The University of Hawaii at Manoa has announced Gunther Hasinger has been appointed director of the Institute for Astronomy, effective Jan. 2.

Hasinger is the scientific director at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany.

He’s succeeding Rolf-Peter Kudritzki, who will leave his post at the end of the year. Kudritzki will use a 2010 Humboldt Research Award during a 2011 sabbatical in Germany to investigate the physics of galaxies.

UH officials said Hasinger is an expert in astrophysical studies whose work has been instrumental in the operation of X-ray satellites and the development of observatories.