Prof. Brian Welsch completed his Ph.D. thesis, “Magnetic Helicity Transport in the Quiet Sun,” in 2002, under the supervision of Prof. Dana W. Longcope. He subsequently started working for the University of California at Berkeley, at its Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) as a Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar, working under Dr. George H. Fisher. In 2004, he was hired into an open-ended research position as an Assistant Research Physicist, and was promoted to Associate Research Physicist in 2010. In summer 2015 he joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay (UWGB) as an Assistant Professor of Physics, and in summer 2020, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Physics.

Scientific Interests

Dr. Welsch research efforts focuses on the evolution of solar magnetic fields, particularly the transport of magnetic energy and magnetic helicity from the solar interior into the corona; photospheric flows associated with these processes; the roles of magnetic energy, magnetic helicity, and magnetic structure in flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs); and the physics of magnetic reconnection, flares, and CMEs.

Awards

Karen Harvey Prize, 2010, awarded by the SPD/AAS annually to one early-career scientist for significant contributions to the study of the Sun. JSPS Invitation Fellowship (Short-Term), 2010, a competitive award from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to support a research visit to Nagoya University. “Editor’s choice” awardee, 09/2018, selected by editors of Solar Physics for the article “Flux Accretion and Coronal Mass Ejection Dynamics” (293, article id.113).