Bart De Pontieu is a solar physicist who works at

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

's Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory. He is known for his work on the dynamics and heating of the

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

chromosphere A chromosphere ("sphere of color", from the Ancient Greek words χρῶμα (''khrôma'') 'color' and σφαῖρα (''sphaîra'') 'sphere') is the second layer of a Stellar atmosphere, star's atmosphere, located above the photosphere and below t ...

, transition region and

corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

, via both wave mechanisms and nanoflares. De Pontieu has had a major role in multiple solar scientific space missions, including

TRACE Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album), by Nell Other uses in arts and entertainment * ...

, Hinode, the

Solar Dynamics Observatory The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a NASA mission which has been observing the Sun since 2010. Launched on 11 February 2010, the observatory is part of the Living With a Star (LWS) program. The goal of the LWS program is to develop the ...

, and IRIS. He is the Principal Investigator of the in-development Multi-slit Solar Explorer selected by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

in February 2022. De Pontieu is a member of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

and its

Solar Physics Division The Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS/SPD) or (AAS-SPD), often referred to as simply the "Solar Physics Division" (SPD), is the primary trade organization of solar physicists in the U.S. It exists for the advancement ...

, as well as the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

and the Belgian Astronomical Society (''Vereniging voor Sterrenkunde''). He was elected to the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

in 2018.

Education

* M.Sc., Physics/Electrotechnical Engineering,

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, Belgium, 1992 * Ph.D., Physics,

Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics is part of the Max Planck Society, located in Garching, near Munich, Germany. In 1991 the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics split up into the Max Planck Institute for Extraterr ...

(Germany) and University of Ghent (Belgium), 1996

References

American astrophysicists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Physicist-stub