Marco Velli

Dr. Marco Velli has developed codes for the simulation of compressible magneto- hydrodynamic flows using spectral and pseudo-spectral (Fast Fourier and Tchebychev) methods, and "compact finite difference" schemes, for problems with periodic and non-periodic boundary conditions, implementing characteristic boundary conditions allowing for both reflection-free and/or incoming wave boundary conditions. These codes have been used to study diverse phenomena from the evolution of turbulence in the expanding solar wind, the 2D evolution of turbulence in a cross section of a coronal loop in the Parker scenario, to the parametric decay of large amplitude Alfven waves in a homogeneous and stratified medium and non-linear propagation of Alfven waves at magnetic x-points.

Dr. Velli has taught mechanics, electromagnetism, astrophysics, plasma physics courses at the University of Florence, and mentored 7 students for their Laurea Thesis in Florence, directed 5 PhD theses at the University of Florence and 2 at the University of Paris XI Orsay. He has been member of peer review committees for NASA research and payload proposals as well as for ESA, member of the science definition team for Solar Orbiter (2003), and is presently a member of Solar Probe science and technology definition team, responsible for drafting the Scientific Objectives and requirements. Dr. Velli was chair and main scientific editor for the international conference Solar Wind 10, Pisa, June, 2002. He has published over seventy peer-reviewed research papers involving many collaborators both in Italy and abroad, as well as invited papers and lecture notes.