Teaching Faculty

Dr. Aaron Birch, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Blum, Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig
Dr. Hermann Böhnhard, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Jörg Büchner, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Christensen, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Stefan Dreizler, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
Prof Dr. Laurent Gizon, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung and Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Glassmeier, Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Glatzel, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Stein Haaland, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Franz Kneer, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Wolfram Kollatschny, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
PD Dr. Harald Krüger, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Eckart Marsch, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Uwe Motschmann, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig
PD Dr. Yasuhito Narita, Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig
Prof. Dr. Jens Niemeyer, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
Prof. Dr. Hardi Peter, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Ansgar Reiners, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Dominik Schleicher, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen
PD Dr. Dieter Schmitt, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Manfred Schüssler, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof. Dr. Sami K. Solanki, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Prof Dr. Andreas Tilgner, Institut für Geophysik, Universität Göttingen

Dr. Aaron Birch, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Dr. Aaron C. Birch is a senior research scientist on a W2 position at MPS since 2012. PhD in 2002 from Stanford University. 2002--2004 employed at Stanford University and 2004-2011 at NorthWest Research Associates, Inc. His research interests are solar physics, local and global helioseismology, and asteroseismology.

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Prof. Dr. Jürgen Blum, Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Blum is a full professor at the Institute of Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics of the Technical University of Braunschweig since 2003. He obtained his PhD from the University of Heidelberg in 1990 and did his habilitation at the University of Jena in 1999. From 1990 to 2003 he was employed at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington and the University of Jena. His research interests are planet formation, cosmic dust and dust agglomeration in laboratory and microgravity experiments.

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Dr. Hermann Böhnhard, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Dr. Hermann Böhnhardt is a senior scientist on a W2 position at MPS since 2004. PhD: University of Erlangen-Nürnberg 1985. Research positions at Universities of Erlangen-Nürnberg, München (LMU), at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile and at MPI for Astronomy, Heidelberg. His research interests are in planetary science, minor bodies in the solar system like comets, asteroids and transneptunian objects, astronomical instrumentation and spacecraft experiments. Since 2004 lead scientist of the PHILAE lander onboard ESA's cometary mission ROSETTA.

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Prof. Dr. Jörg Büchner, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Prof. Dr. Jörg Büchner is the leader of the scientific research group "Theory and Simulation of Solar System Plasmas" at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research since 1997. He did his PhD on Quantum-Non-Demolition Measurements in 1980 and became research group leader for magnetospheric plasmas at the Heinrich-Hertz Institute for Solar-Terrestrial Physics and, since 1983, for astrophysical Plasmas at the Astrophysical Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Potsdam. He first habilitated (Dr. sc. nat) 1990 in Potsdam and Berlin, worked 1990-91 as visiting professor at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). Became the head of the "Numerical simulation of space plasmas" group at the Berlin department of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in 1992. Moved this group to the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (that time "for Aeronomie") in Katlenburg-Lindau in 1997. After second habilitation he became in 1999 private docent at the University of Göttingen and guest professor at the Nagoya University, after that also adjunct Professor at the Georg August University Göttingen. Since 2011 he became a distinguished guest professor of the University of Nanchang, China. Was involved as PI and Co-I in space experiments. Editor of "Advances in Space Physics" and "Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics". Research interests: kinetic and fluid theory and simulation of astrophysical plasmas, turbulence and reconnection models with application to the solar atmosphere.

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Prof. Dr. Ulrich Christensen, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Prof. Christensen is a director of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research since 2002. He obtained his doctorate from the Technical University Braunschweig in 1980. From 1981-1992 he was affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and the Universities of Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and Tempe (Arizona), supported by various postdoctoral positions, a Heisenberg stipend, and a Max Planck research position. He obtained the habilitation in 1985 from the University of Mainz and became a full professor of geophysics in Göttingen in 1992. He received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz prize (1995) and was elected member to the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, member to the Gesellschaft für Naturforscher Leopoldina, and fellow to the American Geophysical Union. His main research interest is the internal dynamics of the Earth and other planets, including convection in the silicate mantles and magnetic field generation in the fluid iron cores, which he studies mainly by large-scale numerical simulations.

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Prof. Dr. Stefan Dreizler, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Stefan Dreizler is a full professor of astronomy at the Observatory of the University of Göttingen. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Kiel in 1992, was a postdoc at the Bamberg Observatory (1992-1995), before becoming an assistent at the University of Kiel and, in 1997, at the University of Tübingen. He got habilitated in 2000, was a lecturer afterwards in Tübingen, and appointed to his current position in 2003. His research interests are stellar atmospheres, observation and modeling of time-resolved spectra, stellar pulsations, search for extra-solar planets and observation with robotic telescopes as well as instrumentation of large telescopes.

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Prof. Dr. Laurent Gizon, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung and Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Laurent Gizon} is director of the department "Physics of the Interior of the Sun and Sun-like Stars" at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and professor of astrophysics at the University of Göttingen since April 2011. Involvement in international collaborations: SDO, Sunrise, Solar Orbiter, PLATO, HELAS, SPACEINN. 2005--2011: Leader of the Max Planck Research Group "Seismology of the Sun and Stars". 2009: Karen Harvey Prize of the American Astronomical Society. 2005: JOSO International Prize for Solar Physics. 2003-2005: Research Associate, Stanford University. 2003: PhD in Physics, Stanford University.

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Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Glassmeier, Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig

Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Glassmeier is the director of the Institute of Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics at the Technical University of Braunschweig since 1991. He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Münster in 1985 and his habilitation from the University of Cologne. In 1990, he was awarded the Zeldovich medal of COSPAR for his contribution to the understanding of MHD waves in planetary magnetospheres. His main research interests are in space plasma physics, cometary physics, planetology and geomagnetism. He is co-investigator of the CLUSTER, CASSINI, and Double Star mission and principal investigator of the ROSETTA magnetometer experiment.

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Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Glatzel, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Glatzel holds a position as "Akademischer Rat" at the University Observatory Göttingen since 1994. He received his PhD from the University of Göttingen in 1983. After several post doc positions at Göttingen observatory (1983-1984), the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, England (1984-1986), and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching (1986-1990) he returned to Göttingen and completed his habilitation in 1992. In 1998 he was appointed "Außerplanmäßiger Professor" at the University of Göttingen. His research interests are theoretical and numerical astrophysics, in particular astrophysical fluid mechanics, stellar structure, stability and evolution, and the physics of accretion discs.

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Prof. Dr. Franz Kneer, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Franz Kneer was a full professor at the Universitäts-Sternwarte Göttingen since 1986. He obtained his PhD from Freiburg University in 1970, holding a position as scientific assistant with the Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik in Freiburg. He was visiting scientist at the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder/Colorado in 1974/75. In 1978 and 1982 he was lecturer at the University of Buenos Aires and at the University of Danzig. He was guest observer and adjoint scientist for several space missions, such as OSO 8, SMM, and SUMER/SOHO and is CoI of the Sunrise project. He is the responsible person in Göttingen for the German solar telescopes at the Observatorio del Teide/Tenerife and Co-I of the 1.5 m solar telescope GREGOR under construction. His research interests are in solar physics, stellar atmospheres and their (magneto-)dynamics, stellar activity, astronomical instrumentation, image reconstruction, and radiative transfer.

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Prof. Dr. Wolfram Kollatschny, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Wolfram Kollatschny holds a permanent position as "Akademischer Rat" at the Universitäts-Sternwarte Göttingen since 1986. He obtained his PhD in 1983 and did his habilitation at the University of Göttingen in 1991. He was visiting professor at the University of Erlangen and spent a year at the University of Texas in Austin. He was appointed "Außerplanmäßiger Professor" at the University of Göttingen in 1994. His main research interests are multi-frequency observations of galaxies and their modeling, galaxy interactions and clustering, galaxy evolution and the physics of active galactic nuclei. He performed many observing runs with satellites and the largest ground based telescopes of the world and is involved in a number of instrumentation and large-scale telescope projects.

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Prof. Dr. Eckart Marsch, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Prof. Dr. Eckart Marsch holds a C-3 position at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Kiel in 1976, after which he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (1976-1980) and then at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Lindau (1980-present). He was a visiting scientist at MIT in Cambridge, USA (1981-1982) and the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, England (1989-1990), and a guest lecturer (1993) and guest professor (1995) at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He got his venia legendi in astronomy and astrophysis in 1990 from the University of Göttingen, where he became a research professor in 1996. He has taught courses in solar, heliospheric and space plasma physics. In July 1999 he was offered a C-4 professorship in extraterrestrial physics at the University of Kiel, but decided to stay at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. From 1997 until 2000 he was the chairman of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Extraterrestrische Forschung (AEF) in Germany. His research covers the physics of the solar corona and solar wind, and generally of space plasmas. He has been active in data analysis as well as theory and modelling. He has been co investigator of many experiments, among them the EUV spectrometer SUMER on SOHO and the SECCHI instrument on STEREO. He proposed the Solar Orbiter mission, which was selected by ESA to fly around 2014.

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Prof. Dr. Uwe Motschmann, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig

Prof. Dr. Uwe Motschmann, is the executive director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Technical University of Braunschweig since 2000. He obtained his diploma and Dr. rer. nat. from the University in Jena in 1982, and his Dr. sc. nat. from the Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1990. He did his habilitation at the University of Potsdam in 1992. He was awarded the Werner Heisenberg stipend of the DFG in 1993-1998 with extended working visits to the Imperial College in London, Institute for Geophysics in Braunschweig, and DLR in Berlin. He was appointed professor of theoretical physics at the Technical University of Braunschweig in 1998. His main research interests are fundamental properties of space plasmas, computational plasma physics, unstable plasmas, plasma dust interaction, and pattern recognition by multi spacecraft missions. He lectured on all topics of theoretical physics and computational plasma physics in Braunschweig since 1998.

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PD Dr. Yasuhito Narita, Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig

PD Dr. Yasuhito Narita is a senior researcher at Technical University Braunschweig (TUBS), Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics since 2002, and lecturer (Privatdozent) at TUBS since 2011. PhD in 2006 and habilitation in 2011, both from Technical University Braunschweig. Visiting researcher at Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, California in 2011. His professional experience includes theoretical and observational studies of waves and turbulence in space plasmas as data analyst of Cluster and THEMIS spacecraft mission and Co-Investigator of Magnetometer Experiment in BepiColombo mission. He has won awards including the Heinrich Büssing Prize, Braunschweig, 2007, the Zeldovich Medal, COSPAR, 2010, and the Outstanding Scientist Award, European Space Agency, 2010.

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Prof. Dr. Hardi Peter, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Prof. Dr. Hardi Peter is a senior scientist at MPS since 2009. PhD from University of Göttingen in 1997, habilitation in Freiburg in 2002. Postdoc at the High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, USA, 1997-1999. Staff scientist at the Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics in Freiburg 1999--2009. Adjunct professor at the University of Göttingen since 2012. His main research interest covers the physics of the solar corona, in particular modeling and observations of its structure, dynamics and heating. He is editor for the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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Prof. Dr. Ansgar Reiners, Institut für Astrophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Ansgar Reiners is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Göttingen since 2011. PhD in 2003 from the University of Hamburg. 2003-2006 employed at the University of Hamburg and the University of California at Berkeley. 2007-2011 Emmy Noether Research Group Leader at the University of Göttingen. He received various honors and awards, including the Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship in 2004, the Emmy Noether Fellowship in 2006, the Ludwig Biermann prize in 2007, the Heinz Maier Leibnitz prize in 2010, a Heisenberg professorship of the German Science Foundation in 2011 and a starting grant of the European Research Council in 2011. His research interests are theory and observation of magnetic activity and dynamos in stars, brown dwarfs, and planets, exoplanets, high resolution spectroscopy and development of instrumentation.

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PD Dr. Dieter Schmitt, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

PD Dr. Dieter Schmitt is the coordinator of the Solar System School. He obtained his PhD from the University of Göttingen in 1985, spent some postdoc years at the University Observatory and was a visiting scientist to the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, in 1989 and 1990. He returned to Göttingen as an assistent and did his habilitation in 1996 to become a lecturer on astrophysics at the University of Göttingen. Since 2001 he is a staff member of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. His research interests are cosmical magnetic fields, especially dynamo theory applied to planets, stars, accretion disks and galaxies.

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Prof. Dr. Manfred Schüssler, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Prof. Dr. Manfred Schüssler is a senior research scientist (C3) at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and lectures regularly at the University of Göttingen since 1991 on astrophysical (magneto-)hydrodynamics and plasma physics. After he received his PhD in 1977, he worked as staff scientist at the University Observatory in Göttingen. In 1983 he joined the Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik, Freiburg, where he became head of the research group working on theoretical magneto-convection. He did his habilition at the University of Göttingen in 1991 and was awarded a professorship there in 1999. He joined the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in November 1999. His main research interests are astrophysical magneto-convection, dynamo theory, stellar activity, and theoretical as well as observational studies of the solar magnetic field. Prof. Schüssler received the Maier-Leibnitz prize for outstanding research in 1982 and held the Gauss professorship of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences in 1995.

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Prof. Dr. Sami K. Solanki, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung

Prof. Dr. Sami K. Solanki is a director of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research since 1999. He obtained his doctorate from the ETH in Zürich in 1987, after which he did a 2-year post doc in St. Andrews, Scotland. After his return to Zürich he did his habilitation in 1992. He was appointed professor of astronomy at the University of Oulu in Finland in 1998. In 1999 he was Minnaert professor at the University of Utrecht, since 2001 he is honoury professor at the ETH and since 2003 also at the Technical University of Braunschweig. His main research interests are solar physics, the physics of cool stars, MHD simulations, radiative transfer and astronomical tests of theories of gravity. He is involved in a number of space-based projects, including SOHO and STEREO, and is PI of the Sunrise project.

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Prof. Dr. Andreas Tilgner, Institut für Geophysik, Universität Göttingen

Prof. Dr. Andreas Tilgner is a full professor at the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Göttingen. He obtained his PhD from the University of Grenoble in 1991, was a postdoc at Princeton University (1991-1993) and an assistent at the University of Bayreuth from 1993 to 2001, when he was appointed to his current position. His research interests are geophysical fluid dynamics in general and, in particular, magnetic field generation and the dynamo effect, precession and core flow, as well as turbulent convection and double diffusive convection.

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