[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVI, Issue 55

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVI, Issue 55
Oct.04,2019

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Table of Contents

1. NASA LPAG Call for Community Input to New Strategic Science Area: Solar Impacts on Climate

2. SCOSTEP PRESTO Interval to be 2020-2024

3. Save the Date for Access2Space

4. Topical Issue on Space Climate: The Past and Future of Solar Activity

5. JOB OPENING: Assistant or Associate Professor – Experimental/Instrumentational Space Plasma Physics at West Virginia University

6. JOB OPENING: Faculty Positions in Physics, including Solar/Space Physics, at University of Newcastle, Australia

7. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Position at University of New Hampshire

8. RHESSI Science Nuggets in September 2019

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


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NASA LPAG Call for Community Input to New Strategic Science Area: Solar Impacts on Climate

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

Dear Heliophysics Community,

The NASA Living with a Star Program Analysis Group (LPAG) serves as a community-based interdisciplinary forum for soliciting and coordinating community analysis and input for Living with a Star objectives and of their implications for architecture planning and activity prioritization and for future exploration. This year, the LPAG Executive Committee is focusing on a re-examination of the Strategic Science Areas (SSAs), developed in 2014 as long-term targeted areas of system science to guide LWS activities (see https://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/pdf/LWS_10YrVision_Oct2015_Final.pdf). The Executive Committee met in April to reexamine these SSAs, keeping in mind the overall Living with a Star goals, the ways in which these SSAs are now used by the community to develop new Focused Science Topics, and the ways in which the LWS program can complement the Space Weather Action Plan and NASA’s new Space Weather Science and Applications (SWxSA) program.

Based on these discussions, the LPAG Executive Committee expanded, refocused, and reordered the SSAs into nine draft SSAs. These draft SSAs were released to the community for feedback this past summer. The draft SSAs and the community feedback are available for viewing at https://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/lpag. The Executive Committee then met in July of 2019 to incorporate this feedback into the draft SSAs.

In response to community feedback, the Executive Committee undertook the project of incorporating what was formerly known as the LWS Sun-Climate theme into a new draft SSA, “SSA IX: Solar Impacts on Climate”. The Executive Committee is now soliciting community input on this new draft SSA. The draft will be posted on our website in the next few days, and will be available for community comment through November 15, 2019 at
https://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/lpag.

After this comment period closes, the committee will review the community feedback on this SSA, will incorporate this feedback into the SSA, and will include this SSA with the other nine draft SSAs in our annual report to NASA Headquarters.

Note: with “Solar Impacts on Climate” now being assigned SSA number IX, the draft SSA released this summer as “Stellar Impacts on Planetary Habitability” will now be assigned SSA number X.

We look forward to your feedback on this draft SSA.

Sincerely,
Mark Linton & Anthea Coster (co-chairs)
On behalf of the Living with a Star Program Analysis Group Executive Committee


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SCOSTEP PRESTO Interval to be 2020-2024

From: Kazuo Shiokawa (shiokawa at nagoya-u.jp)

We would like to note that the interval of SCOSTEP's next 5-year program PRESTO (Predictability of variable solar-terrestrial coupling) is defined to be 2020-2024 at the SCOSTEP Bureau meeting on September 11, 2019.

The mission of PRESTO is to identify “predictability” of the variable solar-terrestrial coupling and its performance metrics through modeling, measurements, and data analysis, and to strengthen the communication between scientists and users. Details of PRESTO is available at 
http://www.issibj.ac.cn/Publications/Forum_Reports/201404/W020190620592906717714.pdf.

We are looking forward to collaborate with any proposals and missions which are related to PRESTO.  If you need some letter for collaboration from SCOSTEP, please let us know.  

With best regards, 
Kazuo Shiokawa, SCOSTEP President 
Daniel Marsh, SCOSTEP Vice President 
Nat Gopalswamy, SCOSTEP Past President 
Patricia Doherty, SCOSTEP Scientific Secretary


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Save the Date for Access2Space

From: George Ho (george.ho at jhuapl.edu)

Access2Space

This Workshop is sponsored by the NASA Science Mission Directorate to gauge and solicit community inputs on the best way to create, fully populate, and manage a pipeline of secondary payloads to support the NASA SMD  policy of adding a secondary payload carrier for all SMD missions with excess-mass lift capacity.

The goals of this Workshop are to provide the following info to decision makers:

• Identify shortfalls in current methodologies
• Understanding of new strategies to maximize available secondary payloads to populate the Rideshare pipeline
• Definition of instrument/sensor use cases that maximize use of excess-mass lift capacity
• Quantifying the potential increase of the science return on investment
• Understanding of technology areas requiring new investment to use the excess-mass lift capacity.

The Workshop will be two and a half days and all sessions will be held at the Kossiakoff Center at the JHUAPL Laurel, Maryland campus. We will lead off the workshop with keynote speakers then with the afternoon devoted to information from Commercial launch, spacecraft, SmallSat and lander providers. The second day will include splinter and working group sessions organized according to science disciplines and/or regions of operation. In each splinter session, the group will receive community presentations of possible applications and discuss the relevant topics listed above. On the final day, the results of these activities will be discussed and summarized in order to provide recommendations for NASA SMD (in the form of conference proceedings).

Logistics information can be found on the above website. This is an excellent opportunity to provide NASA decision makers with valuable feedback in order to take full advantage of the novel opportunities provided by exciting new access to space capabilities. Community members may submit abstracts for very short presentations related to possible applications and commercial providers may submit poster abstracts to inform the community of opportunities. We encourage wide community participation and look forward to an exciting and productive workshop.

When: February 25-27, 2020

Where:
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Laurel, Maryland, 20723, USA

Contact: George Ho, JHUAPL Email (mailto:Access2Space at jhuapl.edu)
Event Website (https://civspace.jhuapl.edu/News-and-Events/events/Access2Space/)
  

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Topical Issue on Space Climate: The Past and Future of Solar Activity

From: Kalevi Mursula (kalevi.mursula at oulu.fi)

The Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (JSWSC) announces a Topical Issue on Space climate: The past and future of solar activity.

This is an open call for papers discussing any aspect of Space Climate, i.e., the long-term change in the Sun and its effects in the heliosphere and the near-Earth space environment, including solar effects on the atmosphere and climate. 

Relevant topics include, but are not limited to the following broad questions:
- what are the causes and effects of long-term (from solar cycle to several millennia) variations in solar activity?
- what can solar magnetic dynamo models tell us about long-term solar variability?
- what is the long-term evolution of the many forms of solar activity such as sunspots, active regions, flares, coronal mass ejections, solar total and spectral irradiances, solar energetic particles etc ?
- how do the solar large-scale fields, the polar fields, coronal holes, and coronal magnetic fields evolve in time and what do we know their hemispheric and longitudinal asymmetries?
- what do cosmic rays and cosmogenic isotopes tell us about long-term solar activity?
- what happened during the Grand Modern Maximum?
- how do the solar wind and the heliospheric magnetic field evolve in time?
- how does solar activity affect the near-Earth space, magnetosphere, geomagnetic activity, magnetic storms, and ionosphere?
- how do solar electromagnetic radiation, solar wind and solar energetic particles affect the terrestrial atmosphere and climate?
- what is the overall long-term dynamics of the solar-terrestrial environment?
- how can we forecast the future evolution of solar activity?
- how accurately do we know the level of the early solar activity and what can we do to improve this accuracy?
- are there important datasets yet to be recovered for space climate research? 

This Topical Issue is partly based on the program of the "Space Climate-7” organized in Orford, Canada, in July 2019. http://craq-astro.ca/spaceclimate7/ However, it is open to all contributors and not limited to Space Climate-7 participants only.

Manuscripts must be submitted via the JSWSC online submission tool. https://www.editorialmanager.com/jswsc/default.aspx 
Deadline: 31 January 2020.

Topical Editor-in-Chief:
Kalevi Mursula, University of Oulu, Finland

Topical Editors:
Paul Charbonneau, University of Montreal, Canada 
Agnieszka Gil-widerska, University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in Siedlce, Poland
Natalie Krivova, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Germany 
Ilya Usoskin, University of Oulu, Finland


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JOB OPENING: Assistant or Associate Professor – Experimental/Instrumentational Space Plasma Physics at West Virginia University

From: Paul Cassak (Paul.Cassak at mail.wvu.edu)

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in experimental or instrumentational space plasma physics. We anticipate filling this position at the Assistant Professor level, but exceptional candidates may be considered at Associate Professor. The creation of the position was facilitated by an NSF Faculty Development in the Space Sciences grant. The preferred start date is Aug. 14, 2020. The position requires a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in physics or a closely related field and a commitment and ability to establish an independent externally funded research program, excel in teaching physics at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and support departmental efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The successful candidate will present an excellent record of research productivity as evidenced by publication record and scientific collaborations. WVU’s space plasma physics program has existing strengths of: (1) cubesat technology development; (2) space-relevant laboratory experiment; (3) solar observations; (4) solar theory/simulation; (5) magnetospheric theory/simulation and machine learning; (6) magnetospheric observations; and (7) atmospheric drag. The department moved into a new facility with state-of-the-art research laboratories in 2012, and there is available clean room space and on-campus shared facilities. The department energetically supports DEI (https://physics.wvu.edu/about/diversity-equity-and-inclusivity). WVU is a comprehensive land grant university with R1 Carnegie Classification. WVU is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, including minorities, females, individuals with disabilities, and veterans.

To apply, go to https://careers.wvu.edu/career-opportunities, click View Faculty Positions, and navigate to the job title. Required documents include: (1) cover letter, (2) curriculum vitae including complete list of publications, (3) succinct five-year research plan, and (4) statement of teaching philosophy and experience. Arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to plasmasearch at mail.wvu.edu. Review of applications will begin Nov. 15, 2019, and will continue until the position is filled. This is an abridged ad - please see https://physics.wvu.edu/research/plasma-and-space-physics/wvu-space-plasma-physics-job-opening and contact Paul.Cassak at mail.wvu.edu with questions.


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JOB OPENING: Faculty Positions in Physics, including Solar/Space Physics, at University of Newcastle, Australia

From: David Pontin (d.i.pontin at dundee.ac.uk)

The School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, is seeking to make two appointments to work within the Discipline of Physics. The appointments will be at Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, and Associate Professor level. The successful candidates will complement the existing research strengths of the Department, which include Space Physics with a newly-established and growing group in Solar Physics. (A/Prof David Pontin recently appointed, and another faculty appointment in progress.)

Further details can be found at https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/jobs-at-uon/job-vacancies
Search job reference 4122 for the lecturer/senior lecturer position, and reference 4121 for the associate professor position.

The closing date for both positions in 23rd October. Formal enquiries about this position should be made to Prof Thomas Nann (Thomas.Nann at newcastle.edu.au). Informal enquiries can be made to David Pontin (d.i.pontin at dundee.ac.uk)


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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Position at University of New Hampshire

From: Amy Keesee (amy.keesee at unh.edu)

Post Doctoral Research Position in Space Weather
University of New Hampshire
Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space (EOS)
Space Science Center
https://jobs.usnh.edu/postings/34108

We invite applications for a postdoctoral research position in the Space Science Center at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). This postdoc will apply big data and machine learning techniques to several decades of ground and space observations to improve our understanding and predictions of geomagnetically induced currents. The postdoctoral research is part of a 4-year, 4-million-dollar project conducted in partnership between the University of New Hampshire and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF). The postdoc will also have the opportunity to be involved in the space weather underground program (SWUG) that works with local high school students to build, deploy, and analyze ground magnetometers.

Candidates with experience in machine learning and/or ground magnetometer data analysis are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications should be submitted at https://jobs.usnh.edu/postings/34108. The position will be under the supervision of Prof. Amy Keesee (amy.keesee at unh.edu) with the opportunity to collaborate with space science and data science experts at UNH and UAF. A postdoctoral position will also be available at UAF. Please direct questions about both positions to Prof. Keesee.

The University of New Hampshire is a major research institution, providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs (http://www.unh.edu). UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast, and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. The Department of Physics confers both undergraduate (B.A., B.S.) and graduate (M.S., Ph.D.) degrees and currently includes 26 faculty members. EOS is the largest research institute at UNH, with more than 275 faculty, staff and students.

The University of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action institution. The University seeks excellence through diversity among its administrators, faculty, staff, and students. The university prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or marital status. Application by members of all underrepresented groups is encouraged.


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RHESSI Science Nuggets in September 2019

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

No. 356: “EVE-RHESSI DEM Models and the Low-Energy Cutoff for Non-thermal Electrons”, by Jim McTiernan.  Characterizing flare temperature distributions helps to define the non-thermal energy release.

No. 357: “Dynamic Processes of the Moreton Wave on 2014 March 29”, by Denis Cabezas and the FMT team. A beautiful chromospheric wave was excited by the best-observed flare ever.

No. 358: “The Last Best Flares”, by Hugh Hudson, Ed Cliver, and Brian Dennis. Major flares tend to happen at the very ends of sunspot cycles. 

No. 359: “Submillimeter Radiation as the Thermal Component of the Neupert Effect.” Flare emission at the highest radio frequencies can be bremsstrahlung.

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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