Sami Solanki

Sami K. Solanki
Born (1958-10-02) 2 October 1958
Karachi, Pakistan
Residence Göttingen, Germany
Known for Solar and heliospheric physics, Solar magnetism, Sun-Earth relations and physics of the solar atmosphere
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy, Solar physics
Institutions Max 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:

Academic career

Awards and honours

In 2011, Solanki delivered a lecture, “Is the Sun to Blame for Global Warming?,” at the first Starmus Festival in the Canary Islands. His talk was subsequently published in the book Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space.[11]

Controversy

Solanki's research has been quoted as being part of the Global warming controversy, for instance in an article in the Telegraph.co.uk in 2004[12][13] as taking a sceptical position:

But the same research has been quoted as being evidence for global warming in a news release from the Max Planck Society[14] though he is quoted as calling for further investigation, saying:

Selected Publications[15]

  • Solanki, Sami K.; Usoskin, Ilya G.; Kromer, Bernd; Schüssler, Manfred; Beer, Jürg (2004), "Unusual activity of the Sun during recent decades compared to the previous 11,000 years" (PDF), Nature, 431 (7012): 1084–1087, Bibcode:2004Natur.431.1084S, doi:10.1038/nature02995, PMID 15510145
  • Solanki, Sami K.; Haugan, Mark P. (1996), "New constraints on gravity-induced birefringence", Physical Review, 53 (2): 997–1000, Bibcode:1996PhRvD..53..997S, doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.53.997
  • Solanki, Sami K.; Krivova, Natalia A. (2003), "Can solar variability explain global warming since 1970?" (PDF), Journal of Geophysical Research, 108 (A5): 7.1–7.8, Bibcode:2003JGRA..108.1200S, doi:10.1029/2002JA009753
  • Usoskin, Ilya G.; Solanki, Sami K.; Schüssler, Manfred; Mursula, Kalevi; Alanko, Katja (2003), "A Millennium Scale Sunspot Number Reconstruction: Evidence For an Unusually Active Sun Since the 1940s", Physical Review Letters, 91 (21): 211101, arXiv:astro-ph/0310823, Bibcode:2003PhRvL..91u1101U, doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.211101
  • Solanki, Sami K. (1993), "Small-scale solar magnetic fields: An overview", Space Science Reviews, 63 (1–2): 1–188, Bibcode:1993SSRv...63....1S, doi:10.1007/BF00749277
  • Schuessler, M.; Solanki, Sami K. (1992), "Why rapid rotators have polar spots", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 264 (1): L13–L16, Bibcode:1992A&A...264L..13S
  • Solanki, Sami K. (1986), "Velocities in solar magnetic fluxtubes", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 168 (1–2): 311–329, Bibcode:1986A&A...168..311S
  • Solanki, Sami K.; Stenflo, J.O. (1984), "Properties of solar magnetic fluxtubes as revealed by Fe I lines", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 140 (1): 185–198, Bibcode:1992A&A...264L..13S

References

  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 for the International Max Planck Research School on Physical Processes in the Solar System and Beyond
  4. ↑ Solanki's staff page at the ETHZ
  5. ↑ "Max Planck Society's open access journals have high impact factors". Archived from the original on 29 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Organizational Profile at the Max Planck Society website
  7. ↑ The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), 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.
  9. ↑ "Short biography of Sami K. Solanki".
  10. ↑ Notice Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. of associateship of the Royal Astronomical Society
  11. ↑ http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/starmus-festival-and-stephen-hawking-launch-the-book-starmus-50-years-of-man-in-space-274263251.html
  12. ↑ Leidig, Michael; Roya Nikkhah (18 July 2004). "The truth about global warming – it's the Sun that's to blame". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  13. ↑ Leidig, Michael (18 July 2004). "Hotter-burning sun warming the planet". The Washington Times. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  14. ↑ "How Strongly Does the Sun Influence the Global Climate? – Studies at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research reveal: solar activity affects the climate but plays only a minor role in the current global warming" (Press release). Max Planck Society. 2 August 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  15. ↑ Complete list of publications
  • Personal webpage at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
  • How Strongly Does the Sun Influence the Global Climate? Press Release 4 August 2004 by the Max Planck Institute
  • Sonne und Treibhausgase heizen ein (en:The Sun and Greenhousegases warm up) Press release 19 February 1998 by the ETHZ
  • Department Sun and Heliosphere
  • The sun is more active now than over the last 8000 years NASA press release from 2004
  • "Who's Who – Sami Khan Solanki". ETHZ. 24 April 2006. Archived from the original on 5 May 2007.
  • Solanki, Sami K. (2002), "Solar variability and climate change: is there a link?", Astronomy & Geophysics, 43 (5): 5.09–5.13, Bibcode:2002A&G....43e...9S, doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43509.x
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