Tassis Kostas

Professor Kostas Tassis is a faculty member in the Department of Physics at the University of Crete, specializing in theoretical and observational astrophysics. His research focuses on star formation, interstellar medium dynamics, and magnetohydrodynamics simulations. He leads the PASIPHAE survey, supported by an ERC Consolidator Grant, aiming to map galactic magnetic fields through starlight polarization. Previously, he held postdoctoral positions at the University of Chicago and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, followed by roles at the Max-Planck Institute for Radioastronomy and the University of Crete.

Education:

• BSc in Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1999)
• PhD in Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2005)

Research Interests:

• Galactic and extragalactic magnetism
• Non-ideal MHD effects in star formation
• Cosmic microwave background polarization (e.g., LiteBIRD mission)
• Active galactic nuclei and compact symmetric objects
• Polarimetric instrumentation (e.g., WALOP project)

Awards:

• ERC Consolidator Grant (2018) for the PASIPHAE experiment

Grants & Collaborations:

• Leadership of the PASIPHAE survey
• Contributions to the LiteBIRD satellite mission
• Participation in SOFIA extragalactic magnetism programs

Labs & Teams:

• Crete Center for Theoretical Physics (CCTP)
• Crete Center for Quantum Complexity and Nanotechnology (CCQCN)
• Collaborations with international observatories (e.g., SOFIA, JPL)