight doctoral thesis in the field of photogrammetry and remote sensing.

In addition, he coordinates doctoral education network 4D GEO-IT including ~80 doctoral students.  Since 2015, Vaaja has acted as a postdoctoral researcher in the Academy of Finland project STN COMBAT. He has contributed over 60 publications in the fields of laser scanning, photogrammetry, and geoinformatics, including 30 refereed scientific publications with over 1200 citations and H-index 18 (Scholar).

Research expertise:

Laser scanning, Photogrammetry, 3D-point cloud processing, Environmental change detection and time-series studies, Forest mapping, Ground topography and vegetation structure mapping, Laser scanning applications, Mobile and terrestrial laser scanning, Development of 3D measurement systems.