[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVII, Issue 79

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVII, Issue 79
Dec.23,2020

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Table of Contents

1. Message on NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure

2. MagNet: Model the Geomagnetic Field Challenge

3. MEETING: Royal Astronomical Society Discussion Meeting on Comparative Equatorial Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere Coupling

4. MEETING: First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference, 14-18 June 2021, JHU/APL, Laurel, Maryland, USA – First Announcement

5. JOB OPENING: Academic Positions at Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai, INDIA

6. Two New RHESSI Science Nuggets

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


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Message on NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure

From: Michael Wiltberger (mwiltber at nsf.gov)

Dear Colleagues,

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Mid-scale Research Infrastructure (Mid-scale RI) Big Idea is intended to provide an agile, Foundation-wide process to fund experimental research capabilities in the mid-scale range ($6 million to $100 million), between the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and Major Facilities thresholds.

Recently, Solicitation NSF 21-537 for the Mid-scale RI-2 program (total project cost of $20 million to under $100 million) was released. This is one of two NSF-wide funding opportunities that support NSF Mid-scale RI, the other being Solicitation NSF 21-505 for the Mid-scale RI-1 program.

Solicitation NSF 21-537 for Mid-scale RI-2 has the following deadlines:

Letters of Intent (required), February 03, 2021
Preliminary Proposals, March 05, 2021
Full Proposals (by invitation), September 20, 2021

NSF will host outreach webinars with information about the Mid-scale RI-2 funding opportunity on Wednesday, January 6 and Thursday, January 7, 2021. Each session will begin at 1:00 p.m. (EST). A general Mid-scale RI-2 information session (1:00 p.m. -1:40 p.m. Eastern) with Q&A will be followed by Directorate-specific breakouts (1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern) where more technical questions will be addressed. Information on Day 1 will be repeated on Day 2, using the same Zoom meeting information. 

Please spread the word to interested parties.

To access the main webinars and follow-on directorate-specific breakouts:

Webinar 1 & 2

Event: Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure (Mid-scale RI-2): NSF 21-537 Q&A – Main meeting
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 6, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. Eastern Time and repeated Thursday, January 7, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. Eastern Time

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1612976668?pwd=eG9mWjZUeVdCS2ZzWTFYZmt3OUIrQT09
Webinar ID: 161 297 6668
Passcode: 2M3cLw
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Webinar ID:  161 297 6668

You will enter through a waiting room and be let in by an NSF staff member.

Questions:  Please submit questions via Chat during the webinar. There will be no participant audio-enabled questions or screen sharing.

Directorate Breakouts: Wednesday, January 6, 2021 from 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time and Thursday, January 7, 2021 from 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 pm Eastern Time.

You will enter through a waiting room and be let into the breakout by an NSF staff member.
Please submit questions via Chat during the webinar. There will be no participant audio-enabled questions or screen sharing.

Mid-scale RI-2 BIO Breakout

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1613376982?pwd=YXZCT2o1Z0lBQmRNY2dMVUxFM2RCUT09
Meeting ID: 160 185 6173
Passcode: 6.myEg
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 160 185 6173

Mid-scale RI-2: CISE Breakout

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1608265562?pwd=MDN5c3liMm55U3FBZlBSRnJodXBWdz09
Meeting ID: 161 206 5490
Passcode: 6.myEg
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 161 206 5490

Mid-scale RI-2: EHR & SBE Breakout

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1612065490?pwd=LzlwSHMwd0twT1RTZkZ1SXNPcS8wQT09
Meeting ID: 160 826 5562
Passcode: 6.myEg
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 160 826 5562

Mid-scale RI-2 ENG Breakout

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1601856173?pwd=RXZnaHlDMDROc0w1UXBuSEE2Zk9XUT09
Meeting ID: 161 337 6982
Passcode: 6.myEg
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 161 337 6982

Mid-scale RI-2 GEO Breakout

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1618581638?pwd=dkNUd1k4eWszSWpkTTIrMXFHVG9sdz09
Meeting ID: 161 901 7154
Passcode: 6.myEg
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 161 901 7154

Mid-scale RI-2 MPS Breakout

Join ZoomGov Meeting
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1619017154?pwd=RG9LQ3dybFVPSzM5M1R0U2dPdm9Xdz09
Meeting ID: 161 858 1638
Passcode: 6.myEg
Join via phone:
(669)254-5252 US (San Jose) or (646)828-7666 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 161 858 1638


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MagNet: Model the Geomagnetic Field Challenge

From: Manoj Nair (manoj.c.nair at noaa.gov)

We would like to bring your attention to a data science challenge that NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and the University of Colorado’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is conducting. 

The new data challenge, “MagNet: Model the Geomagnetic Field”  features $30,000 in prizes and is now open to submissions. The goal of the challenge is to develop better models to forecast changes in Earth’s magnetic field. Specifically, the solvers are asked to forecast the disturbance-storm-time index (Dst) using the real-time solar-wind measurements by NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite and/or NASA’s ACE satellite. The solutions we seek must work in the real-time and be agnostic to sensor malfunctions and data outages typically found in the real-time data streams. 

The competition is open to the public on DrivenData’s platform from December 15, 2020 through February 12, 2021. More information and how to participate in this challenge can be found at the challenge website. https://www.drivendata.org/competitions/73/noaa-magnetic-forecasting/

We would be honored by your participation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact manoj.c.nair at noaa.gov or rob.redmon at noaa.gov and we’ll get back to you with an answer.


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MEETING: Royal Astronomical Society Discussion Meeting on Comparative Equatorial Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere Coupling

From: Tom Stallard (tss8 at leicester.ac.uk)

We invite you to attend a Royal Astronomical Society discussion meeting on Comparative equatorial Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere coupling that will be held online on Friday, 12 February 2021. 

In this meeting, we hope to bring together experts in the various aspects of equatorial coupling within the solar system, in the hope that we can ferment some interesting discussions about how a comparative approach to gas giants and terrestrial worlds (including Earth) can help us understand the conditions that dominate these equatorial upper atmospheres.

For more details about the meeting, please visit the meeting webpage:
https://ras.ac.uk/events-and-meetings/ras-meetings/comparative-equatorial-thermosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere

Specific topics may include (but are not limited to):
• Formation of the Equatorial anomaly at Earth
• Localised aurora and ionospheric variations at Mars
• The azimuthal magnetic field anomalies measured inside Saturn’s rings, and the thermospheric driver of the currents that produce them
• The variation in ‘Ring-Rain’ falling from Saturn’s rings into the mid-latitude ionosphere
• The generation of Jupiter’s Lyman-alpha bulge and its relationship with the localised magnetic anomalies in Jupiter’s field
The meeting will be hosted via a Zoom webinar. It will consist of a series of invited and contributed talks together with discussion rounds. Depending on the number of contributions we may hold a virtual poster discussion.

Abstracts should be submitted by Tuesday, 12 January 2021, at 5pm GMT, using a link provided on the meeting website.

Dr Tom Stallard (Leicester)
Dr Greg Hunt (Imperial)
Dr Beatriz Sanchez-Cano (Leicester)


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MEETING: First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference, 14-18 June 2021, JHU/APL, Laurel, Maryland, USA – First Announcement

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

NASA Parker Solar Probe mission, which launched on August 12, 2018, has completed six of its 24 scheduled orbits about the Sun, flying as close as 20.3 Rsun from the Sun’s center. On February 20, 2021, the spacecraft will fly by Venus for the fourth time since launch. This maneuver will reduce perihelion to 15.97 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 five orbits have been released to the public. The data returned so far is a treasure trove that holds potential for breakthrough discoveries. Parker Solar Probe is crossing new boundaries of space exploration.

The first annual Parker Solar Probe conference will be held from June 14 to 18, 2021, in Laurel, Maryland at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. The meeting will highlight discoveries from the first two and half years of operations. The conference is 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.

This is not a NASA-sponsored conference and registration in NCTS is not required.

Science Organizing Committee: TBD
Invited Speakers: TBD

COVID-19 Considerations: A hybrid conference (partial in-person presence + a virtual attendance) is being considered. A decision on the in-person presence at the conference will be made in February, 2021, based on the COVID-19 pandemic situation. If it is evident that the health risk is likely to remain high by mid-2021, the conference will be fully virtual. Registered attendees will receive an email with additional details.

Important dates:
Registration Opens: February 1, 2021
Abstract Deadline: April 15, 2021
Early Registration End: March 31, 2021

For further information, visit: http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Events/Parker-Series/index.php


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JOB OPENING: Academic Positions at Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai, INDIA

From: Ashwini Kumar Sinha (ashwinikumar.s at iigm.res.in)

Advt. No.01/IIG/HRD/2020 

Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) is a premier research organization having strong research programs in Geomagnetism and allied fields. The primary research activities of the Institute deal with geophysical processes occurring (1) inside the Earth, primarily in the areas of Electromagnetic Imaging of the Earth's Interior, crustal magnetic anomalies, Palaeo and Environmental Magnetism, Petrology, GPS based crustal deformation studies and Groundwater studies, and (2) external to the Earth, particularly in understanding the behavior of particles, fields and currents in the near-earth environment, with emphasis on space weather. The Institute provides excellent infrastructural facilities and good career prospects. Applications are invited for the recruitment at following academic levels in the Institute.

1. Professor-E (One post)
2. Reader (three posts)
3. Fellow (two posts)

For details, please visit the website http://iigm.res.in/sites/default/files/ADVT.2020.pdf

Application deadline: 15 January, 2021


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Two New RHESSI Science Nuggets

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

http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/wiki/index.php/RHESSI_Science_Nuggets

No. 396, “Investigation of Small-Scale Energy Releases in Hard X-rays with FOXSI”, by Subramania ATHIRAY and Juliana VIEVERING: Hard X-rays and high temperatures in the feeblest microflares.

No. 397, "Solar effects in the local interstellar medium”, by Don GURNETT and Hugh HUDSON: Relativistic particle events observed _in situ_ in the local interstellar medium.

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 often be found by searching for their SOLyyyy-mm-dd identifier from this home page.


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