Academic Qualification

1998-2002, Ph.D., Physics, UNIVERSITY OF PROVENCE, Marseille, FRANCE.

1997-1998, DEA, Physics, UNIVERSITY OF PROVENCE, Marseille, FRANCE.

1996-1997, M.Sc., Physics, UNIVERSITY OF PROVENCE, Marseille, FRANCE.

1992-1995, Bachelor of Science, Physics, UNIVERSITY OF PROVENCE, Marseille, FRANCE.

Teaching Area

• Astronomy (Macau University of Science and Technology)

• Gravitation and General Relativity (The University of Glasgow)

• Astronomy Tutorial Supervision (The University of Glasgow)

• Physics Tutorial Supervision (University of Manchester)

• Solar and Space Plasma Physics

• Plasma Turbulence and Magnetohydrodynamics

Research Area

• Solar and Space Plasma Physics

• Physics of Magnetically Confined Fusion Plasma

• Plasma Turbulence and Transport

• Magnetic Reconnection and Tearing Instabilities

• Acceleration and Transport of Energetic Particles

• Multi-wavelength Emission in Solar Flares

• Stochastic Models and Diffusion in the Solar Wind

Professional Services

• Journal Reviewer: ApJ, ApJL, JGR, PRE, A&A, POP, PPCF, EJP

• Grant Reviewer: STFC mail-in reviewer; SDE Women in Science mail-in reviewer

• Involvement in Research Teams: ISSI Beijing (Hard X-rays, type III radio bursts, 2023-2024)

• Involvement in Research Teams: ISSI Bern (Solar flare acceleration signature, 2018-2019; Radio and Hard X-Ray flares, 2013-2014)

• Involvement in Research Teams: Radiophysics of the Sun, EU IRSES Network EU-China-Russia (2012-2016)

• Science Team Member: RHESSI science team (2001-2018)

• Session Chair: TESS, Chair Flares: General session, Leesburg, USA (2018)

• Organizer: Alliance Workshop, Glasgow, UK (2016)

• Session Organizer: RHESSI Workshop, New Jersey, USA (2015); Local Organizing Committee, Glasgow, UK (2011)

• Session Organizer: UK National Astronomy Meeting (2011, 2012, 2014)

Working Experience

• 2025 ~ present, Associate Professor, Space Science Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, CHINA

• 2021 ~ 2025, Research Associate, Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA

• 2017 ~ 2020, Research Associate, Department of Physics, Western Kentucky University, USA

• 2009 ~ 2017, Research Associate, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Glasgow, UK

• 2004 ~ 2009, Research Associate, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, UK

• 2002 ~ 2003, Research Associate, Department of Physics, Politecnico di Torino, ITALY

Academic Publication (selected)

1. H. W. Zhan, S. Y. Huang, Q. Y. Xiong, G. Li, N. Bian, Z. G. Yuan, K. Jiang, Y. T. Tang, and H. Bai. Tearing Instability of Weakly Anisotropic Embedded Thin Current Sheets in Space Plasmas. ApJ, volume 1007, page 107, August 2026.

2. Q. Y. Xiong, S. Y. Huang, Z. G. Yuan, G. Li, J. S. He, N. Bian, D. Verscharen, T. N. Parashar, J. Zhang, H. H. Wu, K. Jiang, and H. W. Zhan. Alpha-particle Heating and Anisotropy in Solar Wind Turbulence: Insights from Parker Solar Probe Observations and Particle-in-cell Simulations. ApJ, volume 1006, page 100, July 2026.

3. J. V. A. Joubert, R. D. Strauss, J. Light, N. E. Engelbrecht, and N. H. Bian. Turbulent Diffusion of Magnetic Field Lines in the Heliosphere. ApJ, volume 1005, page 171, July 2026.

4. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. A Unifying Perspective on Kolmogorov Cascades in Solar Wind Plasma Turbulence. ApJ, volume 1005, page 165, July 2026.

5. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. On the Singularity Structure of Alfvénic Turbulence. ApJ, volume 992, page 32, October 2025.

6. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. Gaussian Mixtures in Solar Wind Plasma Turbulence. ApJ, volume 988, page 173, August 2025.

7. T. Tork, P. Manz, N. H. Bian, F. Reimold, G. Grenfell, C. Killer, W. Zholobenko, the ASDEX Upgrade Team, and the W7-X Team. Estimation of turbulent transport coefficients by the conditional variance method. Nuclear Fusion, volume 65, page 016054, December 2024.

8. N. H. Bian, R. D. Strauss, G. Li, and N. E. Engelbrecht. Heliospheric Diffusion of Stochastic Parker Spirals in Radially Evolving Solar Wind Turbulence. ApJ, volume 962, page 186, February 2024.

9. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. Lagrangian Perspectives on the Small-scale Structure of Alfvénic Turbulence and Stochastic Models for the Dispersion of Fluid Particles and Magnetic Field Lines in the Solar Wind. ApJS, volume 273, page 15, July 2024.

10. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. A Fokker-Planck Framework for Studying the Variability of the Magnetic Field Direction in the Alfvénic Streams of the Solar Wind. ApJL, volume 960, page L15, January 2024.

11. Gang Li and N. H. Bian. Lagrangian Stochastic Model for the Motions of Magnetic Footpoints on the Solar Wind Source Surface and the Path Lengths of Boundary-driven Interplanetary Magnetic Field Lines. ApJ, volume 945, page 150, March 2023.

12. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. Transport of Solar Energetic Particles along Stochastic Parker Spirals. ApJ, volume 924, page 120, January 2022.

13. N. H. Bian and Gang Li. On the Local Structure of Stochastic Parker Spirals in the Solar Wind. ApJ, volume 941, page 58, December 2022.

14. G. Li, X. Wu, F. Effenberger, L. Zhao, S. Lesage, N. Bian, and L. Wang. Constraints on the Electron Acceleration Process in Solar Flare: A Case Study. Geophys. Res. Lett., volume 48, page e95138, October 2021.

15. N. H. Bian and G. Li. Stochastic Parker Spirals in the Solar Wind. ApJ, volume 908, page 45, February 2021.

16. N. H. Bian and A. Gordon Emslie. Delay-time Distributions of Solar Energetic Particles. II. Effects of Magnetic Focusing. ApJ, volume 897, page 34, July 2020.

17. Stephen J. Bradshaw, A. Gordon Emslie, N. H. Bian, and Eduard P. Kontar. Coronal Loop Scaling Laws for Various Forms of Parallel Heat Conduction. ApJ, volume 880, page 80, August 2019.

18. N. H. Bian and A. Gordon Emslie. Delay-time Distributions of Solar Energetic Particles. ApJ, volume 880, page 11, July 2019.

19. N. H. Bian, A. G. Emslie, and E. P. Kontar. A Fokker-Planck Framework for Studying the Diffusion of Radio Burst Waves in the Solar Corona. ApJ, volume 873, page 33, March 2019.

20. E. P. Kontar, S. Yu, A. A. Kuznetsov, A. G. Emslie, B. Alcock, N. L. S. Jeffrey, V. N. Melnik, N. H. Bian, and P. Subramanian. Imaging spectroscopy of solar radio burst fine structures. Nature Communications, volume 8, page 1515, November 2017.

21. E. P. Kontar, J. E. Perez, L. K. Harra, A. A. Kuznetsov, A. G. Emslie, N. L. S. Jeffrey, N. H. Bian, and B. R. Dennis. Turbulent Kinetic Energy in the Energy Balance of a Solar Flare. Phys. Rev. Lett., volume 118, page 155101, April 2017.

22. Nicolas H. Bian, A. Gordon Emslie, and Eduard P. Kontar. The Role of Diffusion in the Transport of Energetic Electrons during Solar Flares. ApJ, volume 835, page 262, February 2017.

23. Nicolas H. Bian, Jonathan M. Watters, Eduard P. Kontar, and A. Gordon Emslie. Anomalous Cooling of Coronal Loops with Turbulent Suppression of Thermal Conduction. ApJ, volume 833, page 76, December 2016.

24. Nicolas H. Bian, Eduard P. Kontar, and A. Gordon Emslie. Suppression of Parallel Transport in Turbulent Magnetized Plasmas and Its Impact on the Non-thermal and Thermal Aspects of Solar Flares. ApJ, volume 824, page 78, June 2016.

25. Eduard P. Kontar, Natasha L. S. Jeffrey, A. Gordon Emslie, and N. H. Bian. Collisional Relaxation of Electrons in a Warm Plasma and Accelerated Nonthermal Electron Spectra in Solar Flares. ApJ, volume 809, page 35, August 2015.

26. Eduard P. Kontar, Nicolas H. Bian, A. Gordon Emslie, and Nicole Vilmer. Turbulent Pitch-angle Scattering and Diffusive Transport of Hard X-Ray-producing Electrons in Flaring Coronal Loops. ApJ, volume 780, page 176, January 2014.

27. Nicolas H. Bian, A. Gordon Emslie, Duncan J. Stackhouse, and Eduard P. Kontar. The Formation of Kappa-distribution Accelerated Electron Populations in Solar Flares. ApJ, volume 796, page 142, December 2014.

28. Nicolas H. Bian and Eduard P. Kontar. Stochastic Acceleration by Multi-Island Contraction during Turbulent Magnetic Reconnection. Phys. Rev. Lett., volume 110, page 151101, April 2013.

29. Nicolas Bian, A. Gordon Emslie, and Eduard P. Kontar. A Classification Scheme for Turbulent Acceleration Processes in Solar Flares. ApJ, volume 754, page 103, August 2012.

30. N. H. Bian, E. P. Kontar, and A. L. MacKinnon. Turbulent cross-field transport of non-thermal electrons in coronal loops: theory and observations. A&A, volume 535, page A18, November 2011.

31. N. H. Bian and P. K. Browning. Particle Acceleration in a Model of a Turbulent Reconnecting Plasma: A Fractional Diffusion Approach. ApJL, volume 687, page L111, November 2008.

32. Nicolas Bian and Grigory Vekstein. Energetics of forced magnetic reconnection in a visco-resistive plasma. Physics of Plasmas, volume 12, page 072902, July 2005.

33. S. Benkadda, P. Beyer, N. Bian, C. Figarella, O. Garcia, X. Garbet, P. Ghendrih, Y. Sarazin, and P. H. Diamond. Bursty transport in tokamak turbulence: Role of zonal flows and internal transport barriers. Nuclear Fusion, volume 41, pages 995-1001, August 2001.

Research Grants

• 2025/01 - 2028/01, Characteristics of MHD turbulence in the Solar Wind, Joint FDCT-FAPESP grant, Co-I: $MOP 1,200,000.

• 2024/01 - 2028/12, CLEAR: Center for All-Clear SEP Forecast, NASA SWx Center 735A1R, Co-I: $500,000.

• 2017/03 - 2019/03, NASA Grant-NNX17AI16G, Principal Investigator: Prof. G. Emslie, Co-I: $680,373.

• 2014/04 - 2017/07, STFC Consolidated Grant in Solar and Astrophysical Plasmas, Principal Investigator: Prof. L. Fletcher, £901,409.

• 2011/04 - 2015/02, STFC Rolling Program in Solar and Plasma Astrophysics, Principal Investigator: Prof. L. Fletcher, £1,210,698.

Student Advising Activity

• 2013-2017, Duncan Stackhouse (Ph.D. student), co-supervisor, publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

• 2011-2014, Heather Radcliffe (Ph.D. student), co-supervisor, publications in ApJ, A&A, and JGR.

• 2016-2017, Duncan Horne (Master student), publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

• 2015-2016, Jonathan Watters (Master student), publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

Invited Talks and Lectures (selected)

• 2026/10, Invited talk, AAPPS-DPP, Busan, Korea.

• 2025/04, Invited talk, AIAC, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

• 2018/07, Invited talk, COSPAR, Pasadena, USA.

• 2017/08, Invited lecture series (20 hours), UCAS, Beijing, China.

• 2016/08, Invited talk, COSPAR, Istanbul, Turkey.

• 2016/06, Invited talk, National Astronomy Meeting, Nottingham, UK.

• 2016/01, Public lecture, Irkutsk Library, Russia.

• 2016/01, Invited lecture, RadioSun Meeting, Lublin, Poland.

• 2013/04, Invited talk, EGU, Vienna, Austria.

• 2012/12, Invited talk, AGU, San Francisco, USA.

• 2009/09, Invited lecture, AUB, Beirut, Lebanon.