CV

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Data

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Zentrum für Astronomie (ZAH)
Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik (ITA)
Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg Germany

Tel: +49-6221/54-8978
Fax: +49-6221/54-4221
E-Mail: klessen<AT>uni-heidelberg.de
ORCID: 0000-0002-0560-3172

University Education and Academic Degrees
2004                       Habilitation and venia legendi at Potsdam University
1995—1998 PhD studies at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Heidelberg University
1990—1991 Exchange student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA)
1987—1994 Studies of general physics, Technical University of Munich (DE)
 

Academic Positions
2006— Full professor for theoretical astrophysics (W3) at Heidelberg University
2005—2006 Permanent scientific staff at Astrophysical Institute Potsdam (DE)
2002—2006 Head of Emmy Noether Research Group at Astrophysical Institute Potsdam (DE)
2000—2001 Postdoctoral position at University of California at Santa Cruz (USA)
1998—2000 Postdoctoral position at Leiden Observatory (NL)
 

Selected Professional Activities, Awards, Honors
2025- Managing Director of Center for Astronomy (ZAH)
2024—2025 Fellow of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies and visiting professor
at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
2022— Member of board of National High Performance Computing Center TU Dresden
2020—2027 ERC Synergy Grant ECOGAL – Understanding our Galactic ecosystem: From the disk
of the Milky Way to the formation sites of stars and planets
2020— Member of the DFG Fachkollegium 3.25 (Review Board Astrophysics and Astronomy)
2020—2021 Member of the panel P9 for ERC Advanced Grants
2019—2021 Speaker of the Excellence Cluster STRUCTURES at Heidelberg University
2019—2022 Head of the Curatorium of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
2014—2015 Visiting professor at University of California, Santa Cruz
2013—2019 ERC Advanced Grant STARLIGHT: Formation of the First Stars
2012—2014 Dean of Study in Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Heidelberg University
2011— Member of the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR)
2011—2022 Deputy speaker: DFG collaborative center SFB 881 The Milky Way System
2011—2017 Deputy speaker of DFG priority program SPP 1573 Physics of the ISM
2010—2014 Time allocation committee of Swiss Supercomputing Center (CSCS)
2010 Visiting professor at Stanford University and University of California, Santa Cruz
2009 Professeur Invite at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris
2008—2013 Deputy director of Center of Astronomy at Heidelberg University (ZAH)
2007—2014 Board of the IMPRS for Astronomy and Cosmic Physics in Heidelberg
2007—2013 Managing director of Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (ITA)
2007—2018 Member of committee of the State of Baden-Württemberg to redefine
the requirements for physics and astronomy teachers in the new bachelor and master system
2006—2018 Steering committee of Forward Look on Comp. Science in Europe (ESF)
2002 Ludwig Biermann Award of the German Astronomical Society
2001 Emmy Noether Fellowship, German Science Foundation (DFG)
1999 Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society
1990—1991 Fulbright Fellowship at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain

Research Interests

Ralf Klessen’s primary research goal is to identify and characterize the physical processes that govern the dynamics of the interstellar medium, the birth of stars, and the formation and evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. His research combines astrophysical theory, large-scale numerical simulations, radiative transfer, and machine learning. One key focus is to develop predictive models of the Milky Way that can be directly confronted with astronomical observations across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Scientific interests furthermore include stellar feedback, astrochemistry and the microphysics of dust, magnetic fields and cosmic rays, synthetic observations, computational astrophysics, and advanced methods for statistical inference and the analysis analysis of complex scientific data.

Research Funding in Past 10 Years

Ralf Klessen was one of three speakers of the excellence cluster STRUCTURES: A unifying approach to emergent phenomena in the physical world, mathematics and complex data at Heidelberg University (35+ million € over 7 years). He stepped down in 2021 from this position to have more time for own research. He also was deputy speaker of a Germany-wide priority program SPP 1573 Physics of the Interstellar Medium (2 million €/year for six years for about 40 ISM related projects in Germany) during the funding period from 2011 to 2017. Ralf Klessen was also deputy speaker of the Heidelberg collaborative research project SFB 881 The Milky Way System (providing ~2 million €/year in 2011 to 2022 for astronomical research in Heidelberg). Ralf Klessen also was PI of the ERC Advanced Grant STARLIGHT: Formation of the First Stars running from 2013 to 2019 with a volume of 2.5 million €. Currently, he is one of four PIs of the ERC Synergy Grant ECOGAL: Understanding our Galactic ecosystem – From the disk of the Milky Way to the formation sites of stars and planets covering the years 2020 to 2027 and totaling 12.5 million €. In addition, he is PI of the project MAINN on machine learning in astrophysics funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Altogether, he has been awarded over 10 million € in personal grants. Other researchers in the star formation group in Heidelberg have solicited a total of 2.2 million € in additional grant money.