Curriculum Vitae
I am an astrophysicist interested in the fomation of stars and planetary systems, the properties of exoplanets and their atmospheres. I have a special interest in the chemistry of the universe and computational and laboratory astrophysics. I am building instruments for my science, especially based on adaptive optics and infrared interferometry, but also using spaced-based observatories. I enjoy working with students and postdocs and have supervised more than 75 Ph.D students during my professional career.
Certainly related to my family background I am interested in the philosophy of science and have a passion for literature and modern arts. Public outreach is an important element of my life and I am editing the largest popular astronomy journal for the German-speaking countries, Sterne und Weltraum, and played an important role in establishing the astronomy public outreach center Haus der Astronomie in Heidelberg.
I am interested in combining different fields to make progress in our understanding of the origins of life. I have a great interest in the Chilean nation, where the best skies for astronomers and some of the most breathtaking landscapes on this planet can be found.
A summary of my education, career, and work can be found online at my Wikipedia entry [en] [de].
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Personal Information
Name: Thomas Kai Henning
Address: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Email: henning@mpia.de
Homepage: http://www.mpia.de/henning
Education
1989 Habilitation, University of Jena
1984 PhD in Astrophysics, University of Jena
1981 Diploma Degree in Physics, University of Jena
1976 – 1980 Studies in Physics and Mathematics, University of Greifswald
Current Position(s)
2002 – present Professor for Astrophysics, University of Jena
2001 – present Director at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy & Head of Planet and Star Formation Department, Heidelberg
Previous Positions
2000 – 2002 Director of the Astrophysical Institute & University Observatory, Univ. of Jena
1999 – 2002 Chair for Astrophysics, University of Jena
1992 – 1998 Professor for Astrophysics, University of Jena
1991 – 1996 Head of the Max Planck Research Unit “Star Formation”, Jena
1989 – 1990 Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy, Bonn
1986 – 1988 Assistant Professor at the Astrophysical Institute and University Observatory, Jena
1984 – 1985 Postdoc, Charles University, Prague
Fellowships & Awards
2020 Adjunct Professor – Tokyo Institute of Technology
2020 Honorary Doctor, Lund University, Sweden
2019 Honorary Member – Hungarian Academy of Science
2019 Gay Lussac Humboldt Award
2019 Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
2019 – 2024 ERC Advanced Grant
2019 Fellow of the Max Planck School “Matter to Life”
2018 Cozzarelli Prize (PNAS) of the National Academy of Sciences, United States
2017 Invited Professor - University of Copenhagen
2016 – present Adjunct Professor - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
2016 Invited Professor - Sapporo University, Brazil
2015 Invited Professor - ESO, Santiago, Chile
2014 Marker Lecture, Penn Sate University, United Staes
2013 ESA JWST Significant Achievement Award
2011 Littrow Lecture, Austrian Academy of Sciences
2009 30882 Tomhenning: Designation of minor planet 1992 SG2
2001 Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society
1999 Member of the German Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina
1999 Invited Professor - University of Amsterdam
1997 Fundamental Research Award of the Federal State of Thuringia
Supervision of Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Fellows
1988 – 2022 20 (Jena) and 53 (Heidelberg) Postdocs/ 84 PhD students/ ~50 Master students,
~ 7 Habilitations (second doctoral degree in Germany)
~30 of former group members now occupy tenure(-track) faculty/research positions (see also: http://www.mpia.de/henning/professors)
Teaching
2002 – present Honorary Professor for Astronomy, University of Heidelberg
ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
(PI as organizer or in SOC, 2012+, participants at conferences ~100, at Ringberg Castle ~60)
2012 Extrasolar Planetary Atmospheres, Heidelberg, Germany
2013 Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, Germany (~850 participants)
2014 Chemical Diagnostics in the ALMA/NOEMA Era, Heidelberg, Germany
2015 The Magneto-Rational Instability confronts Observations, Ringberg Castle,Germany
2016 Exoplanets I, Davos, Switzerland
2017 Resolving Planet Formation in the Era of ALMA and Extreme AO, Santiago de Chile
2018 Exoplanets II, Cambridge, UK; Exoplanets III, Heidelberg, Germany, 2020
2018 Tokyo-Heidelberg Meeting on Planet Formation - 4thMeeting in Edesheim, Germany in 2018
2019 Co-Organizer of Conference Series: “Early Phase of Star Formation (EPOS)” - 8thMeeting in 2019
2023 Protostars & Planets VII; Kyoto, Japan, 2023
2022 Harvard-Heidelberg Meeting on Star Formation - 6th Meeting in Heidelberg in 2022
Institutional Responsibilities
2002 – present Faculty member (physics & astronomy), Heidelberg University, Germany
2002 – present Faculty member (physics & astronomy), Jena University, Jena
2001 – present Director, MPIA Research Department Planet and Star Formation
2001 – present Scientific Member of the Chemistry, Physics & Technology Section of the Max Planck Society (MPG)
2021 - 2023 Managing Director MPIA
Commissions of Trust (Selection)
2001 – 2008 President of the Scientific Council of the European Interferometry Initiative
2006 – 2012 Advisory Committee of the Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics
2007 – 2016 ESO Council Member (Vice President for one election period)
2008 – 2010 Panel Chair of the European Research Council for Advanced Investigator Grants
2008 – present Advisory Committee of the Thuringian State Observatory Tautenburg
2010 – 2016 ESO Strategic Working Group
2011 – 2017 COSPAR National Committee
2012 – 2018 Stern - Gerlach Prize Committee
2012 – 2015 Steering Committee of IAU Division H Interstellar Matter and the Local Universe
2015 – present IAU Laboratory Astrophysics Commission
2015 Evaluation Panel for Turku University
2015 – present Coordinator – Heidelberg Initiative for the Origins of Life (HIFOL)
2015 – 2017 CAHA Executive Board
2021 – present LBT Board Member Representative and LBTB Chair
2016 Visiting Committee – Royal Belgium Observatory
2016 – 2018 IAU Special Nominating Committee
2017 – 2019 Founding Committee – MPI for the Chemical Evolution of Life
2019 Founding Committee – MPI for Water Research
2018 – 2019 Member – ALMA Visiting Committee
2019 Member of Management Board - European Astrobiology Institute & Lead of
Working Group “The Pathway to Complexity. From Simple Molecules to
First Cells”
2022 Evaluation Committee – Institute for Computational Science, Zurich University
2023 Evaluation Committee for Physics in Sweden
2023 Evaluation Committee for new Helmholtz Institute
2023 - 2026 Prize Committee for Kavli-Award
-- Referee for UK, Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Finish, French, Irish, Spanish, Swiss, Swedish, Canadian, Israeli, Russian, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, US funding organizations and prize committees
2019 – present Evaluation Committee – Institute for Computational Science, Zurich University
Memberships in Scientific Societies
1990 – present Member of Astronomische Gesellschaft (AG)
1990 – present Member of Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG)
1991 – present Member of International Astronomical Union (IAU)
Editor of Journals
Living Reviews in Computational Astrophysics, Sterne und Weltraum (popular journal, main editor), Star Formation Newsletter
Major Collaborations (selected)
Consortium collaborations
2007 – present Chemistry in Disks (A. Dutrey, U. Gorti, S. Guilloteau, V.Wakelam, V.Piétu, D. Semenov, R. Teague)
2010 – present HatSouth Planet Search (G. Bakos, D. Bayliss, A. Jordan)
2015 – present SPHERE Exoplanet SHINE & Disk Program (VLT) - (G. Chauvin, C. Dominik)
2016 – present Carmenes Radial Velocity Survey (A. Quirrenbach, A. Reiners, I. Ribas, M. Kürster, A. Hatzes)
2016 – 2021 ISPY Exoplanet Survey (VLT) - (S. Quanz, D. Queloz, D. Segrasan, A. Quirrenbach)
2006 – 2014 PanSTARRS1 (N. Kaiser, K.Chambers)
2018 – present EDEN Planet Search around M stars (D.Apai)
2018 – present MPIA-Chile TESS Exoplanet Survey (A. Jordan, N. Espinoza)
2018 – 2022 Carmenes Exoplanet Search Program
2020 – present WINE TESS Exoplanet Seach Project
Instrument Consortia (Selection)
FIFI-LS at Sofia (CoI), PACS at Herschel (CoI), MIRI at JWST (CoPI), MATISSE at VLTI (CoPI), SHARK-IR at LBT (CoI), CARMENES, GRAVITY, METIS, WFIRST: Science Team Member
LUVOIR: International Member – Science and Technology Definition Team
Publication Impact
2255 publications in total, > 1300 refereed publications, 68.000 citations, 49.932 citation of refereed papers, 913.541 reads of all papers, H-index: 118, i100-index: 127