Ruszkowski, Mateusz

Approved by the Regents
May 19, 2022
PROMOTION RECOMMENDATION
The University of Michigan
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Mateusz Ruszkowski, associate professor of astronomy, with tenure, College of Literature,

Science, and the Arts, is recommended for promotion to professor of astronomy, with tenure,
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Academic Degrees:
Ph.D. 2000 University of Cambridge
M.A. 1997 University of Warsaw
Professional Record:
2013–Present Associate Professor, Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan
2007–2013 Assistant Professor, Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan
2006–2007 Post-doctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching,
Germany
2003–2006 Chandra Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Colorado, Boulder
2001–2003 Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of Colorado, Boulder
Summary of Evaluation:
Teaching: Professor Ruszkowski is an effective teacher of both graduate and undergraduate
students. He has taught at all levels, from large undergraduate survey courses, to intensive
senior-level courses for majors, to graduate courses. Professor Ruszkowski’s evaluations are
generally positive and well within departmental averages. While his upper-level classes are
challenging, he clearly cares about student learning and offers plenty of student support.
Professor Ruszkowski has supervised four graduate students since 2013, one of the highest
numbers among the department faculty. Two have received their Ph.D. degrees and have gone
on to good postdoctoral fellowships.
Research: Professor Ruszkowski’s area of research is the numerical magneto-hydrodynamics

(MHD) simulations of plasma in astrophysical contexts. The central topics of his work are the
astrophysics of galaxy clusters, galaxies, and accretion onto black holes. His work addresses a
long-standing problem: why doesn’t the massive hot gas of galaxy clusters radiatively cool and
collapse to form stars at a high rate? The solution must involve energy injection from the central
supermassive black holes and/or stellar winds and supernovae, but exactly how this works is
uncertain. Professor Ruszkowski has shown how magnetic fields and especially cosmic rays are
important. He has also made important contributions to understanding cooling flows feeding
black hole accretion, gas stripping from galaxies, and other topics. Professor Ruszkowski is a
leading figure in this fertile area of the astrophysics of galaxy and galaxy cluster environments.
Recent and Significant Publications:

Gaspari, M., Ruszkowski, M., & Oh, S.P. (2013). Chaotic cold accretion on to black holes.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 432(4), 3401-3422.
Li, Y., Bryan, G.L., Ruszkowski, M., Voit, G.M., O’Shea, B.W., & Donahue, M. (2015).
Cooling, AGN feedback, and star formation in simulated cool-core galaxy clusters. The
Astrophysical Journal, 811(73). http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/811/2/73
Ruszkowski, M., Yang, H.-Y. K., & Zweibel, E. (2017). Global simulations of galactic winds
including cosmic-ray streaming. The Astrophysical Journal, 834(2).
http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/208
Wang, C., Ruszkowski, M., Pfrommer, C., Oh, S.P., & Yang, H.-Y.K. (2021). Non-Kolmogorov
turbulence in multiphase intracluster medium driven by cold gas precipitation and AGN
jets. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 504(1), 898-909.
Service: Professor Ruszkowski’s service to the university, college, and department has utilized
his expertise in numerical computation. He served on UMOR’s Research Support Analysis and
Data Service Needs Committee both as a general member and as chair of the subcommittee on
Engineering and Physical Sciences. Professor Ruszkowski continues to serve as the chair of the
department computer committee and has been proactive in surveying department needs and
communicating those to LSAIT. In terms of departmental service, he was the chair of graduate
admissions three times, served on the preliminary exam committee twice, and has organized two
fall preview weekends for prospective students. Professor Ruszkowski has also served on major
panel reviews for NASA and the NSF.
External Reviewers:
Reviewer (A): “[Professor Ruszkowski’s] work is well regarded. Certainly he is in the upper
tier of researchers in this subject area in his peer group, worldwide…[Professor Ruszkowski] has
a fine record of service to the astrophysics community.”
Reviewer (B): “Dr. Ruszkowski has steadily made important contributions to multiple topics of
wide astrophysical interest…He has often taken an unappreciated aspect of a problem that
superficially appears to be mundane and shown that, if treated properly, it actually can have
rather profound importance.”
Reviewer (C): “[Professor Ruszkowski] and his team address difficult and significant physical
problems focused on energetic feedback from accreting massive black holes in galaxies and
clusters and magnetized winds in disk galaxies driven by ram pressure and star formation…
Mateusz has a deep well of physical insight and energy.”
Reviewer (D): “In my opinion, Prof. Ruszkowski is an accomplished and versatile theoretical
astrophysicist who has made significant contributions in several fields…Prof. Ruszkowski really
cares, with a passion, about whether his models are right!”
Reviewer (E): “[Professor Ruszkowski] is an excellent theoretical and computational

astrophysicist who has made significant contributions to the application of hydrodynamics,
magneto-hydrodynamics, and radiative transfer to the study of a variety of astrophysical
systems... I believe that [Professor Ruszkowski’s] work here is the state of the art.”
Reviewer (F): “[Professor Ruszkowski] has emerged as one of the leading experts on numerical
simulations of feedback from accretion onto black holes at the center of galaxies, and the plasma
physics of the inter-galactic medium in general.”
Summary of Recommendation:
Professor Ruszkowski has carried out frontier research on the astrophysics of galaxy clusters,
galaxies, and black hole accretion using numerical magnetohydrodynamics simulations of
plasmas, with special emphasis on the role of cosmic rays. He has been an effective teacher of a
wide range of the department’s curriculum, and has successfully guided graduate students
through their Ph.D. research. His expertise in numerical computation has been put to good use in
advising the university on computational and data storage needs. The Executive Committee of
the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and I recommend that Associate Professor
Mateusz Ruszkowski be promoted to the rank of professor of astronomy, with tenure, College of
Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Anne Curzan, Dean

Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of
English Language and Literature, Linguistics,
and Education
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
May 2022

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Approved by the Regents

May 19, 2022

Mateusz Ruszkowski, associate professor of astronomy, with tenure, College of Literature,

Research: Professor Ruszkowski’s area of research is the numerical magneto-hydrodynamics

Recent and Significant Publications:

Reviewer (E): “[Professor Ruszkowski] is an excellent theoretical and computational

Anne Curzan, Dean

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