Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science | Department of Astronomy
Hometown: Baku, Azerbaijan
I started my research in the theoretical physics group led by Professor Vitaly Ginzburg. Soon after my Diploma work, I got a Soros Fellowship to spend one year at Oxford University. Later, I got Isaac Newton Studentship to do my PhD at the Department of Applied Mathematics University of Cambridge. Upon getting my PhD from Cambridge, I stayed for a short period in Austin and Harvard and later had my 3 year postdoc in Princeton. After Princeton, I got a 5 year Fellowship at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), but spent only one year there, as I got my faculty job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I live and work in Madison since 1999.
Talks:
Turbulent, Turbulent Word
I will explain the phenomenon of turbulence and its importance for astrophysical environments, from the Sun haloes of galaxy clusters. I will explain how magnetic fields change the properties of turbulence and why accounting for turbulence is essential for astrophysics.
Sun, our restive star
I will explain the nature of the solar activity and how it affects our health, longetivity, the climate as well as the operation of our gadgets. I will explain the consequences of the extreme flares and the nature of the Space Weather Program.
Magnetism of the Universe
Magnetic field play extremely important role in the Universe. They control the birth of stars, most violent explosions in the Universe, Solar activity etc. Magnetism affects living organisms and is likely to influence the first life forms. I will discuss astrophysical objects, from magnetars on the scales much smaller than our planet to galactic cluster haloes with the sizes of many millions of light years.