Sami Solanki

Sami K. Solanki
Born (1958-10-02) 2 October 1958 (age 66)
Karachi, Pakistan
Known forSolar and heliospheric physics, Solar magnetism, Sun-Earth relations and physics of the solar atmosphere
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy, Solar physics
InstitutionsMax Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Notes

Sami Khan Solanki (born 1958 in Karachi, Pakistan) is director of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), director of the Sun-Heliosphere Department of MPS, a scientific member of the Max Planck Society,[1][2] and a Chair (and spokesperson) of the International Max Planck Research School on Physical Processes in the Solar System and Beyond at the Universities of Braunschweig and Göttingen.[3]

Solanki is also an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Astronomy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich,[4] and (2) Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics at the Braunschweig University of Technology in Germany. In addition, he is a Distinguished Professor at the Kyung Hee University in Korea.

He is the editor-in-chief of the Living Reviews in Solar Physics, an exclusively web-based, peer-reviewed journal, publishing reviews of research in all areas of solar and heliospheric physics. Living Reviews in Solar Physics was recently rated with an impact factor of 17.636 taking the third place in the "Astronomy & Astrophysics" category.[5]

Solanki's main topics of research are:

  • Solar and heliospheric physics, in particular solar magnetism and Sun-Earth relations
  • Stellar astrophysics, mainly stellar activity and magnetism
  • Astronomical tests of theories of gravitation
  • Atomic and molecular physics of astronomical interest
  • Protoplanetary discs and extrasolar planets
  • Radiative transfer of polarised light

He has also held these positions: (1) Vice-Chairman and member of the Senate Committee of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR); (2) Member Appointment Committee and Committee of Three of the DLR; (3) Member Extraterrestrial Program Committee of the DLR; (4) Science Advisory Committee of the High Altitude Observatory, Boulder/USA; (5) Science Advisory Board at the Istituto Ricerche Solari (IRSOL), Locarno/Switzerland;[6] and has contributed to the following space/balloon projects:

  1. ^ Organizational profile Archived 8 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine for the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
  2. ^ Organizational chart Archived 6 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine for the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
  3. ^ Staff page Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine for the International Max Planck Research School on Physical Processes in the Solar System and Beyond
  4. ^ "Solanki's staff page at the ETHZ". Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Max Planck Society's open access journals have high impact factors". Archived from the original on 29 September 2012.
  6. ^ Organizational Profile[permanent dead link] at the Max Planck Society website
  7. ^ The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Archived 4 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine, led from Stanford University in Stanford, CA, studies solar variability and characterizes the Sun's interior and the various components of magnetic activity.
  8. ^ The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) Archived 16 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, led from Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, a proposed instrument for the Solar Orbiter mission referencing the Visible-light Imager and Magnetograph.