Viviane PIERRARD

Viviane PIERRARD is a Doctor of Physical Sciences and Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) within the Department of Physics in the Faculty of Science. She concurrently serves as Head of the "Solar Wind" department at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (IASB), where she leads research on solar phenomena and their terrestrial impacts.

Dr. PIERRARD's research spans critical areas of space science with significant practical implications:

• Solar wind dynamics and propagation through interplanetary space
• Space weather effects on satellite operations and GPS systems
• Solar eruptive phenomena including flares and coronal mass ejections
• Interactions between solar particles and Earth's magnetosphere
• Terrestrial impacts of space weather on communication technologies
• Physics of auroral phenomena generated by solar activity

Her influential book "The Wrath of the Sun" (Royal Academy of Belgium, 2016) synthesizes complex space weather concepts for broader audiences, explaining how solar activity creates both beautiful auroras and disruptive technological effects. As head of the Solar Wind department at IASB, she directs research that bridges fundamental astrophysics with practical applications for protecting space-based infrastructure from solar disturbances. Her work has positioned her as a leading communicator of space science to both academic and public audiences through lectures and media interviews.