Instructors

Dirk Lummerzheim
Research Professor
UAF Geophysical Institute

Dirk Lummerzheim is a research professor at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He grew up in Germany and has a graduate degree (Diplom Geophysik) from the Georg August Universität (Göttingen, Germany). In 1982 he moved to Alaska and received a PhD in Physics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1987. Before joining the Geophysical Institute’s Space Physics Group in 1993, Dr Lummerzheim worked as a visiting scientist at the High-Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. His main research interests focus on the study of auroral processes, auroral arc formation, the penetration of auroral electrons into the atmosphere, and the subsequent optical emissions. To observe the aurora, Dr Lummerzheim has used satellites, rockets, and observational instruments on the ground. He has undertaken theoretical studies and numerical simulation of aurora. Dr Lummerzheim has also given numerous public lectures on the topic of the aurora, and has participated in many public outreach and educational activities.

Lummerzheim served as a STEP Science Instructor in 2006, when the featured topic was Space Physics.