Sami Khan Solanki (born 1958 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan) is director of the

Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (abbreviation: MPS; german: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung) is a research institute in astronomy and astrophysics located in Göttingen, Germany, where it relocated in February 201 ...

(MPS), director of the Sun-Heliosphere Department of MPS, a scientific member of the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

, 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 Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

. Solanki is also an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Astronomy at the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

, and (2) Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics at the

Braunschweig University of Technology Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

in Germany. In addition, he is a Distinguished Professor at the

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) ( Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universit ...

in Korea. He is the editor-in-chief of the ''

Living Reviews in Solar Physics ''Living Reviews in Solar Physics'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. ...

'', an exclusively web-based, peer-reviewed journal, publishing reviews of research in all areas of solar and heliospheric physics. ''

'' was recently rated with an impact factor of ''17.636'' taking the third place in the "Astronomy & Astrophysics" category. 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 The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

(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 The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) conducts research and provides support and facilities for the solar-terrestrial physics research community in the areas of solar and heliospheric physics, and the effects of solar variability on the Earth's ma ...

, Boulder/USA; (5) Science Advisory Board at the Istituto Ricerche Solari (IRSOL), Locarno/Switzerland; and has contributed to the following space/balloon projects: *

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

(PI) * STEREO Secchi (Co-I) * SDO HMI (Co-I) *

Solar Orbiter The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing satellite developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). SolO, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of ...

PHI (PI)

Academic career

* 1987 Doctorate from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich * 1987–1989 Post doc in St. Andrews, Scotland. * 1992

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

* 1998 Professor of Astronomy at the

University of Oulu The University of Oulu ( fi, Oulun yliopisto) is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 13,000 students and 2,900 staff. 21 International Master's P ...

in Finland * 1999 Minnaert guest professor at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

* 1999 Director of the

Awards and honours

* 2001 Honorary professor at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule * 2003 Honorary professor at the

Technische Universität Braunschweig The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...

* 2006 Associateship of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

* 2008 Presented the

Bernard Price Memorial Lecture The Bernard Price Memorial Lecture is the premier annual lecture of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers. It is of general scientific or engineering interest and is given by an invited guest, often from overseas, at several of the ...

in South Africa * 2022

George Ellery Hale Prize The George Ellery Hale Prize, or Hale Prize, is awarded annually by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society for outstanding contributions over an extended period of time to the field of solar astronomy. The prize is named in ...

In 2011, Solanki delivered a lecture, "Is the Sun to Blame for Global Warming?,” at the first

Starmus Festival The Starmus International Festival is an international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration, music, art, and other sciences such as biology and chemistry. It was founded by Garik Israelian, an astronomer at the Institu ...

in the Canary Islands. His talk was subsequently published in the book ''Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space''.

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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fou ...

in 2004 as taking a sceptical position: But the same research has been quoted as being evidence for

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

in a news release from the

though he is quoted as calling for further investigation, saying:

Selected PublicationsComplete list of publications
/ref>

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

Personal webpage
at the

*
How Strongly Does the Sun Influence the Global Climate?
' Press Release 4 August 2004 by the

Max Planck Institute Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

*
Sonne und Treibhausgase heizen ein (en:The Sun and Greenhousegases warm up)
' Press release 19 February 1998 by the

ETHZ (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

Department Sun and Heliosphere
*

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

press release from 2004 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Solanki, Sami Khan 1958 births Living people Pakistani astronomers Science teachers Pakistani science journalists Academic staff of Utrecht University Max Planck Society people Pakistani emigrants to Germany Writers from Karachi German people of Pakistani descent Academic staff of ETH Zurich Max Planck Institute directors