Hermann Opgenoorthis a professor in space plasma physics, specialised in particular on magnetospheric and ionospheric physics. He has 40 years of experience in the physics of solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling using both ground-based and space based instruments in coordination. His instrumental expertise is in multi-instrument work, involving magnetometer networks in Scandinavia and bi- or multi-static radar systems, both coherent and incoherent radars, like STARE, SABRE, and radars in the SuperDARN Network. He is co-investigator in two SuperDARN radar facilities overlooking Svalbard and its magnetically conjugated point in the southern hemisphere. He has also been working with the European Incoherent Scatter facility EISCAT, both as scientist for over 20 years, and as chair of EISCAT’s Scientific Advisory Board and Council, when the EISCAT Svalbard Radar ESR was constructed.

He was responsible for the coordination of ground-based science data with ESA’s Cluster mission, and became later the Head of Solar / Solar Terrestrial Missions and then Head of Solar System Missions at ESA. He founded the International Living with a Star (ILWS) Interagency Coordination Initiative, involving ESA, NASA, Russia, Japan, China and Canada.

In the last 10 years he as been actively working for the development of a European and world-wide Space Weather program, both concerning scientific missions and instrument networks as well as dealing with international space diplomacy on European and United-Nations level. He has been involved in the writing of the COSPAR SWx Roadmap, the European Assessment of SWx activities by the ESSC, and participated in several UN reports on SWx.

He has more than 200 scientific publications and works today in several international advisory bodies on national, European and UN level.

Present Affiliations:>

- Professor Emeritus, Physics Department, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

- Honorary Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Leicester University, UK

- Head of Space Weather, Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation, CSEO, Nicosia, Cyprus