Paweł Swaczyna

I’m a space physicist and an Associate Professor at the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK PAN). My research focuses on the heliosphere and the interstellar medium around the heliosphere using observations from space missions. I study neutral atoms flowing through the heliosphere to determine the physical conditions in the interstellar medium. The main source of the observations for my research is NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission. I’m involved in the preparation of the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission launching in 2025, equipped with a new generation of instruments enhancing the observation techniques for heliospheric studies.

I grew up in Ruda Śląska, an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland. I moved to Warsaw to study physics at the University of Warsaw. During my master’s studies, I started working in the Laboratory for Solar System Physics and Astrophysics at CBK PAN. After completing my PhD in 2018, I moved to Princeton University, where I joined the Space Physics Group. In May 2023, I returned to CBK PAN under the NAWA Polish Returns Program.