[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXIII, Issue 15

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXIII, Issue 15
Mar.28,2016

Editor: Peter Chi
Co-Editor: Guan Le
Distribution Support: Sharon Uy, Todd King, Kevin Addison
E-mail: editor at igpp.ucla.edu

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Table of Contents

1. Coming of Age Celebration: Reprise of 2001 Space Weather Monograph

2. Second Call for Community Input to LWS TR&T Science Topics

3. MEETING: Joint Session GEM/CEDAR Proposal Deadline April 1st

4. MEETING: AP-RASC 2016: Deadline of paper submission has been extended to April 5, 2016

5. MEETING: SPD 2016 Meeting Deadlines Reminder

6. MEETING: Exoplanet Biosignatures Workshop Without Walls: A NExSS and Astrobiology Program Joint Workshop

7. SESSION: 13th European Space Weather Week Session "Machine learning and statistical inference techniques"

8. JOB OPENING: USGS Mendenhall Opportunity: Earth electrical conductivity and magnetic-storm hazards

9. JOB OPENING: Associate Professor in Plasma- and Space Physics at the University of Oslo, Norway

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Coming of Age Celebration: Reprise of 2001 Space Weather Monograph

From: Delores Knipp (Dknipp at agu.org)

The regular and persistent use of the term 'Space Weather' began in the 1990’s just prior to the publication of the first National Space Weather Plan. The American Geophysical Union provided a framework for a Chapman Conference on Space Weather in 2000. From that meeting arose the AGU Monograph on Space Weather, published in 2001. Using that accomplishment as a benchmark, an argument can be made for a “15 year coming of age” Space Weather celebration in 2016.

How to celebrate?  AGU opened the 2001 Space Weather Monograph for general reading. Let the celebration begin. You can now navigate to http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9781118668351 and read all of articles from the first Chapman Conference about our discipline.  Of course one good turn deserves another.  It is time to update those articles and highlight how much progress has been made in 15 years.  With the help of the Space Weather journal editorial team I am organizing a new Special Collection for just that purpose.  In fact several articles are already on line. Two types of articles are publishing: 1) those with a direct comparison to an article from the Monograph and 2) those that describe important new advances or capabilities not envisioned in 2001.

Space Weather editors are now soliciting both types of manuscripts. Several are in draft. Please have a look at the newly opened 2001 Space Weather Monograph, think about new successes and needs, and send me your ideas for additions to the Special Collection. Contact me at  Dknipp at agu.org

Delores Knipp
Editor in Chief, Space Weather


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Second Call for Community Input to LWS TR&T Science Topics

From: Mark Linton (mark.linton at nrl.navy.mil)

The 2016 NASA Living with a Star Targeted Research and Technology (LWS TR&T) Steering Committee will soon begin developing the next round of LWS focused science topics and strategic capability topics, for ROSES 2017. It is vital for the success of the LWS TR&T program that there be active community engagement in the development of annual TR&T science topics. We are therefore asking the Heliophysics community to provide input by April 26, 2016 for these topics.

Suggested science topics should be organized around achieving the goals set out in the strategic science areas (SSA’s) articulated in the LWS Ten Year Vision (http://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/pdf/LWS_10YrVision_Oct2015_Final.pdf),

Physics-based Understanding to Enable Forecasting of:
• SSA-0, Solar Electromagnetic, Energetic Particle, and Plasma Outputs Driving the Solar System Environment and Inputs to Earth’s Atmosphere
• SSA-1, Geomagnetic Variability
• SSA-2, Satellite Drag
• SSA-3, Solar Energetic Particle
• SSA-4, Total Electron Content
• SSA-5, Ionospheric Scintillation
• SSA-6, Radiation Environment

The structure of a topic should indicate a target description, the targeted
SSAs, goals and measures of success, types of investigations, interactions
with user communities and expected deliverables.

Input may be entered through the LWS TR&T website:

http://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/steering-committee/community-input

We greatly look forward to your input and to continuing on the path of
innovation and scientific exploration in the LWS program.

LWS Steering Committee Members:
Eftyhia Zesta (Co-Chair), Mark Linton (Co-Chair), Yuri Shprits, Scott McIntosh, Nathan Schwadron, Jim Slavin, Chadi Salem, Alexa Halford, Pontus Brandt, Tim Bastian, Kent Tobiska

Liaisons:
Terry Onsager, Rodney Veireck, Ilia Roussev, Vyacheslav Lukin, Masha Kuznetsova, Mona Kessel, Dean Pesnell, Dave Sibeck, Adam Szabo, Chris St Cyr

Ex Officio:
Elsayed Talaat, Jeff Morrill, Shing Fung


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MEETING: Joint Session GEM/CEDAR Proposal Deadline April 1st

From: Michael Wiltberger (wiltbemj at ucar.edu)

The 2016 Joint GEM/CEDAR meeting will take place in Santa Fe, NM from June 19-24 2016.  We are currently soliciting proposals from the geospace community for joint sessions at the meeting.  Sessions related to related to the themes of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, future geospace observing systems, and storms without borders are encouraged, but any proposal on any topic that draws the communities together are welcome.  The deadline for these submissions if Friday April 1st.  Session proposals can be submitted at

http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/Special:CedarGEMWorkshops?status=propose

Additionally, the registration sites are now available.  While the meeting will have common registration fee and numerous joint sessions for logistical reasons we are asking members of the communities with a primary focus on the GEM side to use the GEM site to register for the meeting. 

The registration is live at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/registration.html now! 

And members with CEDAR as their primary focus are encouraged to use the CEDAR registration 
"http://www.cvent.com/events/2016-cedar-workshop/event-summary-a9c1f9d3db5e404bb3350dd04171394a.aspx". 

We are looking forward to a highly productive and informative meeting and hope to see you in Santa Fe this summer!


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MEETING: AP-RASC 2016: Deadline of paper submission has been extended to April 5, 2016

From: Wen Li (moonli at atmos.ucla.edu)

The deadline of paper submission for the “2016 URSI Asia-Pacific Radio Science Conference” (URSI AP-RASC 2016) has just been extended. The new deadline is April 5, 2016. Please visit the Conference website at
http://aprasc2016.org/
for the latest information.

If you are interested in URSI AP-RASC 2016 but have not yet submitted your paper(s), you still have time. Please go to the paper submission webpage
http://aprasc2016.org/Paper_Submission.php
and follow the instructions.

The 2016 URSI Asia-Pacific Radio Science Conference (URSI AP-RASC 2016) will be held from Aug 21 to 25, 2016 in Seoul, Korea. There are several special sessions of this conference will be of particular interest to the SPA community.

Commission H (Waves in Plasmas)

S-H1: Theory and Simulation of Waves in Plasma
• Session Conveners: Myoung-Jae Lee (Hanyang University, Korea) and Hae June Lee (Pusan National University, Korea)

S-H2: Generation and Characteristics of Waves in Space
• Session Conveners: Dae-Young Lee (Chungbuk National University, Korea) and Ensang Lee (Kyung Hee University, Korea)

S-H3: Radio Science for Space Weather
• Session Conveners: Mauro Messerotti (INAF-Trieste and University of Trieste, Italy) and Viviane Pierrard (Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Belgium)

S-HG1: Effects of Wave-Particle Interactions in Earth's Magnetosphere and Upper Atmosphere

• Session Conveners: Wen Li (University of California-Los Angeles, USA), Ondrej Santolik (The Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Rep.), and Iwona Stanislawska (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland)

S-GH1: ULF/VLF Waves
• Session Conveners: Dong-Hun Lee (Kyung Hee University, Korea) and Kazue Takahashi (Applied Physics Lab, Johns Hopkins University, USA)

S-GH2: Space Weather Impact and Mitigation Efforts
• Session Conveners: Jun-Chul Mun (Korea Space Weather Center, National Radio Research Agency, Korea), Mamoru Ishii (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan), and Iwona Stanislawska (Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland)

Important Deadlines:

- Paper submission: April 5
(http://aprasc2016.org/Paper_Submission.php)

- Young Scientist Award paper deadline: March 31
(http://aprasc2016.org/Young_Scientist_Award.php)

- Early registration: July 15
(http://aprasc2016.org/Registration.php)

The Young Scientist Award (YSA) and The Student Paper Competition (SPC) of the “2016 Asia-Pacific Radio Science Conference” (AP-RASC’16) is open for applications.


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MEETING: SPD 2016 Meeting Deadlines Reminder

From: Valentin Martinez Pillet (vmpillet at nso.edu)

The organizing committees would like to remind you that registration and abstract submission are open for the 47th Solar Physics Division Meeting in Boulder, Colorado (31 May through 03 June 2016).

Please visit www.nso.edu/SPD2016 to access the registration, abstract submission, and other meeting-related sites. Early registration (save $60) and abstract submission will close on April 6 (Firm!).  Members are allowed to submit up to 2 abstracts, with a limit of 1 oral presentation.  April 6 is also the application deadline for SPD child care support (http://spd.aas.org/spd_familycare.html).

Note also that, despite the late April/early May hotel special rate deadlines, spring is very high season for Boulder accommodations, so we urge you to book your hotel room as early as possible.


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MEETING: Exoplanet Biosignatures Workshop Without Walls: A NExSS and Astrobiology Program Joint Workshop

From: Shawn Domagal-Goldman (shawn.goldman at nasa.gov)

The NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) and Astrobiology Program are hosting an "Exoplanet Biosignatures Workshop Without Walls" to review, frame, and advance the science and technology of remotely detectable biosignatures for the search for life on planets around other stars.  Future exoplanet observations will soon focus on the search for life beyond the Solar System. Biosignatures to be sought are those with global, potentially detectable, impacts on a planet. Biosignatures occur in an environmental context in which geological, atmospheric, and stellar processes and interactions may work to enhance, suppress or mimic these biosignatures.

The workshop will bring together scientists from astronomy, planetary science, Earth sciences, heliophysics, biology, biogeochemistry, and instrument/mission development. We would love to have the participation of solar physicists to help understand the stellar context of any biosignatures we detect, and any associated contextual measurements that would need to be made.

When/Where:
* mid-April, 2016: Pre-workshop online activities to commence
* July 27-29, 2016:  In-person workshop (and online participation), Seattle, WA

Website:
http://nai.nasa.gov/calendar/workshop-without-walls-exoplanet-biosignatures/

RSVP Survey: http://nai.nasa.gov/calendar/workshop-without-walls-exoplanet-biosignatures/www-exoplanet-biosignatures-rsvp/


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SESSION: 13th European Space Weather Week Session "Machine learning and statistical inference techniques"

From: Enrico Camporeale, Simon Wing, Jay Johnson, and Jacob Bortnik (e.camporeale at cwi.nl)

We would like to invite contributions to session "Machine learning and statistical inference techniques" at the Thirteenth European Space Weather Week (ESWW) November, 2016, Belgium.  The session abstract can be found below.  The deadline for abstract submission is June 6, 2016.  More information about the meeting and venue can be found at ESWW website:  http://www.stce.be/esww13/program/sessions.php.  

SESSION - MACHINE LEARNING AND STATISTICAL INFERENCE TECHNIQUES

Enrico Camporeale (CWI, The Netherlands); Simon Wing (JHUAPL, USA); Jay Johnson (PPPL, USA); Jacob Bortnik (UCLA, USA)

The science of 'making predictions' has been historically based on statistical inference and, more recently, on machine learning techniques. Other areas that are concerned with predictions and are somehow overlapping in scope and methodology include system identification, data assimilation, information theory, signal processing, and uncertainty quantification. All of these disciplines have been studied and developed in context typically unrelated to Space Weather. However, the science behind Space Weather is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary, and the ease of accessing and processing large volumes of data makes these techniques very attractive for the Space Weather community. This session is devoted to contributions that use any of these approaches for Space Weather forecasting.


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JOB OPENING: USGS Mendenhall Opportunity: Earth electrical conductivity and magnetic-storm hazards

From: Jeffrey Love (jlove at usgs.gov)

The U.S. Geological Survey invites recent recipients of a Ph.D. degree to apply for a Mendenhall post-doctoral fellowship opportunity 16-21: Earth electrical conductivity and magnetic-storm hazards. Targeted research topics include:

Development of time series, statistical, and/or machine-learning methods and corresponding computer algorithms to troubleshoot, analyze, and model geomagnetic and geoelectric monitoring data in a real-time operational setting.

Development of time series and/or statistical models of historical magnetic observatory data, especially for mapping storm-time, ground-level magnetic disturbance.

Analysis of magnetotelluric survey data, such as those collected as part of the EarthScope Program, to construct models of solid-Earth electrical conductivity structure.

Collection and analysis of new magnetotelluric data, such as from the northeast United States, that have not been adequately studied for induction hazards.

The duty station is Golden, Colorado, located outside of Denver at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Mendenhall Fellows are appointed to the USGS for two years and receive full salary and benefits, including medical insurance, at the GS-12, step 1 level. In 2015 the base annual salary for such an appointment was $61,486 + a cost of living adjustment for the Denver metropolitan area.

Areas of Ph.D.: Geophysics, space physics, physics, engineering, applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, or operations research. Candidates holding a Ph.D. in other disciplines but with knowledge and skills relevant to the Research Opportunity may also be considered.

Note: Qualified U.S. Citizens will be given preference.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact one of the following research advisors:

Jeffrey J. Love, (303) 273-8540, jlove at usgs.gov; Paul A. Bedrosian, (303) 236-4834, pbedrosian at usgs.gov; Anna Kelbert, (303) 273-8448, akelbert at usgs.gov; E. Joshua Rigler, (303) 273-8607, erigler at usgs.gov; Carol. A. Finn, (303) 273-8475, cafinn at usgs.gov

All application material (including transcripts and written proposal) must be received by May 2, 2016.

Additional information concerning opportunity 16-21, Earth electrical conductivity and magnetic-storm hazards, can be obtained at http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/


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JOB OPENING: Associate Professor in Plasma- and Space Physics at the University of Oslo, Norway

From: Wojciech Miloch (w.j.miloch at fys.uio.no)

The position as Associate Professor in Plasma- and Space Physics is available at the Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Norway.

Application deadline: 29 March, 2016
Position type: permanent, full time.

The announced position is associated with the Section for Plasma- and Space physics and 4DSpace Strategic Research Initiative. 4DSpace is the interdisciplinary initiative at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo, involving Departments of Physics, Informatics, and Mathematics. 4DSpace works towards integrated multi-point, multi-scale studies of ionospheric turbulence with the new generation sounding rockets and satellites, and cutting edge numerical and analytical models. Activities within the research section and 4DSpace include in-situ measurements (such as the ICI-rocket series, QB50, NorSat-1, or European Space Agency projects), ground-based observations of the Polar ionosphere, and development of instruments, as well as miniaturized payloads and sub-payloads for rockets and satellites. The modeling of plasma instabilities and turbulence is carried out with fluid as well as particle-in-cell numerical codes.
For more information see: http://www.mn.uio.no/4dspace

Job description:
We are searching for a space plasma physicist, with a strong and broad experimental and data analysis background, that sees opportunities to take advantage of the 4DSpace collaboration.

Qualifications:
Required qualifications:
Ph.D. in physics, and after graduation at least two years of research experience in a relevant area with a solid publication record in the peer-reviewed literature. Documented experience within experimental space physics and data analysis in the context of the Earth magnetosphere-ionosphere system, including aurora and space weather problems. Good and broad experience in working with multi-instrumental data from plasma instruments on board spacecraft (satellites or sounding rockets), and ground-based instruments, such as radars and optical instruments. Ability to work with different scientific databases that can allow for cross-scale studies of the ionospheric and space plasma processes, ranging from macroscopic to microscopic (kinetic) scales, as well as potential of establishing new data products. Capability of external fund raising.

Desired qualifications:
Experience from interdisciplinary projects. Experience from international collaborative research and educational projects.

For more details and instructions on how to apply see the announcements at:
http://uio.easycruit.com/vacancy/1586385/64282?iso=no
http://www.mn.uio.no/4dspace


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