Jukka Tuhkuri carries out research on ice mechanics and arctic marine technology. He has studied, among other topics, fracture of ice, formation and strength of sea ice ridges, ice failure process against inclined structures, and crushing of ice. He is conducting both numerical work by using the discrete element method and experimental research including field experiments - which has taken him both to the Arctic and the Antarctic – and laboratory experiments in the Aalto Ice and Wave Tank.

This research is important because global warming is increasing the marine activities in the Arctic while at the same time changing the ice conditions. Even ships without any ice-strenghening are entering areas with decreasing, but yet significant, ice coverage. This trend includes major human and environmental risks that need to be properly addressed. The research by Jukka Tuhkuri will help to understand the deformation and fracture of the new sea ice, made warmer and fragmented by global warming, and the resulting ice loads on ships and marine structures.

Jukka Tuhkuri serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Cold Regions Science and Technology. He has been a professor of solid mechanics at Aalto since 2001, a visiting scientist in Canada, USA, and the UK. Since 2023 he is also an Honorary Professor at University College London, Department of  Earth Sciences.