Education

1996                            Diploma (M. Sc.) in Physics, University of Bonn
1999                            Ph.D. in Physics (Advisor: Prof. F.-J. Lübken), University of Bonn
2004                            Habilitation (German qualification for a professorship) in Atmospheric Physics at the 
                                    Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Kühlungsborn, and the University of Rostock

 

Academic positions held

1996 – 1999                  Research Assistant at the Physics Institute, University of Bonn
2000 – 2007                  Postdoctoral Scientist at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics,
                                      Kühlungsborn (IAP)
2003                              Tenured Research Scientist at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric
                                      Physics, Kühlungsborn (IAP)
2004                              Appointed as “Privatdozent” (Associate Professor) in Atmospheric Physics at the
                                      University of Rostock
2005 – 2006                  On leave from IAP as visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Meteorology,
                                      Stockholm University, Sweden.
2007                              Offers for Professorships at University of Wuppertal and University of Rostock
2008 – 2012                  Professor of Experimental Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock and Head 
                                      of the Department “Radars and Sounding Rockets” at IAP
2012 – now                   Director of the DLR-Institute of Atmospheric Physics at Oberpfaffenhofen and Full
                                      Professor (Chair) for Atmospheric Physics at the Ludwig Maximilians University in
                                      Munich.

 

Awards and Honours

2014                             Elected member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science and Humanities
                                     (http://www.bbaw.de/en/)
2009                             Article “Polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE): Review of observations and current 
                                     understanding (by M. Rapp and F.-J. Lübken, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 4, 2601-2633, 2004)”
                                     highlighted by Thomson Reuters Science Watch as a highly cited paper in the field of 
                                     Geosciences
2005                             NASA Group Achievement Award for the Equatorial Ionospheric Studies II Sounding 
                                     Rocket Campaign conducted from the Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall 
                                     Islands July- September 2004

 

Major Scientific Interest

• Thermal and dynamical structure of the middle atmosphere: role of gravity waves and turbulence
• Aerosol Microphysics: Nucleation, growth, heterogeneous processes, interaction with charged species: field and laboratory measurements and microphysical modeling
• Development and application of in-situ measurement techniques (for sounding rockets) for the measurement of atmospheric parameters (aerosol parameters, dynamical and thermal structure)
• Radar and lidar remote sensing of the middle atmosphere
• Satellite remote sensing of middle atmosphere aerosols

 

Major completed and ongoing projects as PI or Co-PI (Principal Investigator)

• GW-LCYCLE: Investigation of the life cycle of gravity waves, Study of gravity wave dynamics utilizing airborne observations onboard the research aircraft DLR-Falcon and HALO in combination with ground based lidar and radar observations and numerical modelling; Period: 2014 – 2017; funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research within the ROMIC-program
• PACOG: Processes And Climatology Of Gravity waves (jointly led with F.-J. Lübken  and J. Chau, IAP Kühlungsborn), Study of gravity wave processes focusing on ground based lidar observations in New Zealand and Northern Scandinavia, Period: 2014 – 2017; funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG) as part of the DFG-research unit “MS-GWAVES: Multiscale dynamics of gravity waves”
• ARISE-2: Atmospheric dynamics Research InfraStructure in Europe, Work package on ground based lidar observations of convective gravity waves, funded by the EU, Horizon 2020, Period 2015 – 2018
• ALIMA: Airborne lidar for middle atmosphere research, Development and initial deployment of a combined airborne Rayleigh-Resonance-Fluorescence lidar for studying gravity wave dynamics and its role in coupling various atmospheric regions, Period: 2013 – 2017, funded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR, R&D-branch)
• MicroIce: Microphysics of ice particles at the polar summer mesopause (led together with Prof. Thomas Leisner, KIT), Period: 2014 – 2016; funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG)
• WADIS: Wave propagation and dissipation in the middle atmosphere: Contribution to the energy budget and trace gas distributions, Sounding rocket project. Period: 2010 – 2015: two field campaigns involving the launch of two sounding rockets and ~20 met rockets; funded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR, Agency-branch). PI-role transferred to Dr. Boris Strelnikov after my move to DLR.
• MAARSY: A new powerful VHF-Radar in Northern Norway: Climate monitoring in the middle atmosphere, funded by the German Ministry for Science and Education. Period: 2008 – 2009. -> more information on MAARSY
• ECOMA: Existence and Charge state Of meteoric dust particles in the Middle Atmosphere: Sounding rocket project dedicated to the study of meteoric smoke particles in the middle atmosphere. Period: 2004 – 2010: four field campaigns involving the launch of ten sounding rockets; funded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR, Agency-branch).
• EISCAT: Influence of charged aerosol particles on the scattering of radar waves using EISCAT, parts 1-3:  Project involving the EISCAT radars in Norway and Svalbard dedicated to the study of polar mesosphere summer echoes and the effect of charged meteor smoke particles on incoherent scatter Doppler spectra. Funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG) in the frame of the CAWSES priority program. Period: 2005-2011.
•  “Dynamic control of the mesospheric ice phase”: Funded by the Leibniz-Community. Period: 2010 – 2012.

 

Community Service

• Member of DLR’s program board for extraterrestrial research 2013 –
• Member of the Science Steering Committee of the German research aircraft HALO, 2013 –
• Member of the Scientific Oversight Committee of European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association EISCAT, 2009 - 2014
• Editor in Chief “Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics”, 2010 – 2013
• Associate Editor “Atmospheric Measurement Techniques”, 2013 -
• Guest Editor for special issues in “Annales Geophysicae” and “Advances of Space Research”
• Vice Chair Commission C2 “Earth's Middle Atmosphere and Lower Ionosphere”, Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), 2006 – 2014
• Chair Commission 1 (Near Earth Space Environment) of “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Extraterrestrische Forschung, AEF”, 2009 - 2015
• Frequent Panel reviewer for NASA’s Geospace and LCAS program
• Frequent reviewer for numerous journals and funding agencies

 

Selected publications:

(from a total of ~120 in peer reviewed journals; full list available at Google Scholar)

1. Rapp, M. and F.-J. Lübken, On the nature of PMSE: Electron diffusion in the vicinity of charged particles revisited, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D8), 8437, doi: 10.1029/ 2002JD002857, 2003.
2. Rapp, M. and F.-J. Lübken, Polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE): Review of observations and current understanding, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 4, 2601-2633, 2004
3. Rapp, M.., B. Strelnikov, F.-J. Lübken, and D. C. Fritts, Turbulence measurements and implications for gravity wave dissipation during the MaCWAVE/MIDAS rocket program, Geopyhs. Res. Lett., 31, L24S07, doi:10.1029/2003GL019325, 2004.
4. Rapp, M. and G. E. Thomas, Modeling the microphysics of mesospheric ice particles - Assessment of current capabilities and basic sensitivities, J. Atmos. Sol. Terr. Phys., 68, 715 – 744, 2006.
5. Rapp,M., I. Strelnikova, B. Strelnikov, P. Hoffmann, M. Friedrich, J. Gumbel, L. Megner, U.-P. Hoppe, S. Robertson, S. Knappmiller, M. Wolf und D. R. Marsh, Rocket-borne in-situ measurements of meteor smoke: Charging properties and implications for seasonal variation, J. Geophys.Res., 115, D00I16, doi:10.1029/2009JD012725, 2010.
6. P. Hoffmann, M. Rapp, W. Singer und D. Keuer, Trends of mesospheric gravity waves at northern middle latitudes during summer, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2011JD015717, 2011.
7. Rapp, M., Plane, J. M. C., Strelnikov, B., Stober, G., Ernst, S., Hedin, J., Friedrich, M., and Hoppe, U.-P.: In situ observations of meteor smoke particles (MSP) during the Geminids 2010: constraints on MSP size, work function and composition, Ann. Geophys., 30, 1661-1673, doi:10.5194/angeo-30-1661-2012, 2012.