Thomas Henning

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Thomas Henning (2017)

Thomas K. Henning (born April 9, 1956 in Jena ) is a German astrophysicist . Since 2001 he has been director at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg . He is an expert in the field of star and planet formation .

Scientific work

Henning's field of work is star and planet formation . One focus is the observation and modeling of protoplanetary disks around young stars - an early stage in the development of planetary systems . In this context, Henning also researches the properties of interstellar dust and, more generally, the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium , both theoretically and by means of laboratory astrophysics and observational astronomy. His main focus is on infrared and submillimeter astronomy .

Henning was and is involved in a number of major research projects, the construction of instruments for the ESA - Space Telescope Herschel , for the James Webb Space Telescope and for the telescopes of the European Southern Observatory , the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona , the Spitzer -Legacy -Project "Formation of Planetary Systems", on several Herschel Legacy projects, on the Pan-STARRS survey and on the HAT-South transit network. He is also a Fellow of the Max Planck School “Matter to Life”, Co-Investigator of the Heidelberg Excellence Cluster “Structures”, Co-Investigator of the EDEN Transit Survey for the search for earth-like planets around M stars , Co-PI of the Heidelberg-Chile TESS Exoplanet Network, head of the MPIA Origins of Life laboratory and founding member of the European Astrobiology Institute. In 2019 he received an ERC ( European Research Council ) grant worth 2.5 million euros for his project “From Planet-Forming Disks to Giant Planets - from planet-forming disks to giant planets”.

He was and is a member of a number of astronomical steering and advisory bodies, including the ESO Council, the CAHA Board, the Board of Directors of LBT and PS1 , as well as the scientific advisory board of the Thuringian State Observatory Tautenburg .

honors and awards

biography

Henning studied physics and mathematics with a focus on plasma physics at the University of Greifswald and then astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Jena , where he received his doctorate in 1984. Henning's doctoral supervisor was Karl-Heinz Schmidt . Following a stay as a postdoc at the Charles University in Prague (1984–1985), Henning returned to Jena, where he was an assistant at the university observatory from 1986 to 1988 and completed his habilitation in 1989. Subsequently (1989–1990) he became a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn and a visiting professor at the University of Cologne (1991). In the same year Henning returned to the University of Jena, where he was head of the Max Planck working group “Dust in Star Formation Areas” until 1996, and in 1992 he also became a professor.

In 1999 Henning received a chair for astrophysics at the University of Jena, which he was to hold until 2002, and became director of the Astrophysical Institute and the university observatory. He was visiting professor at the University of Amsterdam , the European Southern Observatory in Chile, at Sapporo University and the University of Copenhagen . From 2000 to 2007 he was co-speaker of the DFG research group “Laboratory Astrophysics” in Chemnitz and Jena . Henning has been Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy since 2001, where he heads the “Planet and Star Formation” department; he is still professor in Jena and since 2003 he has also been an honorary professor at Heidelberg University .

literature

  • Thomas Bührke : "Turbulences in the cosmic delivery room", in: MaxPlanckResearch 3/2011, page 47ff, article about Thomas Henning and his research area "Planet and Star Formation" ( online , PDF, download)
  • Thomas Bührke: "Building blocks that fall from the sky", in: MaxPlanckResearch 2/2018, page 18ff, article about Thomas Henning and his research area "The Origin of Life" ( online , PDF, download)
  • Reinhard Breuer : "Experiments with the primordial soup", in: Bild der Wissenschaft , Ed .: Christoph Fasel , August 2019, page 22ff, article about the Heidelberg Initiative for the Origins of Life (HIFOL)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heads of the Max Planck School Matter to Life. In: Faculty | Max Planck Schools. Max Planck Society, accessed on August 7, 2019 .
  2. ↑ ERC Advanced Grant in the amount of 2.5 million euros for Thomas Henning. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
  3. ↑ ERC FUNDED PROJECTS. In: European Research Council. European Union, accessed on August 9, 2019 .
  4. ^ Sections "Research Projects " and "Memberships and Functions" in the entry on Thomas Henning in the Who's Who of the University of Jena (last accessed February 19, 2011).
  5. ↑ Prize winners. In: Thuringian Research Prize. Free State of Thuringia , 1998, accessed on August 22, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Member entry by Prof. Dr. Thomas Henning (with picture and CV) at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on July 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Database query for minor planet 30882 at the Minor Planet Center (query from February 28, 2011).
  8. ↑ Punita Punia: Annual Technical Report 2016-17 . Ed .: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Mumbai, India, S. 9 f . (English, online [PDF]).
  9. ↑ 2017 Cozzarelli Prize Recipients. In: Cozzarelli Prize | PNAS. National Academy of Sciences , accessed August 22, 2019 .
  10. ^ Thomas Henning - Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
  11. ^ Database entry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved August 9, 2019 (Hungarian).
  12. ↑ a b Biographical information on the pages of the Max Planck Society (last viewed on February 15, 2011) and entry for Thomas Henning in the Who's Who of the University of Jena (last accessed February 19, 2011).


personal data
SURNAME Henning, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Henning, Thomas K.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German astrophysicist
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Jena