Hans Olofsson new member of the Royal Academy of Sciences

Left: Light scattered in a shell around the carbon star R Sculptoris. Credit: Hans Olofsson, HST-ACS. Right: Hans Olofsson in front of the Onsala Space Observatory 25-m telescope. Credit: Jan-Olof Yxell, Chalmers.

In February 2007, the Royal Academy of Sciences (KVA) elected Hans Olofsson, professor at Stockholm Observatory, new member in the class for astronomy and space science. To be elected a member of the Academy is an exclusive acknowledgement for successful research. The Academy today has about 350 Swedish members.

Since December 1, 2005, Hans Olofsson has been director of Onsala Space Observatory - Sweden's national facility for radio astronomy (see previous news item "Hans Olofsson new head of OSO"). Furthermore he is the head of the astrobiology graduate school at Stockholm University (see "Stockholm University starts astrobiology graduate school"). He studies the processes that affect the stellar life cycle, from their formation in cosmic gas clouds to their death when they run out of fuel. The purpose is to understand this evolution that the majority of all stars in the universe go through as well as its effect on the chemical evolution of galaxies (see e.g. "Molecules and red giant stars").