Kristopher Klein

Kristopher Klein is an Associate Professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL), University of Arizona, within the Department of Planetary Sciences, College of Science. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 2013 and has been a faculty member at LPL since 2017. His research focuses on theoretical and computational plasma physics in the context of solar and heliospheric systems.

Education:

• Ph.D., 2013, University of Iowa
• Years with LPL: 2017–present

Dr. Klein's research centers on fundamental plasma phenomena in the heliosphere, particularly turbulent heating, energization mechanisms, and departure from thermodynamic equilibrium in collisionless plasmas like the solar wind. He employs analytic theory, numerical simulations (e.g., AstroGK, HVM, gkeyll), and spacecraft data from missions such as Parker Solar Probe and HelioSwarm. He is a co-developer of the Arbitrary Linear Plasma Solver (ALPS), an open-source tool for dispersion analysis.

His recent publications (2019–2025) reveal a strong focus on plasma turbulence, wave-particle interactions, kinetic instabilities, and solar wind heating mechanisms. The work frequently combines Parker Solar Probe observations with theoretical modeling to understand energy transfer at kinetic scales. Themes include ion and electron heating, stochastic heating, cyclotron damping, and multi-scale turbulence characterization.

Scientific Awards:

• 2024 AAS Harvey Prize
• 2022 Landau-Spitzer Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics

Dr. Klein advises graduate students including Niranjana Shankarappa and Waverly Gorman, with former student Teddy Broeren (Ph.D., 2023). He leads major NASA-funded research projects related to the HelioSwarm and Parker Solar Probe missions. His involvement includes being Deputy Principal Investigator for HelioSwarm and Co-Investigator and Project Scientist for the SWEAP instrument on Parker Solar Probe. These roles involve significant grant leadership and collaboration with interdisciplinary teams.

He is actively involved in instrumentation and data analysis, particularly through quasi-thermal noise spectroscopy and wave-particle correlation techniques. His work bridges theory, simulation, and observational data to advance understanding of space plasma physics.