[GEM] THE GEM MESSENGER, Volume 25, Number 43

Tue Oct 13 23:16:53 PDT 2015

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     THE GEM MESSENGER
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Volume 25, Number 43
October 14, 2015

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Table of Contents

1. Call for Proposals for New GEM Focus Groups
2. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Fellow Position in Space Plasma Physics at West Virginia University

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1. Call for Proposals for New GEM Focus Groups
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From: The GEM Steering Committee 

The GEM Steering Committee (SC) is now accepting proposals for new Focus Groups (FGs). This call is open until December 4th. Please follow the proposal guidelines in the GEM by-laws: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/GEM_Bylaws 

The proposals should be 2 pages in length, organized under the following headings, and in the following order:

1) Topic (a description of the topic)
2) Timeliness (a statement on timeliness of the proposed FG)
3) Fit (how does the FG would relate to existing FGs... e.g., compliment?, duplicate?)
4) Goal& Deliverable (specific goal and target deliverable*)
5) Co-chairs (names of the proposed co-chairs)
6) Research Area (the Research Area with which it will be associated)
7) Term (5 years or less from summer 2014)
8) Expected activities (for example topics of sessions or challenges)

*Deliverables can be GGCM modules, empirical relations that lead to modules, solutions to specific science problems, challenges, data sets for validation and metrics, or paper collections.

The twelve active FGs including several that are ending this year, organized according to research area, are as follows...

GSM - Global System Modeling Research Area
 (Coordinators: Frank Tofoletto and Alex Glocer)
- Metrics and Validation FG (ends 2015)
- The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma FG (ends 2015)

- Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere FG (ends 2017)
- Geospace System Science FG (ends 2018)
- Tail Environment and dynamics at lunar distances (ends 2019)

MIC - Magnetosphere - Ionosphere Coupling Research Area 
(Coordinators: Marc Lessard and Shin Ohtani)
- Scientific Magnetic Mapping FG (ends 2015)
- The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma FG (ends 2015)
- Storm-time Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Convection FG (ends 2017)

SWMI -Solar Wind - Magnetosphere Interaction Research Area
 (Coordinators:  Katariina Nykyri and Steve Petrinec) 
- Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bowshock FG (ends 2016)
- Tail Environment and dynamics at lunar distances (ends 2019)

MPS - Magnetotail and Plasma Sheet Research Area
 (Coordinators: Andrei Runov and Matina Gkioulidou)
- Tail-Inner Magnetosphere Interactions FG (ends 2016)
- Testing Proposed links between mesoscale auroral and polar cap dynamics (ends 2019)
- Tail Environment and dynamics at lunar distances (ends 2019)

IMAG - Inner Magnetosphere Research Area
(Coordinators: Scott Elkington and Seth Claudepierre)
- Storm-time Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Convection FG (ends 2017)
- Quantitative Assessment of Radiation Belt Modeling (ends 2018)
- Inner Magnetosphere Cross-Energy/Population Interactions (ends 2018)

More details about the existing FGs are available on the GEM website: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/GEM_Focus_Groups

Please keep in mind that on one hand we want to have active FGs operating under the umbrella of each Research Area, but there is no upper limit to the number within a research area. The GEM SC will consider all proposals received before the submission deadline.

The FG proposals will be posted on the GEM Wiki website before the GEM Mini-Workshop. There will be a late-afternoon session at the Mini-Workshop at which the FG proposals will be presented and discussed in a forum open to the entire GEM community. The SC will then meet after the mini-workshop sessions to decide which proposals will be selected to become new GEM Focus Groups. If you are proposing a FG, then please plan to give a 5-minute presentation in this session.

Please send FG proposals to the GEM Steering Committee Chair Mike Wiltberger and Chair Elect Jacob Bortnik (wiltbemj at ucar.edu; jbortnik at gmail.com). Questions should be directed to the SC Chair or to the specific Research Area Coordinator for your topic. The list of RA coordinators is available at http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/Organization_and_People.

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2. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Fellow Position in Space Plasma Physics at West Virginia University
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From: Weichao Tu (wetu at mail.wvu.edu)

The West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVURC) seeks to hire a Postdoctoral Fellow –Space Plasma Physics in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at West Virginia University. This position supports the research in inner magnetospheric physics by Prof. Tu’s group, with a particular emphasis on studying and modeling the dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts. Incumbent will work on a research project that includes both data analysis and numerical modeling.

Requirements: (1) A PhD in physics, space physics, plasma physics, or a related discipline; (2) previous research experience in space plasma physics; (3) expertise in scientific programming, preferably in FORTRAN and/or C. Preference will be given to applicants who possess previous research experience in inner magnetospheric physics (for example, radiation belts, wave-particle interactions).

Competitive salary and benefits package offered. For a complete job description and to apply for this position, please visit http://hr.research.wvu.edu and click on the “View Jobs” link. 

Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references as part of the application process. For questions or additional information, contact Prof. Weichao Tu at wetu at mail.wvu.edu. Please refer to physics.wvu.edu for additional information about the research in our group and other plasma physics research in the department. Review of applications will begin October 26, 2015 and continue until the position is filled. Start date before spring 2016 is desirable.

WVURC is an AA/EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disability/E-verify compliant employer.

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The Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) program is sponsored by the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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