Dr. Zhonghua Yao
ISWAT Responsibilities: H4 Cluster Co-Moderator
E-mail: z.yao@ucl.ac.uk
Dr. Zhonghua Yao obtained his PhD from the Space Science Institute at Peking University in early 2014. His PhD thesis is on the drivers of electrical current system during magnetospheric substorms. He then joined Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London (MSSL/UCL) as a postdoctoral research associate, mostly working on particle data from Cluster, Cassini and MMS. He diverted into giant planetary sciences at the end of his MSSL trip in late 2016, and obtained a Marie-Curie COFUND fellowship at the Laboratory for Planetary and Atmospheric Physics (LPAP), University of Liege. Since then, Dr. Zhonghua Yao’s research focus is shifted to remote sensing observations of planetary aurorae and their magnetospheric environment, e.g., Jupiter’s moon Io torus. In late 2019, he took a faculty position in Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS), and is currently establishing a giant planetary research team.
Research interest
- Planetary aurorae and their magnetospheric energy sources
- Magnetic reconnection and dipolarization at Earth and giant planets
- Remote sensing observations of planetary system
- Jupiter’s X-ray and the particle acceleration and the precipitation of MeV particles
Research Achievements
- Arne Richter Award by European Geosciences Union (2018)
- NASA Group Achievement Award for Cassini CAPS Team (2018)
- Winton Award by Royal Astronomical Society (2017)
Scientific Community Services
- Leader of ISSI-BJ International Team (The morphology of aurora at Earth and giant planets: characteristics and their magnetospheric implications)
- Referee for international journals
- Regular convener for EGU and AOGS
- Panelist for NASA Heliospheric Projects