[GEM] THE GEM MESSENGER, Volume 27, Number 23

Wed Jun 7 05:46:43 PDT 2017

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     THE GEM MESSENGER
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Volume 27, Number 23
Jun.07,2017

Announcement submission website: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gem/messenger_form/

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Table of Contents

1. Upcoming Meeting Information and Applications for GEM Steering Committee

2. GEM Workshop 2017: "Magnetotail Dipolarization and Its Effects on the Inner Magnetosphere" Focus Group -- Call for Participation

3. GEM Workshop 2017: Joint sessions between 3 FGs: Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere, Tail Environment and Dynamics at Lunar Distances, and Magnetotail Dipolarization and Its Effects on the Inner Magnetosphere – Announcement and Call for Participation

4. Research Scientist position, Psyche Magnetometer investigation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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1. Upcoming Meeting Information and Applications for GEM Steering Committee
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From: Jacob Bortnik and Paul Cassak (jbortnik at atmos.ucla.edu)

The GEM summer workshop is less than two weeks away, and the community is aflutter with last-minute preparations.  If you have not done so yet, please check out the workshop webpage here:
http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/index.html
for information on the student day presentations, tutorial speakers, session and poster schedules. 

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or Paul Cassak (email addresses provided below), and questions regarding the sessions, venue or website can be directed to Bob Clauer, Zhonghua Xu, or Ashley Barker (http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/contacts.html).

This communication also serves as a last reminder to submit applications for an open position on the steering committee. For a list of the current steering committee and related information, please see the following link on GEM website:

http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/Organization_and_People

Duties for the position are given at the following link:

http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/GEM_Bylaws

The selection of these new positions will occur at the steering committee meeting on Sunday night before the meeting begins.  In preparation for this, the steering committee would like to solicit applications, which should consist of a brief statement of interest (about a paragraph), and a two-page CV.  Applications will be accepted until COB June 9th. 

To submit a nomination, please send an email to the current steering committee chair and chair-elect, Jacob Bortnik (jbortnik AT atmos.ucla.edu) and Paul Cassak (Paul.Cassak AT mail.wvu.edu).

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you in Portsmouth on June 18-23.

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2. GEM Workshop 2017: "Magnetotail Dipolarization and Its Effects on the Inner Magnetosphere" Focus Group -- Call for Participation
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From: Drew L. Turner, Christine Gabrielse, Matina Gkioulidou, David Malaspina, and Slava Merkin (drew.l.turner at aero.org)

This year, we are happy to introduce a new focus group (FG) to the GEM family: Magnetotail dipolarization and its effects on the inner magnetosphere.  This new FG will have three devoted sessions and two joint sessions at the 2017 summer workshop, and we would like to solicit community input and participation in these sessions.  The plan for the workshop is as follows:

On Monday (19 Jun) afternoon, we will be having a 3-way joint session with the Magnetic Reconnection and Tail Environment and Dynamics at Lunar Distances FGs.  In those two joint sessions, we will be focusing on the connections between magnetic reconnection, dipolarization events, and plasmoids in Earth’s magnetotail.  Please keep an eye on the GEM Messenger and the GEM wiki for the announcement with further details on those joint sessions.

The three sessions devoted solely to this new FG are all on Thursday (22 Jun) in the Holley Ballroom.  For the first session, we will be setting the scene by introducing the new FG and our proposed goals.  During that introduction, we encourage community input and feedback to help guide us as we take this FG onward over the next four years.  

In the second half of that session and continuing into the second session, we will bring up a panel of specialists on the topic of dipolarization in Earth’s magnetotail to kick-off a “controversy debate” on small-scale vs. large-scale dipolarization in the plasma sheet.  In particular, we will focus the discussion (and any debate) on the following questions:

1. How do you define dipolarization? Is there a difference between small- and large-scale dipolarization?
2. If there is a difference, how do the two types compare/contrast?
3. If there is a difference, do the two types impact the inner magnetosphere differently? (Or similarly?)  Specifically, on injections/particles?
4. How are current models doing at simulating dipolarizations (small and/or large scale)? Should they be modeled differently?  What physics are missing in the latest models?
5. What key observations are required to constrain / test current models?
This panel will lead the discussion, but the discussion itself is open to everyone in the room, and we strongly encourage all those participating in the session to bring figures and plots and your voice to contribute to the discussion.

For the third session, we solicit contributed science presentations from the community.  We want to stress the informal nature of these presentations: we do not want AGU-style talks, but talks that inspire audience interaction and prompt discussion and/or debate.  If you would like to contribute a short, informal presentation in this session, please send your talk title to Drew Turner (drew.l.turner at aero.org) and Christine Gabrielse (cgabrielse at ucla.edu) by 16 June.

Thank you, and we are looking forward to your participation in this new FG!

Drew, Christine, Matina, David, and Slava

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3. GEM Workshop 2017: Joint sessions between 3 FGs: Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere, Tail Environment and Dynamics at Lunar Distances, and Magnetotail Dipolarization and Its Effects on the Inner Magnetosphere – Announcement and Call for Participation
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From: Drew Turner, Yi-Hsin Liu, Chih-Ping Wang, Paul Cassak, Christine Gabrielse, Yu Lin, Matina Gkioulidou, David Malaspina, Slava Merkin, Andrei Runov, David Sibeck, Brian Walsh (drew.l.turner at aero.org)

This year, we are happy to announce two special joint sessions involving three GEM focus groups (FGs): Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere, Tail Environment and Dynamics at Lunar Distances, and Magnetotail Dipolarization and Its Effects on the Inner Magnetosphere.  

On Monday (19 Jun) afternoon, we will be having two 3-way joint sessions with the Magnetic Reconnection, Tail Environment and Dynamics at Lunar Distances, and new Dipolarization FGs.  In those joint sessions, we will be focusing on the connections between magnetic reconnection, dipolarization events, and plasmoids in Earth’s magnetotail.  The first session will kick off with a short (~20 min) introduction by Prof. Vassilis Angelopoulos covering a very brief review of the system and how each of these three FGs are related.  Then, we will take the remaining time in the sessions to move into an open discussion on the following questions/topics:

1) The role of various instability processes in the original onset and perpetuation of reconnection in the magnetotail (Session 1)
2) Comparing and contrasting the qualities of earthward vs. tailward jets of reconnection in the magnetotail (dipolarizing flux bundles / bubbles vs. plasmoids).  Comparing and contrasting the qualities of dipolarizing flux bundles/bubbles/plasmoids between near-Earth and mid-tail.  (Sessions 1 and 2)
3) The forces driving the spatiotemporal evolution of dipolarizing flux bundles / bubbles and plasmoids and how they both interact with the ambient plasma through which they are moving (e.g., can they themselves trigger additional reconnection???)  (Session 2)
4) Definitions and concepts and what various subsets of the community mean when they say things like dipolarization front; magnetotail dipolarization; extended X-line; X-line motion; plasmoid; etc.  Basically, are we all speaking the same language here?  (wrap-up activity at the end of the Session 2 if we have any time)

We want to stress that these sessions will be run in an informal nature; we will not be asking for any formal presentations from participants.  Instead, we solicit the community to contribute with informal slides, figures, and/or plots to stress key points on any of the above topics. We hope that this session will inspire audience interaction and open discussion and/or debate.  If you would like to contribute in these sessions, please just show up with any material you have and join us in going with the flow of the discussion!

Thank you, and we are looking forward to your participation in these special joint sessions!

Drew, Yi-Hsin, Chih-Ping, Paul, Christine, Yu, Matina, David, Slava, Andrei, David, and Brian

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4. Research Scientist position, Psyche Magnetometer investigation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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From: Ben Weiss (bpweiss at mit.edu)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invites applications for a Research Scientist position in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. The position is associated with NASA’s Psyche spacecraft mission, whose goal is to explore the asteroid (16) Psyche, the largest known metallic body in the solar system.  The candidate will play a central role in the Psyche Magnetometer investigation by defining science requirements and working with engineers to implement these requirements into the instrument and spacecraft design. The Psyche Magnetometer is a dual fluxgate gradiometer whose goal is to search for remanent magnetic fields around the asteroid. 

Requirements: Ph.D. in planetary science, space physics, paleomagnetism, or related field. Experience in at least several of the following areas: magnetism, potential fields, data acquisition and processing, electronics, magnetic materials and/or planetary magnetism.  The position will have a duration of at least 1 year with the possibility of reappointment for several additional years.

Application material should include a single PDF document that includes a cover letter, CV, and the names and contact information of three references by August 30, 2017.

To apply, please visit this link:
https://careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/client_mit/external/jobDetails.do?functionName=getJobDetail&jobPostId=10257&localeCode=en-us

Additional information about the position is available from:

Prof. Benjamin Weiss
Lead, Psyche Magnetometer Investigation
Professor of Planetary Sciences
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
bpweiss at mit.edu

Further information can be obtained by viewing the departmental webpage (http://eapsweb.mit.edu) and the mission webpages (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/psyche/ and https://sese.asu.edu/research/psyche)

MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

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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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