Maria Walach

Dr. Maria Walach is a UKRI STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow and Research Fellow/Lecturer in the Physics Department at Lancaster University's Faculty of Science and Technology. She specializes in space plasma physics, focusing on interactions between the solar wind, magnetosphere, and ionosphere. Her research employs spacecraft data and ground-based SuperDARN radar networks to study energy transport in Earth's plasma environment and responses to geomagnetic events.

Walach's work emphasizes solar wind driving of the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system, auroral dynamics, and space weather prediction. She leads the project Understanding the Energy Pathways of Earth’s Magnetosphere, funded by UKRI STFC. Previously, she studied at the University of Leicester and contributed to projects like the SMILE satellite mission.

• Research Groups: Space and Planetary Physics Group.
• PhD Student: Dan Naylor.
• Awards: British Science Association Award Lecture.

Her collaborations include the SuperDARN radar network and international space missions. She actively engages in outreach and public lectures, such as the British Science Festival 2022. Walach’s work bridges observational data analysis with theoretical models to advance understanding of Earth’s space environment.