[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXV, Issue 74

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXV, Issue 74
Dec.03,2018

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Table of Contents

1. AGU Fall 2018: AGU SPA and Planetary Sections Student-Scientist Mixer

2. AGU Fall 2018: Timely New AGU Town Hall TH45A - Data Science and a New Scientific Frontier in Space Science

3. AGU Fall 2018: NASA Scientific Ballooning Road Map Town Hall at AGU 

4. Plasma 2020 Decadal Assessment:  Call for White Papers

5. MEETING: Conference on Partially Ionised plasmas in Astrophysics (PIPA2019), Mallorca, Spain, June 3-7, 2019

6. NASA LWS 2019 Heliophysics Summer Summer School - Heliophysics Exploration

7. Alabama Plasma Internship Program (ALPIP)

8. Graduate Studies in Heliophysics at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Southwest Research Institute

9. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship - Application Deadline March 1, 2019

10. JOB OPENING: Experimental Space Physics Job Opening at Southwest Research Institute

11. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Scholar Position in Space Plasma Physics-research area at the Center for Space and Atmospheric Research at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida

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


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AGU Fall 2018: AGU SPA and Planetary Sections Student-Scientist Mixer

From: Nicholas Gross (gross at bu.edu)

The AGU SPA Education and Public Outreach Committee, in partnership with the Planetary Science Education Committee, will again host a student-scientist mixer just prior to AGU Fall Meeting on Sunday, December 9th from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.

This is an opportunity for students to speak with amazing scientists at different stages in their career, working in different disciplines, and in different work settings.

During the first hour, we will have the mixer proper, with drinks and appetizers. The second hour will transition over to a panel that will take career questions from the students.

Date: December 9th, 2018
Location: Grand Hyatt - 1000 H St NW, Washington - Independence A East Room.
Student Mixer: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Scientist Panel Discussions: 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Cost: FREE!. Light refreshments will be available. One drink ticket per person will be provided while supplies last. Cash bar will also be available (beer, wine, soda)

If you are able to this event, please let me know and I will send more details. 

Please join us for this fun event at the start of AGU! 

If you have questions, contact Nick Gross - SPA (gross at bu.edu), Michelle Nichols - SPA (mnichols at adlerplanetarium.org), or Sheri Klug Boonstra - Planetary (sklug at asu.edu)


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AGU Fall 2018: Timely New AGU Town Hall TH45A - Data Science and a New Scientific Frontier in Space Science

From: Ryan McGranaghan (ryan.mcgranaghan at jpl.nasa.gov)

Dear colleagues

Frontiers in data collection, analysis, and discovery are transforming the way we think about and create new discovery across the sciences and engineering. Discussions across academia, government, and industry to take advantage of opportunities at these frontiers are ongoing and constantly evolving. 

A new AGU Town Hall session (TH45A: Data Science and a New Scientific Frontier in Space Science - https://bit.ly/2Dgfhbe) will converge these conversations to address the growing need to leverage new data science approaches, innovations, and technologies across AGU science and engineering.

Please join us for this exciting Town Hall session. We will hear about efforts and ideas for making better use of scientific information from thought-leaders from academia, industry, and government and will highlight the convergence (https://bit.ly/2GrdWBe) between disciplines through methodology and technology transfer. 

Your contribution is essential, so please mark your calendars on   **Thursday evening December 13 from 6:15-7:15 PM EST**   to help shape this developing and important conversation. More details may be found in the announcement below. 

Looking forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C.!

Abstract:
In light of drastic data growth and the advent of data-intensive computing capabilities and sophisticated data science technologies, profound new opportunities now exist to transform research across all fields of science and engineering. These new opportunities are accompanied by important challenges, which are being discussed and navigated across scientific communities and coordinating groups. The goal of this town hall is to bring together these communities and groups from the field of space science to discuss cohesive approaches to the development of appropriate data infrastructures and to the creation of data-capable workforces. Though the emphasis will be on the discipline of space science, the discussion will be decidedly broad, addressing the connections between disciplines through methodology transfer. 

This town hall will provide a brief introduction to current efforts to transform the field of space science through data-driven discovery, including the National Science Foundation’s “Harnessing the Data Revolution”, the National Academy of Sciences Space Studies Board’s “Best Practices for a Future Open Code Policy for NASA Space Science”, and the NASA "Frontier Development Laboratory". The session will feature updates from each agency and provide a discussion period for the community to engage with agency representatives.


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AGU Fall 2018: NASA Scientific Ballooning Road Map Town Hall at AGU 

From: Robyn Millan (Robyn.Millan at dartmouth.edu)

Town Hall Title: NASA Scientific Ballooning Road Map Town Hall 
Date and Time: Thursday, 13 December 2018: 12:30 - 13:30 
Location: Marriott Marquis, Room:Liberty L 

The scientific ballooning community is invited to participate in a town hall meeting which will help to inform the roadmap for the multi-disciplinary scientific goals of the NASA Balloon Program through the next decade. Investigators in all existing and potentially new fields in which stratospheric balloons provide opportunities for scientific and technological advancement are encouraged to attend and provide input. The session will present the current status and near-future outlook for both zero-pressure conventional and long-duration balloon flights, as well as the state and progress toward a robust program of ultra-long-duration mid-latitude flights using developing super-pressure balloons. Time for discussion will be provided, along with a few lightning talks about upcoming and future mission concepts.  


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Plasma 2020 Decadal Assessment:  Call for White Papers

From: Gary P Zank, Mark Kushner (garyp.zank at gmail.com)

Dear Colleague,

The US National Academies has recently started the Decadal Assessment of Plasma Science (http://nas.edu/plasma) - Plasma 2020.  As with the previous decadal assessment, Plasma 2010 (http://sites.nationalacademies.org/bpa/BPA_048210), the Plasma 2020 report will provide an overview of accomplishments in all fields of plasma science and technology during the previous decade, and provide guidance on the most critical science challenges leading to societal benefit to be addressed in the coming decade.  As with Plasma 2010, we expect the Plasma 2020 report to be highly influential in establishing priorities for plasma focused agencies, both in the US and internationally.   The Plasma 2020 committee invites the US and international plasma science and technology communities to submit white papers addressing past accomplishments, future science challenges, opportunities to provide societal benefit, needed interdisciplinary collaborations and means to enhance careers in the fields of plasma science and technology.  The white papers will be a major source of input to the committee.  Instructions for submitting white papers are at the bottom of http://nas.edu/plasma. Please submit white papers by February 15, 2019.  Questions can addressed to the study Director, Christopher Jones (cjjones at nas.edu) or the co-chairs of the study.

Gary Zank, Co-chair Plasma 2020 (garyp.zank at gmail.com)
Mark J. Kushner, Co-chair Plasma 2030 (mjkush at umich.edu)


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MEETING: Conference on Partially Ionised plasmas in Astrophysics (PIPA2019), Mallorca, Spain, June 3-7, 2019

From: Istvan Ballai (i.ballai at sheffield.ac.uk)

1st Announcement:

Dear colleagues,

It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the Partially Ionised Plasmas in Astrophysics (PIPA2019) conference, to be held in Mallorca in June 3-7, 2019. The meeting will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas between participants from all areas of Astrophysics in which partially ionised plasmas play a capital role.

Information about the venue, accommodation, important dates, contact, etc. is available at:

http://solar1.uib.es/pipa2019/

The Organisers of the PIPA2019 meeting are looking forward to welcome you to Mallorca,

Ramón Oliver, Elena Khomenko, Istvan Ballai


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NASA LWS 2019 Heliophysics Summer Summer School - Heliophysics Exploration

From: Kendra Greb (kgreb at ucar.edu)

July 23 - 30, 2019 - Boulder, CO
Application Deadline: February 22, 2019

“Heliophysics Exploration”

Applications are invited for the 2019 Heliophysics Summer School, which will be held July 23 - 30, 2019 in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. We are seeking approximately 35 graduate students or first or second year postdoctoral fellows to join us this coming summer for a unique professional experience. You will learn about the exciting science of heliophysics as a broad, coherent discipline that reaches in space from the Earth’s troposphere to the depths of the Sun, and in time from the formation of the solar system to the distant future.

The 2019 Summer School will focus on the Heliophysics System Observatory (HSO) which is comprised of numerous spacecraft studying each element of the heliophysics system separately, as well as their interaction.  Several exciting new spacecraft have been added to the HSO over the past several years, including  Magnetospheric Multi-scale (MMS) and Parker Solar Probe (PSP).  More are due to be added very soon, including ICON.  Measurements and discoveries from these latest additions will fuel and focus our scientific research over the coming years.  The 2019 Heliophysics Summer School will focus on the fundamental scientific principles underlying the areas these new measurements will probe.  The aim is to provide students with the background and understanding they need to do research and make discoveries in the heliophysics system in the coming years.

For additional information on the Summer School and instructions on how to apply:

https://cpaess.ucar.edu/heliophysics/summer-school/recruitment-announcement


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Alabama Plasma Internship Program (ALPIP)

From: Gary P Zank (garyp.zank at gmail.com)

Now accepting applications for

Alabama Plasma Internship Program (ALPIP)

The NSF EPSCoR CPU2AL program sponsors a 10-week Alabama Plasma Internship Program (ALPIP) for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics across the southeastern U.S.  The program provides students with nine-week quality research experiences at Alabama Institutions and one week of lectures, laboratory experiments, and short classes in plasma science given by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in New Jersey. Research projects seek to understand, predict, and control plasma processes and interactions and to use low-temperature plasmas to develop new technologies for aerospace, manufacturing, medicine, agriculture, and food safety.

Students receive a 10-week stipend of $5,500, paid housing and travel during the internship, and a $2000 travel allowance to present the internship results at a conference after the internship.

Areas of research: Physics, Space Science, Agriculture, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Chemistry, Microbiology, and more.

Application deadline: January 18, 2019, 11:59AM CST

How to Apply: Applications and supporting materials must be submitted at
https://www.uah.edu/cpu2al/career-opportunities/alpip

Program Information: Detailed information about the internships can be found at
https://www.uah.edu/cpu2al/career-opportunities/alpip

For questions please email us at nsfepscor at uah.edu.


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Graduate Studies in Heliophysics at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Southwest Research Institute

From: Mihir I Desai (mdesai at swri.edu)

The Joint UTSA/SwRI Graduate Physics Program in San Antonio, TX invites applications for several Graduate Research Assistants wishing to pursue a PhD. in the areas of Space and Planetary Science. UTSA is the second largest component university of The University of Texas System, with an enrollment of more than 30,000 students (http://www.utsa.edu/physics/). SwRI's Space Science and Engineering Division is a leader in space physics and planetary science research with major involvement in numerous NASA missions (http://www.swri.edu). UTSA/SwRI graduate students engage in data analysis and instrument design & calibration in many of the most exciting ongoing NASA missions (Juno, MMS, LRO, Van Allen Probes, New Horizons, TWINS, IBEX, Paper Solar Probe) and future missions (e.g., Europa Clipper, JuICE, Bepi Columbo, Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe or IMAP). Application deadline is 1 February 2019 for entry in Fall 2019 (http://grad.space.swri.edu). For further information about the program, please contact Prof. Mihir Desai at mdesai at swri.edu or +1 210 522 6754. Application procedures and additional information can be found at http://graduateschool.utsa.edu/admissions/graduate-application/ and  http://grad.space.swri.edu/application/how_to_apply.html.


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NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship - Application Deadline March 1, 2019

From: Taifa Simpson (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.

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
• Annual stipends start at $60,000, with supplements for high cost-of-living areas and certain degree fields
• 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: Experimental Space Physics Job Opening at Southwest Research Institute

From: Frederic Allegrini (fallegrini at swri.edu)

The Department of Space Research at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas is seeking applications for a research scientist / senior research scientist position to carry out original research in experimental space physics and supporting laboratory experiments. 
The successful candidate is expected to lead and support the development and calibration of energetic neutral atom and plasma instruments to be flown on upcoming heliophysics or planetary missions such as the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe or IMAP. The candidate is also expected to publish results in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and present results at scientific meetings, workshops, and conferences. The research will also involve interactions with Institute Staff engaged in a broad range of experimental, observational, and computational research. 

This position requires a PhD degree in Space Physics, Plasma Physics, or Applied Physics with at least 2 years of experience in experimental physics related to Space Science. 
The candidate must have a GPA of at least 3.0. Experience must be post-doctoral and have demonstrated the ability to program and utilize software tools such as Simion, LabView, TRIM, Geant4, IDL, C, Python, or MATLAB.

15-01317  Research/Sr. Research Scientist https://resapp.swri.org/ResApp/Job_Search_Results.aspx?DETAIL=15-01317 


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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Scholar Position in Space Plasma Physics-research area at the Center for Space and Atmospheric Research at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida

From: Katariina Nykyri (nykyrik at erau.edu)

The Space Plasma Physics Research Group in the Center for Space and Atmospheric Research (CSAR) in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida is seeking a postdoctoral scholar with initial appointment of two years with a possibility of career development to a Research Professor ladder. Applicant is expected to have a strong background in spacecraft data-analysis and numerical simulations and a good publication record. Work will involve spacecraft data-analysis using data mainly from NASA’s Magnetosphere-Multi-Scale (MMS) mission and THEMIS, as well as numerical simulations. The research topic involves studying the particle acceleration mechanisms at the Earth’s magnetospheric boundary layers. For further information, please contact position mentor and supervisor, Professor Katariina Nykyri (nykyrik at erau.edu).

Interested applicants, please submit application online at http://careers.erau.edu, requisition #180557. 

https://embryriddle.taleo.net/careersection/002/jobdetail.ftl?job=180557&tz=GMT-05%3A00. 

Position is open until filled with the earliest possible start date of January 14th, 2019.  Application package should include a Cover letter, CV with a list of publications, as well as name and contact information of 3 references.

Required Qualifications:

Ph.D. in Physics, Space Physics, or related field
Familiarity with IDL, Matlab, Fortran and/or C++ 

Embry-Riddle is the world’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious university specializing in aviation and aerospace. It is recognized as a premier educational institution and a global leader in teaching the science, practice and business of aviation, aerospace and engineering. Embry-Riddle is committed to being a global leader in diversity and inclusion in higher education. We continually strive to recognize, respect and celebrate the differences and cultural identities among individuals as we recruit, support, and embrace our diverse community. We work to provide a safe environment where self-expression is welcome. We strive to create a campus climate free of discrimination so that networks, partnerships and cultural competency continue to be fostered through leadership, integrity, care and respect. 

The Center for Space and Atmospheric Research (CSAR) studies the fundamental physics of Planetary Atmospheres and Space Environments. These systems include the complex and highly-coupled Atmosphere, Ionosphere, and Magnetosphere (AIM) systems of Earth and other planets. The members of CSAR will bring scientific competencies spanning the realms of theory, modeling, observation, and experiment, as they apply to each region of the AIM system.  For further information on CSAR laboratories and facilities please see http://csar.erau.edu/. CSAR faculty collaborate across ERAU’s College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Engineering, and also utilize facilities in ERAU’s Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex (Micaplex) at Embry-Riddle Research Park, which provide state-of-the-art facilities for  platform and instrument development, as well as incubator space and facilities for startup companies (https://erau.edu/micaplex/). Recently, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has installed a Cray® CS™ cluster supercomputer – Vega — into the Lehman Engineering and Technology Center on the Daytona Beach, Florida campus. Vega is currently being used by CSAR faculty for numerical simulations of processes in the Heliosphere and Earth's AIM systems. CSAR's SAIL lab also house a plasma chamber used for characterization of plasma diagnostic instruments that are flown on rockets and satellites. 

Embry-Riddle is committed to providing equal employment opportunity and affirmative action for qualified individuals. The university does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.


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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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