Martin Asplund is an astrophysicist whose research focuses on the origin of chemical elements, solar and stellar physics and the formation and evolution of galaxies. He models the atmospheres of stars and the radiation they emit as a means of studying stellar, galactic and cosmic evolution. After four years as a Director of the Max Plank Institute for Astrophysics Asplund returned to the Australian National University as an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow.
"Professor Martin Asplund is distinguished for his research on solar and stellar physics, planets outside the Milky Way, the evolution of the Milky Way and the first stars to form in the Universe. His innovative work on the atmospheres of stars provides a new level of precision in understanding the stars' elements, because of the realistic way in which it treats convection in their atmospheres. Martin's revisions to the solar element abundances, based on these new models, have impacted research in atomic and nuclear physics and in a wide range of astrophysics, from planetary science and stellar physics through to Galactic archaeology and cosmology." [from www.science.org.au/profile/martin-aplund 21/12/2021]
1997
1997
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Uppsala, Sweden
1999
2000
Career position - Research Fellow, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, Copenhagen, Denmark
2001
2001
Career position - Assistant Professor, University of Uppsala, Sweden
2002
2006
Career position - Research Fellow, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australian National University
2006
2007
Career position - Professor, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics Australian National University
2007
2011
Career position - Director, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching bei München, Germany
2011
Award - ARC Laureate Fellow, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University
2015
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)