Rate My Professor Alina Donea

Alina Donea is a Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics and Applied Mathematics in the School of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, at Monash University, where she has served since 2008, following roles as Lecturer (2005-2007), ARC Researcher (2004), and ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide (2001-2003). Earlier in her career, she held positions at the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy, including Permanent Researcher (1999-2000) and Research Assistant (1997-1999). She earned a BSc and Diploma in Physics from the University of Bucharest in 1992, specializing in nuclear physics and elementary particles, a PhD in Mathematics through a co-tutelle between the Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in 1999, and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Monash University in 2006. Donea teaches Mathematical Modelling, Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Astrophysics, and Visualisation in Mathematics, and supervises PhD students in Solar Physics.

Her research focuses on solar physics, encompassing helioseismology, wave mechanics, acoustics of solar spots, magnetic fields, solar quakes, and solar flares. An expert in helioseismic holography—a mathematical method for detecting solar quakes in satellite imagery—she coordinates a Machine Learning Data Application Group in Solar Physics and explores modeling magnetic polarity distributions from helioseismic signatures alongside deep learning applications for solar imaging and space weather forecasting. Donea has authored over 60 refereed publications, with more than 1,600 citations and an h-index of 15, including key works such as 'Seismic Transients from Flares in Solar Cycle 23' (2011), 'Submerged Sources of Transient Acoustic Emission from Solar Flares' (2020), and 'Thermal and Non-thermal Properties of Active Region Recurrent Coronal Jets' (2022). She has secured major funding, including the American Astronomical Society Chretien International Research Grant ($16,000, 2003-2004), multiple Monash research grants totaling over $100,000, NASA collaboration as Partner-Investigator, and visiting fellowships at institutions like the High Altitude Observatory. Donea serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, reviews for NASA programs, and holds memberships in the International Astronomical Union, Astronomical Society of Australia, and Australian Institute of Physics.