Prof. Marco Velli, UCLA- KISS Fellows Lecture on the Parker Solar Probe

Speaker's Bio:
Professor Velli's research has focused on space plasma physics and solar magnetic activity with particular emphasis on: the stability of magnetic structures anchored in the photosphere such as coronal loops wave propagation and shock formation in inhomogeneous and stratified plasmas nonlinear evolution of current sheets and magnetic reconnection the properties of turbulence in dynamically forced, open systems wave particle interactions in the solar corona and heliosphere For his pioneering work on coronal heating, the origin of the solar wind, and the theory of solar wind turbulence driven by wave reflection he was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union AGU in 2014. He is principal investigator of Heliospheric Origins with Parker Solar Probe (PSP), the first spacecraft to fly within 9 solar radii of the Sun's surface, directly studying the outer solar corona and acceleration region of the solar wind. PSP is part of NASA's Living with a Star Program, designed to understand aspects of the sun and Earth's space environment that affect life and society. As the mission's observatory scientist he will provide an independent assessment of scientific performance and act as a community advocate for the mission. Prof. Velli has taught mechanics, electromagnetism, astrophysics, and plasma physics courses at the University of Florence, directed 5 PhD theses at the University of Florence, 2 at the University of Paris XI Orsay and 2 at UCLA. He has been member of peer review committees for NASA research and payload proposals, and member of the Space Science and Exploration working group for the European Space Agency (ESA). He has published over one hundred peer-reviewed research papers involving many international collaborators, as well as invited papers and lecture notes. He holds a joint appointment with the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.