Giovanni Lapenta is professor of space weather at the KULeuven. Lapenta has been the coordinator of the first space wether-themed collaborative EU project (FP7): Soteria. After that he led other projects on space weather: Swiff, eHeroes and now AIDA. Lapenta’s work focuses on theory, simulation and observation of the fundamental processes in space and on the impact of space radiation. Lapenta is the recipient of the RD100 prize for his work on plasma simulation. Lapenta’s interests include other plasma physics applications, including nuclear fusion, space propulsion and industrial plasma applications. Lapenta is a member of UN and NATO research groups and affiliate with the Space Science Institute.