Dr. Tatiana Podladchikova is the Director of the Center for Engineering Systems & Sciences, Director of the Engineering Systems: Aerospace, Robotics and Digital Engineering master’s program, and an Associate Professor at Skoltech.

Her research focuses on solar physics and space weather, studying solar activity—from the solar cycle and its eruptive flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) to high-speed solar wind streams —and its impact on Earth. While the Sun sustains life with light and heat, its dynamic phenomena also drive geomagnetic storms, shape Earth’s upper atmosphere, and trigger auroras. Extreme space weather poses risks to critical infrastructure, disrupting satellites, aviation, power grids, and other technologies in space and on the ground.

While the Sun generously provides light and heat, it also demonstrates its stormy charm through these phenomena that drive geomagnetic storms, shape the upper atmosphere, and trigger auroras. Extreme space weather can disrupt nearly every major industry, affecting satellites, airlines, power grids, and other critical technologies both in space and on the ground.

Bridging fundamental research and real-world applications, Dr. Tatiana Podladchikova develops operational space weather services to protect critical infrastructure and support space missions. Her contributions has earned her the International Alexander Chizhevsky Medal for Space Weather and Space Climate (2015, Belgium) and multiple "Best Professor" awards at Skoltech (2018–2020) for excellence in teaching, mentoring, and research. She was further recognized for outstanding achievements in education and research in 2022 and 2023.

As Director of Skoltech’s Master’s Program "Aerospace and Engineering Systems", Tatiana is committed to education, public outreach, and science communication. She leads the Skoltech Space Weather Laboratory and teaches Experimental Data Analysis and Data Analysis for Space Weather courses, inspiring and training the next generation of scientists and engineers.