[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXV, Issue 22

Tue Apr 10 17:23:52 PDT 2018

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXV, Issue 22
Apr.10,2018

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Table of Contents

1. AMS Space Weather Awards and Fellows Nominations Due May 1, 2018

2. Hinode-12 Meeting – Selected as One of 2018 Thomas Metcalf Travel Awards Funded Meetings

3. Special Issue on Active Experiments in Space

4. Announcement for Magnetic Field Modeling Database

5. SPEDAS 3.00 Release Announcement

6. New Book: "Electric Currents in Geospace and Beyond" (Published by Wiley/AGU)

7. NASA Postdoctoral Program - Application Deadline July 1, 2018

8. JOB OPENING: Program Director Opportunity at NSF: Geospace Facilities 

9. JOB OPENING: Two PhD Positions in Space Physics at the Birkeland Centre for Space Science in Bergen, Norway

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Announcement Submission Website: http://goo.gl/forms/qjcm4dDr4g

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AMS Space Weather Awards and Fellows Nominations Due May 1, 2018

From: Barbara J. Thompson, Richard Behnke (barbara.j.thompson at nasa.gov)

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) Science and Technology Committee (STAC) on Space Weather would like to draw your attention to the AMS Fellows Program. Nomination to Fellow is open to current Members of the American Meteorological Society.  New Fellows are elected each year, consisting of not more than two-tenths of 1 percent of all AMS Members.   The Fellows criteria states that “Those eligible for election to Fellow shall have made outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.”  Space weather is included among these eligible disciplines.  The current list of AMS fellows is available at: https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/about-ams/ams-organization-and-administration/list-of-fellows/

This is an excellent opportunity to recognize the contributions of exceptional peers for continued innovation and support of the space weather community.  Nomination packages are due May 1, 2018.

The requirements for nomination packages are completion of on-line form (3 pages max.) and a nomination letter limited to one page, along with three one-page letters of support.  Of these three letters, at least one support letter is required from an individual outside the nominee’s home institution.  You need not contact the STAC in order to submit a nomination.  The nominator must be an AMS member, but this is not required of those writing supporting letters. 

Please see full awards criteria, helpful guidelines, and submission information at: 
https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/about-ams/ams-awards-honors/fellows/

There are also a number of AMS medals that may be of interest, they are also due May 1, 2018:  https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/about-ams/ams-awards-honors/awards/

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Hinode-12 Meeting – Selected as One of 2018 Thomas Metcalf Travel Awards Funded Meetings

From: Ada Ortiz (ada at astro.uio.no)

The Hinode-12 meeting will be held in Granada (Spain) from 10 – 13 September, 2018. We, as meeting organizers, are glad to inform that this meeting will receive funds from the Thomas Metcalf Travel Award Committee to support participation from newer members of the solar physics community. In that sense, the Hinode-12 meeting SOC will select two Metcalf recipients (granting up to $2000 per awardee) based on their potential for future contributions to the field of Solar Physics. Recipients will be expected to present results relevant to their thesis or current work.

More information about how to apply to the Metcalf Travel Awards can be found in the meeting’s website: spg.iaa.es/hinode12/metcalf-travel-awards.html The deadline for accepting applications from prospective early career scientists is May 4, 2018.

Your Hinode-12 organizers,
Luis Bellot Rubio and Ada Ortiz-Carbonell

Hinode-12 meeting website: http://spg.iaa.es/hinode12/

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Special Issue on Active Experiments in Space

From: Gian Luca Delzanno, Joe Borovsky, Evgeny Mishin (delzanno at lanl.gov)

Colleagues,

We wish to bring your attention to a special issue on active experiments in space that will be published in Frontiers in Physics (Space Physics session, all papers open access):
https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/7937/active-experiments-in-space-past-present-and-future

It solicits contributions across the whole spectrum of space active experiments in an attempt to provide an historical and technical perspective that could connect works on past, present and future active experiments. 

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
- June 1st 2018 for abstracts
- October 1st 2018 for full papers

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Announcement for Magnetic Field Modeling Database

From: Haje Korth, Misha Sitnov, and Grant Stephens (haje.korth at jhuapl.edu)

We announce the availability of a new database of magnetic field observations for modeling of the Earth’s magnetospheric magnetic field. The database includes observations from Cluster (2001-2015), Geotail (1994-2005), GOES 8 (1995-2003), GOES 9 (1995-1998), GOES 10 (1999-2005), GOES 12 (2003-2005), IMP 8 (1995-2000), Polar (1996-2006), Themis (2008-2015), and the Van Allen Probes (2012-2016). From this database, time-based coefficients for the Tsyganenko and Sitnov TS07D magnetospheric magnetic field model were derived for the period 1995-2016. These coefficients are intended for use with the IDL Geopack DLM v10.5 or higher. The database, TS07D coefficients, and archival copy of the IDL Geopack DLM and detailed description of these products can be retrieved from the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF) using the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) https://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/data/aaa_special-purpose-datasets/empirical-magnetic-field-modeling-database-with-TS07D-coefficients. The current version of the IDL Geopack DLM is available via the URL http://ampere.jhuapl.edu/code/idl_geopack.html. For any questions regarding these products, please contact Haje Korth (haje.korth_at_jhuapl.edu).

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SPEDAS 3.00 Release Announcement

From: Jim Lewis, Vassilis Angelopoulos (jwl at ssl.berkeley.edu)

The SPEDAS development team is pleased to announce the release of SPEDAS 3.00!

SPEDAS (Space Physics Environment Data Analysis Software) is a framework, written in IDL, to support loading, plotting, analysis, and integration of data from a number of space- and ground-based observatories, including THEMIS,  MMS, GOES, ERG, IUGONET, and most data sets archived at CDAWeb.

More detailed SPEDAS 3.00 release notes are available here:
http://spedas.org/blog/2018/04/05/spedas-3-00-now-available/

Download and installation instructions can be found here:
http://spedas.org/wiki/index.php?title=Downloads_and_Installation

Documentation is available on the SPEDAS wiki:
http://spedas.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

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New Book: "Electric Currents in Geospace and Beyond" (Published by Wiley/AGU)

From: Andreas Keiling <keiling at berkeley.edu>, Octav Marghitu <marghitu at gpsm.spacescience.ro>, Michael Wheatland <michael.wheatland at sydney.edu.au>

The book is an interdisciplinary collaboration among different space science communities to review electric currents occurring at key locations in our solar system: ionospheres and magnetospheres of Earth, the inner planets, and the outer planets; the Sun’s atmosphere; space environments of other heliospheric bodies, such as moons and comets; and the heliopause. 

Comprising 30 chapters, the book is organized by current systems in five sections: ring currents, current sheets, field-aligned currents, ionospheric currents, and “other” current systems. History and some measurement techniques are addressed in an additional section.

Because of this breadth, the book should be of interest to a large readership and is intended to be a reference for years to come.

More information, including a table of contents, can be found at the official Wiley website: 

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Electric+Currents+in+Geospace+and+Beyond-p-9781119325796

The book can be downloaded in electronic format (E-Book, PDF), as individual chapters (O-Book, PDF) or purchased as hardcover copy from the above website.

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NASA Postdoctoral Program - Application Deadline July 1, 2018

From: Taifa Simpson - Program Manager NPP (tsimpson at usra.edu)

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) supports NASA’s goal to expand scientific understanding of Earth and the universe in which we live.

This announcement reflects recent increases to the NPP annual base stipend and the annual travel allowance provided to fellows.

The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers US and international scientists the opportunity to advance their research while contributing to NASA's scientific goals.  The NPP supports fundamental science; explores the undiscovered; promotes intellectual growth; and encourages scientific connections. 
Engage in NASA research in Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics, astrophysics, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration and operations, space bioscience, and astrobiology.

Details
•	UPDATED! Annual stipends start at $60,000, with supplements for high cost-of-living areas and certain degree fields
•	UPDATED! Annual travel budget of $10,000
•	Relocation allowance
•	Financial supplement for health insurance purchased through the program
•	Appointments renewable for up to three years
•	Approximately 90 Fellowships awarded annually

Available Fields of Study
•	Aeronautics, Aeronautical or Other Engineering
•	Astrobiology
•	Astrophysics
•	Biological Sciences
•	Cosmochemistry
•	Earth Science
•	Heliophysics Science
•	Interdisciplinary/Other
•	Planetary Science
•	Technology Development

Available NASA Centers
•	Ames Research Center
•	Armstrong Flight Research Center
•	Glenn Research Center
•	Goddard Institute for Space Studies
•	Goddard Space Flight Center
•	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
•	Johnson Space Center
•	Kennedy Space Center
•	Langley Research Center
•	Marshall Space Flight Center
•	NASA Astrobiology Program
•	NASA HQ
•	Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute
•	Stennis Space Center
•	Wallops Flight Facility

NOTE: Not all centers participate in every application round... please refer to the website for current opportunity locations.

Eligibility
•	US citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents and foreign nationals eligible for a J-1 visa as a Research Scholar
•	Recent and Senior-Level PhD recipients

Application Deadlines
Three each year - March 1, July 1, and November 1
To learn more about specific opportunities and to apply, please visit https://npp.usra.edu/opportunities/

Questions: npphelp at usra.edu

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JOB OPENING: Program Director Opportunity at NSF: Geospace Facilities 

From: Michael Wiltberger (mwiltber at nsf.gov)

John Meriwether’s dedicated service as Program Director for the Geospace Facilities will be coming to an end in June.  We are therefore looking for a new person to take on the challenges and opportunities of this essential position within the Geospace Section.  We are looking for experienced geospace scientist with expertise in both scientific leadership and observing facilities.  The ideal candidate will have an interest in community service and be excited about the opportunity to with the broad array of facilities that conduct cutting edge geospace science.  In return, the position offers a unique chance to experience the inner workings of federal research programs and to influence the future development of Geospace science at NSF.

We are seeking to fill this position with a career civil service appointment.  For more details about the job position please the full job description at 

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/495962200 

Initial consideration for applications will begin on May 16, 2018.  Ideal start dates for applicants will be in July 1, 2018.  

 For questions or further information please feel free to contact Michael Wiltberger (mwiltber at nsf.gov) 

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JOB OPENING: Two PhD Positions in Space Physics at the Birkeland Centre for Space Science in Bergen, Norway

From: Michael Hesse (michael.hesse at uib.no)

There are two vacancies for a graduate student positions at the Department of Physics and Technology at the University of Bergen in Norway. The positions are in space physics with foci on magnetospheric dynamics and magnetic reconnection research. The positions are for a period of 4 years and are associated with the Birkeland Centre for Space Science (BCSS) (http://www.uib.no/birkeland/en).

JOB ENVIRONMENT: The PhD positions will be part of the Theory and Modeling Group within the Birkeland Centre for Space Science. The TMG group engages in basic space plasma physics research focussing on the kinetic physics of processes such as magnetic reconnection, and on large-scale aspects of magnetospheric dynamics. 

QUALIFICATIONS: The successful applicant will hold a Master degree or equivalent in physics or applied mathematics. Applicants must have good understanding of basic electromagnetic physics, and of the basic interactions of particles with electromagnetic fields. Education in space physics, and/or advanced mathematics, and/or plasma physics, and programming or numerical modeling experience are advantageous. Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner, and demonstrate good collaborative skills. Applicants must be proficient in both written and oral English.

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT: The duration of the PhD positions is 4 years, of which 25 per cent of the time each year comprises required duties associated with research, teaching and dissemination of results. The employment period may be reduced if you have previously been employed in a PhD position. The University of Bergen offers an inclusive workplace, as well as excellent benefits. 

THE APPLICATION: Details regarding position focus, application requirements and terms of employment can be found at: 
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/150717/phd-position-in-space-physics
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/150703/phd-position-in-space-physics
Only applications submitted electronically through this site can be considered. Applications must include all required documentation to be considered. The deadline for applications is May 6, 2018.

The state labour force shall reflect the diversity of Norwegian society to the greatest extent possible. Age and gender balance among employees is therefore a goal. People with immigrant backgrounds and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position. We encourage women to apply. If multiple applicants have approximately equivalent qualifications, the rules pertaining to moderate gender quotas shall apply.

For further information, or with questions, please contact Michael Hesse  (michael.hesse at uib.no).

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SPA Newsletter Editorial Team: Peter Chi (Editor), Guan Le (Co-Editor), Sharon Uy, Marjorie Sowmendran, Todd King, and Kevin Addison

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