Astrophysicist, Heliophysics Science Division
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

B.S., Physics, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR, 1970
M.S., Physics, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR, 1972
Ph.D., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1980

Dr. Adolfo F. Viñas' research interests include studying linear and nonlinear plasma kinetic instabilities and the development and evolution of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence using both solar wind observations as well as computer simulations. Other research interests include investigating the stability of large amplitude Alfvén waves, the structure and evolution of magnetohydrodynamic shock waves and studying the plasma mechanisms for the generation of solar wind suprathermal electrons which produce solar radio emissions. He is a member of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the Latin American Association of Space Physics and Geophysics (ALAGE). Dr. Viñas has served as Guest Co-Investigator of the International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE-1) mission and the Voyagers program. He is currently a Co-Investigator in the WIND/SWE experiment of the International Solar Terrestrial Program (ISTP) and the Space Physics Theory Program grant entitled The Role of Turbulence in Heliospheric Plasmas. Dr. Viñas has participated in the organizing committee of "La Conferencia Espacial de las Américas" held in Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay. He is the recipient of the NASA Special Service Award and a decent computer "hacker".

1970-1972: Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Puerto Rico (UPR)
1972-1974: Associate Instructor of Physics, University of Puerto Rico (UPR)
1974-1975: Graduate Teaching Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
1975-1976: Exchange Graduate Student, Harvard University (HU)
1976-1980: Graduate Research Assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
1980-present: Astrophysicist, Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

1. The Inner Edge of the Plasma Sheet and the Diffuse Aurora, D. H. Fairfield and A. F. Viñas, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 841, 1984.
2. Spectral Analysis of Magnetohydrodynamic Fluctuations Near Interplanetary Shocks, A. F. Viñas, M. L. Goldstein and M. H. Acuña, , J. Geophys.Res., 89, 3762, 1984.
3. Fast and Optimal Solution to the Rankine-Hugoniot Problem, A. F. Viñas and J. D. Scudder, J. Geophys. Res., 91, 35, 1985.
4. Parametric instabilities of circularly polarized, large amplitude, dispersive Alfvén waves: Excitation of parallel propagating electromagnetic daughter waves, A. F. Viñas, and M. L. Goldstein, J. Plasma Phys., 46, 107, 1991.
5. Parametric instabilities of circularly polarized, large amplitude, dispersive Alfvén waves: Excitation of obliquely propagating electromagnetic daughter waves, A. F. Viñas, and M. L. Goldstein, J. Plasma Phys., 46, 129, 1991.
6. Ion acceleration and abundance enhancements by electron beam instabilities in impulsive solar flares, J. A. Miller, and A. F. Viñas, Astrophys. J., 412, 386, 1993.
7. Excitation of high frequency electromagnetic waves by energetic electrons with a loss- cone distribution in a field aligned potential drop, S. F. Fung, and A. F. Viñas, , J. Geophys. Res., 99, 8671, 1994.
8. Magnetohydrodynamic and hybrid simulations of broadband fluctuations near interplanetary shocks, Y. Z. Agim, A. F. Viñas, and M. L. Goldstein, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 17,081, 1995.
9. Wind observations of the electron foreshock, R. J. Fitzenreiter, A. F.-Viñas, A. J. Klimas, R. P. Lepping and M. L. Kaiser, Geophys. Res. Lett., 23, 1235, 1996.
10. Coarse-graining and nonlocal processes in proton cyclotron resonant interaction, E. Siregar, A. F.-Viñas, and M. L. Goldstein, Phys. Plasmas, 5, 333, 1998.