Granitic systems-a special issue in honor of Ilmari Haapala

This paper is an introduction to the special issue of Lithos honoring Ilmari Haapala, the 1982-2002 Professor of Geology and Mineralogy of the Department of Geology, University of Helsinki. The articles in the issue are based on invited presentations given at a January 12-14, 2003 symposium “Granitic Systems-State of the Art and Future Avenues” that was held at the Department of Geology, University of Helsinki on the occasion of Ilmari Haapala's December 31, 2002 retirement. The scientific achievements of Professor Haapala are briefly reviewed and the main results of the papers that comprise the volume are discussed.