Board of Directors
MPIA, as any other Max Planck Institute, is managed by its directors. Each director is a scientific member of the Max Planck Society e.V. and the head of one of the institute's scientific departments. The directors alternately act as managing directors.
Planet and Star Formation Department
Galaxies and Cosmology Department
Atmospheric Physics of Exoplanets Department
Where institute management task are concerned, the directors are supported by the Scientific Coordinator and the Head of Administration; in their external communications, by the head of public outreach.
- +49 6221 528-379
- +49 6221 528-261
- +49 6221 528-230
Former Directors
Prof. Dr. Immo Appenzeller
Prof. Dr. Steven V.W. Beckwith
Prof. Dr. Hans Elsässer (†)
Prof. Dr. Guido Münch
Former External Scientific Members
Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Böhm (†)
Prof. Dr. Walter Fricke (†)
Prof. Dr. George H. Herbig (†)
External Scientific Members
By appointing eminent German and international scientists as external scientific members, Max Planck Institutes bolster international scientific cooperation.
Prof. Dr. Conny Aerts (Universität Leuven/Radbound Universität Nijmegen)
Prof. Dr. Immo Appenzeller (Emeritus, University of Heidelberg)
Prof. Dr. Steven V.W. Beckwith (University of California, Berkeley)
Prof. Dr. Willy Benz (Universität Bern)
Prof. Dr. Rafael Rebolo (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias)
Prof. Dr. Volker Springel (Heidelberger Institut für Theoretische Studien)
Max-Planck-Fellow
Prof. Dr. Oliver Trapp (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)