Merav Opher

Research Interests: Computational and theoretical plasma physics in space and astrophysics; Interaction of the solar system with the interstellar medium; solar wind; shocks in the lower corona, T-Tauri and Solar-Like Stars.

Website: http://meravopher.com

Merav Opher’s interests are in how plasma and magnetic effects reveal themselves in astrophysical and space physics environments. In particular, in how stars interact with the surrounding media, how the solar system interacts with the local interstellar medium, and the interaction of extra-solar planets with their host stars. Her other interests are in how magnetic disturbances are driven and propagate from the Sun to Earth. She uses state-of the art 3D computational models to investigate these phenomena. Dr. Opher was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for studies of shocks in interplanetary space. She also received the Mason Emerging Researcher/Scholar/Creator Award. She is actively involved in several leadership roles in the Space Physics and Astronomy community. She obtained her PhD in University in Sao Paulo in 1998. Dr. Opher had her postdoctoral training at the Plasma Group of the Physics Dept of UCLA from 1999-2001 and was a Caltech Scholar at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at University of Michigan from 2001-2004. Before coming to Boston University, from 2005-2010 she was an associate professor at George Mason University.