Tamas I. Gombosi – Home of Tamas I. Gombosi

Konstantin I. Gringauz
Distinguished University Professor of Space Science

Rollin M. Gerstacker
Endowed Professor of Engineering

Founding Director, Center for Space Environment Modeling (2001–2023)

Professor, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering

Professor, Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering
The University of Michigan

2428 Space Research Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143
Email: tamas at umich.edu
Phone: (734) 764-7222
Fax: (734) 615-9723

Tamas Gombosi’s Researcher Profiles

Google Scholar

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9360-4951

Web of Science ResearcherID: G-4238-2011

Tamas Gombosi’s Personal Experiences

Download Professor Gombosi’s CV

Short video celebrating Professor Gombosi’s 70th birthday.

On August 5, 2018, Prof. Tamas Gombosi was interviewed by the famous “Outsiders” program of Australia’s Sky News network in a segment about solar physics and space weather and its impact on the Earth. Prof. Gombosi, who the program hosts lauded as “…one of humanity’s truly great minds” and “…the world’s leading authority on space weather” described several aspects of solar activity, including solar coronal mass ejections (CME) and the aurora phenomenon viewed here at home. He also detailed the Carrington Event of 1859, in which a (CME) hit Earth’s magnetosphere and induced one of the largest geomagnetic storms on record. The Sky News team congratulated the University of Michigan for “assembling the world’s leading physics modeling capability…in its predictions of space weather.” The 15 minutes long interview.

Part of the immigrant experience is the realization that our family is uprooted and future generations will lose all connections to our roots. The reason is a combination of time, distance, and the loss of the old language. I was able to find a trove of old documents and photos. These gave me a good starting point to undertake a year-long research that unearthed a lot of new information about our families. When I started writing I did not know where this project would take me. I covered our family’s history from the early 1800s to the present. In the process I also started to write down my own story; my childhood and education in Hungary, my adventures in the Soviet Union, and our immigration to the United States. While this is not a “kiss and tell” book, it contains a lot of interesting new information about the institutions and people I interacted with. The result of this effort is the book Phoenix. It combines family history (including our near annihilation during the Holocaust), followed by a Phoenix-like revival from the ashes. It also covers our story through the darkest years of the Cold War and the emergence from the wrong side of history.

The book is now available in color print or b/w print.

On December 12, 2017, Professor Gombosi delivered the 2017 James Van Allen Lecture of the American Geophysical Union. Each year the Space Physics and Aeronomy Section of the American Geophysical Union honors a leader at the forefront of Magnetospheric Physics by selecting them to give the James A. Van Allen Lecture at their Fall Meeting. View the lecture.

Hungarian Academy of Sciences Inaugural Lecture

Hungarian Academy of Sciences lecture certificate

On April 26, 2017, Professor Gombosi delivered his inaugural lecture as an external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences entitled “Viharok a Világürben (Storms in Space).” View the lecture.

Anthropogenic Space Weather Lecture

On November 3, 2016 Professor Gombosi delivered a lecture entitled “Anthropogenic Space Weather.” View the lecture.

Distinguished University Professor Lecture

2014 Distinguished University Professorship certificate

On February 23, 2015, Professor Gombosi delivered his Distinguished University Professorship lecture entitled “My Journey in the Solar System.” View the lecture.

Space Weather Prize Lecture

On November 21, 2013 Professor Gombosi delivered his inaugural Space Weather Prize lecture entitled “Spce Weather: Are We Having Fun Yet?” View the lecture

Gerstacker Lecture

University of Michigan crest with professor Gombosi's name

On March 20, 2009 Professor Gombosi delivered his inaugural Gerstacker lecture entitled “It Takes a Village: The Making of a Space Scientist.” This lecture was aimed at non-scientists and it focused on the importance of mentoring in science and engineering. The lecture used Professor Gombosi’s personal experience as a case study for effective mentoring. View the lecture.

Tamas I. Gombosi, PhD, DSc