[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVII, Issue 72

Tue Dec 1 00:11:51 PST 2020

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVII, Issue 72
Dec.01,2020

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Table of Contents

1. Useful Links for #AGU20

2. NSF AGS Update

3. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Space Physics at JHU/APL

4. 3 Fully-funded PhD Opportunities (Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

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

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Useful Links for #AGU20

From: Geoff Reeves (geoff at reevesresearch.org)

Planning for the first virtual Fall AGU meeting has been hectic, stressful, and confusing so here’s a few web pages that might help clarify how the meeting will work.

2020 Fall Meeting Home Page
https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting

How is the virtual meeting going to work? What to Expect
https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting/Pages/Attend/Online-Experience

Resources to prepare for the Fall Meeting
https://www.agu.org/agu20

Scientific Program Overview
https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting/Pages/Schedule-Program/Scientific-Program

Sign in to create a schedule
Note the choice of “Meeting Time (US Pacific Time)” or “My Time (local to you)”
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Home/0

Presenter Resources
https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting/Pages/Present/Presenter-Guidelines

Outstanding Student Presentation Awards 
Judges can volunteer now and, for the first time, students can also be judges
https://www.agu.org/Learn-and-Develop/Learn/Student-Competitions/OSPA

Networking Opportunities including “Braindates” reserving a “Pod” etc.
https://www.agu.org/Fall-Meeting/Pages/Attend/Networking

AGU Connect Home Page
https://connect.agu.org/home
Sign up for the SPA Community and set your preferences for notifications
https://connect.agu.org/spa/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=49c6ed82-ca9a-4e33-b6ba-ee40eba25ccd

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NSF AGS Update

From: Anjuli Bamzai (mwiltber at nsf.gov)

The AGU fall meeting is around the corner and I wanted to inform you that several AGS staff will be attending the meeting, should you wish to reach out to any of us. In particular, Dr. Neha Pankow will be at the GEO booth from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM ET on Monday December 7 and Thursday December 10, 2020. You can let Neha know if you like to connect with any of the AGS staff and she will facilitate that.
We realize the past few months have been particularly challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NSF’s official communications regarding the pandemic is https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/coronavirus/.  Recently, NSF issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on Career Life Balance Supplemental requests for project support during time away from a project due to family leave or dependent care.  See https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21021/nsf21021.jsp?org=NSF for details on the DCL.

I would like to reiterate our commitment to the AGS research community.  The Programs are committed to working with individual Principal Investigators (PIs) and collectively determining the best course of action that will maximize the science returns and support the well-being of our entire community. We acknowledge that many projects may be unable to meet their proposed deadlines or face substantial challenges to achieving proposed goals. This year has been particularly hard on our early-career PIs, students, and postdocs. In the absence of additional funding, PIs should be flexible and consider the options available to them, and NSF programs will have to consider the tradeoffs between supplementing existing awards and funding new awards. Since each project is unique, and the range of possible impacts is large, it is impossible for us to devise general rules for supplements that would apply uniformly without exceptions.

For currently funded PIs, for your ready reference, please find below sections of NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (20-1):

Reporting (PAPPG VII.D)

We encourage PIs to communicate directly with Program Directors to report the impacts of the pandemic on their projects and to document them in annual reports. Impacts can also be recorded via “Interim” reports in Research.gov, whereby the information will become part of the award record. It thus will be easily accessible when communicating in the future with Program Directors about the project, for instance regarding extensions or supplements in its final years.

No-cost extensions (PAPPG VI.D.3.c)

We encourage PIs to utilize no-cost extensions to compensate for time lost due to closures and delays. For extensions that require NSF approval (generally, beyond the first twelve-month extension), the pandemic clearly falls under the “exceptional circumstances” required to justify the extension.

Re-budgeting (PAPPG X.A.3)

Awardees have considerable flexibility to re-budget funds across budget categories, in accordance with their institutions’ policies and procedures, and in pursuit of their project’s science goals.

Supplement requests (PAPPG VI.E.4) 

Requests for supplemental funding should only be considered after all of the above options have been explored. Though we cannot guarantee supplemental support, if a modest supplement is needed immediately in order to continue the project, we encourage PIs to email their Program Director with a brief description of the need, the management steps that have been taken to mitigate the situation, and a strong justification for supplemental funding. Please keep in mind that we do not have new or separate funds for supplements, so these funds will have to come from the regular program budget. Normally, supplement requests are considered in the last year of a project, after rescheduling and re-budgeting options have been utilized.

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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Space Physics at JHU/APL

From: Mikhail Sitnov (mikhail.sitnov at jhuapl.edu)

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate to conduct basic scientific research on kinetic modeling of Earth’s magnetotail and the inner magnetosphere, and on augmentation of the first-principles simulations by data mining, ingestion, and assimilation.

The applicant must have completed a PhD in Physics or in a related field, or have demonstrated equivalent experience in a scientific field applicable to space physics and have extensive demonstrated experience in kinetic plasma simulations or data analytics. The applicant must have a record of published first author scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.

The ideal applicant should have in-depth knowledge of plasma physics, numerical methods and computational physics with applications to astrophysical or space environments, including planetary magnetospheres. Experience with programming languages (e.g., Fortran, C, Java, Python) and familiarity with modern data analytics (machine learning, data mining, ingestion and assimilation) will be an asset. Of particular interest is experience with particle-in-cell, hybrid simulations or magnetohydrodynamic simulations with kinetic corrections. At the same time, it is important that the applicant is self-motivated, able to work independently and interested in learning new methods and tools.

For more details and to apply, please see: http://k.rfer.us/JHUAPL83_MR
For questions, please contact Dr. Mikhail Sitnov (Mikhail.Sitnov at jhuapl.edu)

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3 Fully-funded PhD Opportunities (Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

From: James McLaughlin (james.a.mclaughlin at northumbria.ac.uk)

Please find below 3 fully-funded PhD adverts in the areas of Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial (MIST) and Solar Physics, for PhD opportunities within the Solar Physics research group at Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK). The Solar Physics group is a large and successful research group, and our long-term programme is to understand all aspects of the solar-terrestrial connection. Evidence of the group’s success includes funding from STFC (including an Ernest Rutherford Fellow), NERC, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Astronomical Society, the US Air Force, and a UKRI Future Leader Fellow. The group also plays multiple roles in the UKRI SWIMMR (Space Weather Instrumentation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk) programme in support of the UK Met Office.

The 3 PhD opportunities are:

• Oscillatory Reconnection: the physics of time-dependent, wave-generating reconnection (Advert Reference: RDF20/EE/MPEE/MCLAUGHLINJames)

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/oscillatory-reconnection-the-physics-of-time-dependent-wave-generating-reconnection-advert-reference-rdf20-ee-mpee-mclaughlinjames/?p127028

supervised by Professor James McLaughlin 

• Energy transfer in Earth’s Radiation Belts through global electromagnetic waves (Advert Reference: RDF20/EE/MPEE/RAEJonathan)

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/energy-transfer-in-earth-s-radiation-belts-through-global-electromagnetic-waves-advert-reference-rdf20-ee-mpee-raejonathan/?p127043

supervised by Professor Jonathan Rae 

• The substorm source of Earth’s outer radiation belt

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/the-substorm-source-of-earth-s-outer-radiation-belt-advert-reference-rdf20-ee-mpee-wattclare/?p127476

supervised by Professor Clare Watt

Deadline = 7 January 2021, and the PhD starting date is anticipated to be March 2021.

For informal questions, please contact the relevant supervisor, and/or contact Professor James McLaughlin james.a.mclaughlin at northumbria.ac.uk .

Details on the research group can be found here : https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/mathematics-physics-and-electrical-engineering/research/solar-physics/ 

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

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