[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVI, Issue 61

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVI, Issue 61
Nov.07,2019

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Table of Contents

1. MEETING: Parker One – First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference, 23-27 March 2020, JHU/APL, Laurel, Maryland, USA 

2. Balloon-Relativistic-Accelerator Discussion Sunday December 8

3. Special Issue on ASO-S

4. 2020 NASA Heliophysics Summer School - Recruitment Announcement

5. JOB OPENING: NSF Supported Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Solar Physics and Astro-informatics at Georgia State University

6. JOB OPENING: Early Career Scientist – Solar and Heliospheric Physics at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

7. JOB OPENING: Research Scientist in Space Plasma Physics

8. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Position in Space Physics at Princeton University

9. Graduate Research Assistantship Opportunities at Clemson University

10. New RHESSI Science Nuggets

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


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MEETING: Parker One – First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference, 23-27 March 2020, JHU/APL, Laurel, Maryland, USA 

From: Nour E. Raouafi, Rob Decker, Aleida Higginson (rob.decker at jhuapl.edu)

NASA Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, which launched on August 12, 2018, has completed the first three of its 24 scheduled orbits about the Sun (perihelia on November 5, 2018, April 4, 2019, and September 1, 2019). All three orbits had roughly the same perihelion distance of 35.7 Rsun from the Sun center. In December, 2019, the spacecraft will fly by Venus for the second time since launch. This maneuver will reduce perihelion to 27.8 Rsun. The main science objectives of the PSP mission are to: (1) Trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind; (2) Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind; and (3) Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles.

Data from the first two orbits will be released to the public on November 12, 2019, and from the third orbit in January 2020. The data returned so far is a treasure trove that holds potential for breakthrough discoveries. PSP is crossing new boundaries of space exploration.

The first annual Parker Solar Probe conference will be held from March 23 to 27, 2020 in Laurel, Maryland at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. The meeting will highlight the first results from the first four Parker Solar Probe solar encounters. The conference will be open to the entire heliophysics community. Abstracts involving relevant theory, simulations, data analysis, and coordinated observations are encouraged. There will be space for both oral and poster presentations, as well as splinter sessions. Early registration will open November 12, 2019. Abstracts will be due January 15, 2020. 

Registration Costs
$375 early, $425 after January 31, 2020.

For further information, visit http://parkerseries.jhuapl.edu


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Balloon-Relativistic-Accelerator Discussion Sunday December 8

From: Joe Borovsky (jborovsky at spacescience.org)

We are hosting a meeting before AGU to discuss the possibility of a new active experiment with an atmospheric balloon carrying a relativistic-electron accelerator.

We will meet 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Sunday December 8 in the Gold Rush B room at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway. The Holiday Inn Golden Gateway is at 1500 Van Ness Avenue, at Pine Street.

The purpose of the discussions is (1) to determine what science can be done with this experiment, (2) to determine how to do it, and (3) to build a team.

An overview of the thinking right now is a potential balloon experiment carrying a relativistic-electron accelerator to ~35-km altitude where a 5-MeV electron beam has a range of 2.3 km. The electron beam will simulate the precipitation of relativistic electrons (and high-energy protons) into the atmosphere for atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric electricity studies. The payload will rapidly charge positively when the electron beam is fired: a long wire is deployed to increase the capacitance of the payload and to place the location of discharge away from the payload and into the field of view of optical diagnostics. A beam with an energy greater than 15 MeV can escape the atmosphere from 35-km altitude.

Science topics might include:
Relativistic-electron (and high-energy ion) air chemistry,
High-altitude discharge physics,
Atmospheric electricity (electron attachment rates, decay or transport of ionization),
Atmospheric chemistry (production of NOX, HOX),
Atmospheric spectroscopy.

Please give us a heads up if you can join these discussions. (Or if you can’t make it, but are interested, also let us know.) For those who cannot attend, we are also looking into teleconferencing options.

Thanks,

Joe Borovsky (Space Science Institute) jborovsky at spacescience.org
Gian Luca Delzanno (Los Alamos National Laboratory) delzanno at lanl.gov
Bob Marshall (University of Colorado) Robert.Marshall at colorado.edu
Ennio Sanchez (SRI International) ennio.sanchez at sri.com


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Special Issue on ASO-S

From: Weiqun Gan (lfeng at pmo.ac.cn)

ASO-S (Advanced Space-base Solar Observatory) is the first approved solar mission in China and will be launched in 2022. In order to let the community understand better and earlier the details of ASO-S, we published a special issue in the journal Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA, Volume 19, No.11, 2019, http://www.raa-journal.org/raa/index.php/raa/issue/view/210), which includes a total of 13 papers, covering almost every aspects of ASO-S. These papers, selected from the presentations in the first ASO-S international workshop held in Nanjing on January 15-18, 2019, describe well the general status of the mission up to the start of Phase-C. Any suggestions and comments are welcome.


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2020 NASA Heliophysics Summer School - Recruitment Announcement

From: Kendra Greb (kgreb at ucar.edu)

Explosive Space Weather Events and their Impacts
NASA’s Living with a Star Heliophysics Summer School
July 14 - 21, 2020
Boulder, CO
Application Deadline: February 21, 2020

We welcome you to apply for the 2020 Heliophysics Summer School to be held in beautiful Boulder, CO. We are seeking advanced graduate students, as well as post doctoral students, who have completed some research in the area of space physics or related fields. 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 2020 Summer School will focus on the foundations of Heliophysics with particular focus on transient energetic events such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and geomagnetic storms.  The lecture series will include a core set of lectures covering the fundamentals of heliophysics and lectures devoted to the physics underlying explosive events. Additional lectures will cover the impacts these events have on life and technology, how these effects might be mitigated, and how the events might be forecast.  The lectures will be supplemented with hands-on laboratory exercises that explore the fundamentals Sun-Earth system.  Both lectures and laboratories will draw on a set of 5 textbooks developed over previous years of the summer school.  The aim of the summer school is to provide students with the background and understanding they need to do research and make discoveries about the interconnected Heliophysics system in their professional careers.

For more information please visit: https://cpaess.ucar.edu/heliophysics/summer-school


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JOB OPENING: NSF Supported Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Solar Physics and Astro-informatics at Georgia State University

From: Petrus C Martens (martens at astro.gsu.edu)

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Georgia State University (GSU) is seeking to fill a tenure-track faculty position by Fall 2020 at the assistant professor level.
We are looking for a solar physicist with significant expertise in both the MHD of the solar corona and flares and in Big Data and Machine Learning, along with a desire to enhance GSU's solar physics and big data curriculum, with a focus on minority and female education and mentoring. The new hire will join our Astro-informatics Cluster, a close collaboration between the solar/stellar physics and remote sensing for space sciences groups in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Computer Science department at GSU. Our Cluster is currently focused on space weather forecasting and is looking to merge two techniques (numerical simulations (SIM) and Machine Learning (ML)) into a fully integrated approach for data-driven solar physics research and space weather prediction. With our new hire the Cluster will achieve the critical mass needed to succeed in this initiative.

This position is funded for the first five years through NSF's prestigious Faculty Development in the Space Sciences (FDSS) program. NSF support includes summer salary, travel, publications, and graduate student support. Upon the awarding of tenure in the fifth year GSU further supports the faculty line.

Georgia State University, an enterprising R-1 university is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, a vibrant international city in the Southeast. GSU enrolls and graduates one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and advances innovative research by building a diverse faculty. We encourage applications from women and members of underrepresented groups in the physical sciences.

Applicants should have the following basic qualifications: 1) Ph.D. in astronomy, physics, or closely related field, 2) postdoctoral research experience, 3) evidence of the ability to establish and maintain a successful research program, 4) evidence of the motivation and ability to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a diverse student body, 5) evidence of the ability and clear desire to work in a large, collaborative effort (i.e. the Cluster).

Applications should include 1) a CV, including a publication and grant list, 2) a statement of the candidate’s research interests and how the research fits into the above program, 3) a statement of teaching experience and philosophy, and 4) contact information for at least three references. All materials should be sent via email to martens at astro.edu. Questions regarding the position can be addressed to Dr. Piet Martens at the same email address. Applications received by December 15, 2019, will receive full consideration. An offer of employment will be conditional on background verification. Georgia State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants due to race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status, or on the basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.


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JOB OPENING: Early Career Scientist – Solar and Heliospheric Physics at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

From: Nour E. Raouafi (Nour.Raouafi at jhuapl.edu)

We are seeking an early career scientist in the Solar Section of the Space Physics Group. The Space Physics Group (SRP) in the Space Exploration Sector of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is conducting a search for an early career scientist in the Solar Section. The Solar Section research aims to understand the dynamics of the coronal and solar wind plasmas through novel instrument development, advanced modeling, and innovative data analysis methods. To this end, the Section conducts cutting-edge research in solar and heliospheric physics, with particular expertise in solar and coronal activity, solar wind phenomena, and space weather. The Section members possess considerable experience in advanced data analytics, modeling, instrument development, systems engineering, and project management. The Section scientists play science leadership roles in several operating and in-development space missions, including Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, STEREO, and Sunrise-III.

The successful candidate will be involved in research on plasma heating and acceleration using data from the NASA Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter (SO) missions, presenting and publishing the research findings at national and international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals, as well as participating and/or leading NASA and NSF grant proposals.
For further details please contact Nour E. Raouafi (Nour.Raouafi at jhuapl.edu) or Angelos Vourlidas (Angelos.Vourlidas at jhuapl.edu). Interested applicants can submit their applications online at the following link:
https://tas-jhuapl.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=22295&tz=GMT%2B09%3A00&tzname=Asia%2FTokyo

Job Summary: The research position focuses on data analysis to investigate plasma dynamics in the corona and the solar wind, potentially including heating, acceleration, and transport processes. The successful candidate will work primarily with data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter missions in partnership with Solar Section staff with expertise in plasma dynamics and data analysis. He/She is expected to publish original research in peer-reviewed journals and present at scientific conferences, as well as team with SRP staff to pursue external support for continued research relating to past, ongoing, and future missions.

Expected Duties: 1. Analyze and interpret data regarding the physics of the corona and inner heliosphere using data from orbiting spacecraft, present findings at scientific conferences and write scientific articles. Initially the focus will be on data from the PSP and Solar Orbiter missions. (80%) 2. Lead and/or assist with grant and project proposals to NASA and other funding agencies. (10%) 3. Participate with the development of space physics instrumentation and eventually take the lead on developments of his/her own. (10%)

Required Qualifications: • PhD in Physics (or a related field) with research background applicable to space or solar physics; or the demonstrated equivalent experience • The applicant must have published first author scientific papers in a peer-reviewed journal and contributed to other scientific articles, must have a demonstrated ability to give quality scientific presentations, and demonstrated the skills necessary to write quality papers and grant proposals.

Desired Qualifications: • The applicant should have in-depth knowledge of space plasma physics including particle heating, and energization in the solar atmosphere and the solar wind. • The applicant should have a working knowledge of data display and analysis packages comparable to IDL, Python, Matlab, Fortran, or equivalent. • Demonstrated understanding of the workings of space particle instruments, and ability to analyze their performances with computer algorithms and other tools.

Special Working Conditions: Travel to mission project meetings and to scientific meetings is required.

Benefits: APL offers a comprehensive benefits package including a liberal vacation plan, a matching retirement program, significant educational assistance, a scholarship tuition program for staff with dependents, and competitive salaries commensurate with skills and experience. For more information about our organization, please visit our web site at www.jhuapl.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that complies with Title IX of the Education Amendments Acts of 1972, as well as other applicable laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.


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JOB OPENING: Research Scientist in Space Plasma Physics

From: Paul Loto'aniu (paul.lotoaniu at noaa.gov)

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder has an immediate opening for a Research Scientist in Space Plasma Physics supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) work related to the magnetometers (MAGs) on the GOES-R mission satellites. GOES-R is NOAA’s next generation of spacecraft, which include a complement of space weather sensors to monitor the local space environment and the sun. The role of the Scientist is to support the NCEI MAG team in all aspects of NCEI's GOES-R MAG efforts including on-orbit instrument calibration and validation, development and implementation of MAG space weather products, determining the quality of Level 1 MAG data, investigating data anomalies, writing technical documents, attending/contributing to NASA/NOAA/vendor technical meetings, calibration activities, and instrument tests as needed and undertaking scientific research. The Scientist is also expected to undertake scientific research in the area of space plasma physics and publish in journals and attend conferences. The Physicist position is located within the Solar-Terrestrial Physics Branch of the NCEI at the NOAA David Skaggs Research Center, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado.

Important Note: 
U.S. Permanent Residency (Greencard holder) or U.S. Citizenship is required for this position. 

Apply at:
https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/CIRES-NOAA-NCEI-Research-Scientist-in-Space-Plasma-Physics-RA/22095

Contact for more information: 
Dr. Paul T.M. Loto’aniu (paul.lotoaniu at noaa.gov)


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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Position in Space Physics at Princeton University

From: Dan White (danieljw at princeton.edu)

The Space Physics Group in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, is expanding and anticipates offering one or more postdoctoral or more senior research positions in experimental/observational space physics.

The Space Physics Group carries out research in many aspects of space physics (aka heliophysics), and currently leads NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISIS) instrument suite, and the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission. The successful candidate(s) can play a major role in 1) the development of the experimental capability of the group and development of space flight instrumentation for IMAP, 2) the analysis and publication of SEP observations from ISIS, and 3) the analysis and publication of ENA observations from IBEX, and/or other funded space physics research. Preferred qualifications include having prior experience in the development of space flight instrumentation, analyzing these type(s) of particle data, the proven ability to lead/participate in the rapid development and publication of numerous excellent research articles.

For more information about this position, please visit https://www.princeton.edu/acad-positions/position/14383.


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Graduate Research Assistantship Opportunities at Clemson University

From: Stephen Kaeppler (skaeppl at clemson.edu)

The Atmospheric and Space Physics Group at Clemson University has several graduate research assistantships and invites qualified students to apply to the graduate program in Physics at Clemson University.  Currently, we are seeking students that have an interest in the following areas:

1. Satellite data analysis from the TIMED, GOLD and ICON missions
2. Numerical modeling and observation of the ionosphere and thermosphere, and atmospheric waves 
3. Incoherent scatter radar data analysis of the auroral ionosphere/thermosphere
4. Investigations from the recently funded INCAA and VortEx sounding rocket experiments.

Interested students can contact Prof. Stephen Kaeppler (skaeppl at clemson.edu) for more information or visit the Atmospheric and Space Physics group website: https://www.clemson.edu/science/departments/physics-astro/research/atmospheric.html.  The application deadline is 1 January 2020 and the application can be found at https://www.clemson.edu/graduate/admissions/apply/index.html

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New RHESSI Science Nuggets

From: Hugh Hudson (hugh.hudson at glasgow.ac.uk)

No. 360: “Searching SOLfully within the Nuggets”, by Hugh Hudson. Using the SOL nomenclature is a good thing.

No. 361: “Non-radial jets on the edges of active regions,” by Peter Wyper. The very common jet structures that we see can naturally combine twist and breakout.

No. 362: “Can magnetic reconnection cause solar rainstorms?” by Petra Kohutova.  Impulsive heating resulting from coronal reconnection can trigger rain.

No.363: “Flare waiting times depend on their magnitudes,” by Hugh Hudson. Surprising new evidence for the build-up and release process.

We welcome contributions to the RHESSI Nuggets, and the topics may wander some distance away from specifically RHESSI results if they are generally interesting. See http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/wiki/index.php/RHESSI_Science_Nuggets for these and others. Comments about specific flares can be found by searching for their SOLyyyy-mm-dd identifier from this home page.


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