[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVII, Issue 40

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVII, Issue 40
Jul.07,2020

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Table of Contents

1. Call for Science Organizing Committee, Heliophysics 2050 Workshop

2. MEETING: European Space Weather Symposium 2020 (ESWS2020) – Save The Date Announcement

3. SESSION: VGEM Discussion Session of the ‘Impact of the cold plasma in magnetospheric physics’ Focus Grouop

4. SESSION: VGEM IEMIT Sessions 

5. SESSION: VGEM SCIMM Focus Group Sessions

6. ESWW2021 Poster/Logo Competition is now OPEN!

7. The EISCAT Scientific Association Is Looking for a Director

8. JOB OPENING: Professor / Associate Professor in Physics and Senior Lecturer / Lecturer in Physics at Northumbria University

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


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Call for Science Organizing Committee, Heliophysics 2050 Workshop

From: Jared Leisner (jared.s.leisner at nasa.gov)

Earlier this year, NASA, NSF, and NOAA announced the Heliophysics 2050 Workshop.  This workshop will be an agency-enabled, community-driven event to help the community prepare for the next Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey. 

This workshop will focus on a strategic, multi-decadal science framework for solar and space physics. We anticipate that community members will leverage workshop results to provide context for their individual white papers to the Decadal Survey process. In preparation for and as input to the Workshop, NASA will support community members in forming a Science Organizing Committee (SOC) to:

1. Organize community white papers into a strategic science web that identifies science dependencies and flow of science investigations.
2. Organize Workshop sessions.  
3. Serve as editors for the workshop’s proceedings document.

Workshop Philosophy: The workshop will examine current scientific understanding and what near-term investigations can enable and inform future investigations. From this scientific progression, the Workshop will create a “Science Web” that maps current understanding to the next set of compelling science investigations which, in turn, lead to still later studies. These investigations will cover the range of work from basic research to operational efforts and would be agnostic to their mode of execution (e.g. theory, observations, spaceflight missions). This will enable the next Decadal Survey to lay out a long-term science strategy: What does Heliophysics look like in 2050, and what do we do in the next decade to help us get there?

Applications are welcome from any heliophysics community member. Applicants should be aware that a reasonable time commitment will be needed from summer 2020 through spring 2021. Ideally, the SOC will be a diverse group of researchers able to identify the intra- and inter-discipline connections of investigations that advance and expand the field of heliophysics. 

Submission Instructions:

Email Jared Leisner (jared.s.leisner at nasa.gov) with the subject line “Heliophysics 2050 SOC” and include:
1. A statement of interest, including any vision for the Workshop and Decadal Survey preparation, and summarizing relevant expertise. Limit of two (2) pages.
2. A CV documenting 1) the breadth and depth of scientific and/or technical expertise, 2) any relevant organizing experience, and 3) any experience with multi-/interdisciplinary scientific endeavors.


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MEETING: European Space Weather Symposium 2020 (ESWS2020) – Save The Date Announcement

From: Mario M. Bisi (Mario.Bisi at stfc.ac.uk)

We would like to draw your attention to an upcoming online meeting, the first European Space Weather Symposium (ESWS) which will take place the same week as ESWW2020 would have occurred, 02-06 November 2020.  The meeting, known as ESWS2020, will be entirely virtual to the space weather community around the globe and will be run over the Zoom platform.  Further details will follow in due course.

For now, please save the date in your calendars and look out for further announcements and updates throughout early northern-hemisphere Summer 2020.

We are looking forward to seeing you, virtually, 02-06 November 2020 on Zoom.

Mario M. Bisi
ESWS2020 PC Chair
ESWS2020 OOC Vice Chair
On behalf of the ESWS2020 PC and OOC


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SESSION: VGEM Discussion Session of the ‘Impact of the cold plasma in magnetospheric physics’ Focus Grouop

From: Gian Luca Delzanno (delzanno at lanl.gov)

The GEM Focus Group (FG) ‘Impact of the cold plasma in magnetospheric physics’ will have a discussion session at the Virtual GEM meeting (20-23 July 2020) to plan the activities of the FG for subsequent years. The session will be organized with 
1) a short introduction on the goals of the FG, 
2) two scene-setting talks (30 min in total, given by Elena Kronberg and Thom Moore), followed by 
3) ample time for discussions.
The session is scheduled for Thursday July 23rd, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT.

We solicit input from the community on the kind of activities that the FG should develop. Some questions that might be useful to think about and that will be used for the discussion are the following
1. What are the open questions associated with the cold plasma in magnetospheric physics?
2. What kind of measurements are necessary to fully understand the role of the cold plasma in magnetospheric physics?
3. How do we include the impact of the cold plasma in magnetospheric modeling, including global codes?
4. What kind of activities would you like to see carried out in this cold-plasma FG?

Contributed presentations are welcome. They will be limited to one-slide/5-minutes per contribution and we kindly ask you to prepare it as part of the discussion, following one of the four questions mentioned above. We will keep the record of contributions on the FG website. Please contact Gian Luca Delzanno (delzanno at lanl.gov) to submit your contribution.

Here is the link to the FG website where all the activities will be listed:
https://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawiki/index.php/FG:_The_Impact_of_the_Cold_Plasma_in_Magnetospheric_Physics

Gian Luca Delzanno on behalf of the Cold-plasma FG leaders


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SESSION: VGEM IEMIT Sessions 

From: Hyunju Connor (hkconnor at alaska.edu)

We invite you to participate in the GEM sessions titled “3D ionospheric electrodynamics and its impact on magnetosphere – ionosphere – thermosphere coupled system (IEMIT)”.  The detailed session description can be found at the following website:
http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG:_3D_Ionospheric_Electrodynamics_and_Its_Impact_on_the_Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere_Coupled_System. 

Three IEMIT sessions are scheduled during the virtual GEM meeting. The first two sessions are stand-alone sessions on July 21, Tuesday, during 1:00-2:30pm and 3:00-4:30pm EDT. We will discuss ionospheric electrodynamics and their impact on the MIT system. The third session is the ionospheric conductance challenge session on July 22, Wednesday, during 3:00-4:30pm EDT. We will discuss ionospheric conductance challenge for the following storms: 2013 Mar 17, 2016 Oct 13-15, 2015 Jul 21-24, and 2012 March 9. Other conductance studies are also welcome. 

If you are interested in giving a talk, please send your title and preference of sessions (stand-alone or joint session) to Hyunju Connor (hkconnor at alaska.edu) and Dogacan Su Ozturk (dogacan.s.ozturk at jpl.nasa.gov). We are looking forward to your participation!

Hyunju Connor, Dogacan Ozturk, Bin Zhang, and Gang Lu.


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SESSION: VGEM SCIMM Focus Group Sessions

From: Cristian Ferradas (cristian.ferradasalva at nasa.gov)

The GEM Focus Group (FG) ‘Self-Consistent Inner Magnetosphere Modeling’ (SCIMM) will have two discussion sessions at this year's Virtual GEM Workshop on Wednesday July 22nd, 2020, which will aim to assess current inner magnetosphere modeling capabilities and to elaborate a work plan for the FG in subsequent years. The two sessions will focus on:

- Session 1: Ring Current Dynamics (Wednesday July 22nd, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm EDT)
In this session we will assess the transport, energization, loss, and composition of the ring current ions and electrons, and the associated variations in electric and magnetic fields. We welcome research talks related to the ring current dynamics through numerical modeling and satellite observations.

- Session 2: Wave-Particle Interactions (Wednesday July 22nd, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT)
In this session we will assess wave-particle interactions in the ring current, which drive the excitation of plasma waves, and the scattering or heating of thermal, suprathermal and energetic ions and electrons. We solicit both modeling and observational efforts.

Both sessions will consist of:
1. Two scene-setting talks (15 min each), given by Vania Jordanova and Matina Gkioulidou (Session 1), and Richard Denton and Lunjin Chen (Session 2)
2. Panel discussion with participation from the community (20 min)
3. Contributed talks (5-8 min each)

We invite the community to participate in one or both sessions in the following ways:
1. Presenting research results relevant to the topics of the sessions. 
2. Participating in the panel discussions by providing input on the research directions and the kind of activities that the FG should carry out. 

We will also have a joint session with the FGs ‘The Impact of the Cold Plasma in Magnetospheric Physics’ and 'System Understanding of Radiation Belt Particle Dynamics through Multi-spacecraft and Ground-based Observations and Modeling' on Thursday, July 23rd, 3:00 - 4:30 pm EDT. In this joint session, the SCIMM FG solicits short (5 min) presentations which assess the impacts of cold plasma on the transport and loss of ring current particles, and on wave-particle interactions of the higher-energy particles in the magnetosphere.

Please contact Cristian Ferradas (cristian.ferradasalva at nasa.gov) and Chao Yue (yuechao at pku.edu.cn) to submit contributed talks. We will list the contributed talks and details of the sessions on the FG website at https://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawiki/index.php/FG:_Self-Consistent_Inner_Magnetospheric_Modeling. 

Cristian Ferradas on behalf of the SCIMM FG conveners (Sam Bingham, Jacob Bortnik, Qianli Ma and Chao Yue)


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ESWW2021 Poster/Logo Competition Is Now OPEN!

From: Mario M. Bisi (Mario.Bisi at stfc.ac.uk)

This is an invitation to design and create a logo/poster for the 17th European Space Weather Week (ESWW17/ESWW2021) Poster Competition. 

Although, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have postponed the ESWW from November 2020 to October 2021, we feel that it is still appropriate and important to keep some of the normal ESWW activity going to ensure that ESWW2021 remains a key focus for the global Space Weather community. Of course, the additional benefit of going ahead with the Logo/Poster competition is that the winning design will have a much longer exposure period on the website and on social media platforms and therefore may be of even greater benefit to the winning designer this time around.

Our design theme this year is: “Global Partnership for the Space Weather Sector”, and our panellists will be announced in due course on the competition website: http://esww17.iopconfs.org/competition – where the full details of how to enter and what is expected and required for your entry.

The deadline for submissions through the website is 16th August 2020 – no other methods of entry will be accepted.

The selected image will be used on the following conference material:
- Website, programme, on site posters and banners, presentations and other ESWW branded items where possible.
- Additionally, the designer wins the D4T medal which gives free access to ESWW2022 (ESWW18)

Full terms and conditions of the entry can be found at the website noted above.

Thanks in advance for your entries, and we look forward to welcoming you to Glasgow in October 2021.

Mario (sent on behalf of Barbara-Ann Curran, ESWW2021 LOC Chair)


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The EISCAT Scientific Association Is Looking for a Director

From: Anders Tjulin (anders.tjulin at eiscat.se)

The Director will lead the operation and development of a  $100M capital Arctic research infrastructure and 25 staff to serve a worldwide community of several hundred researchers. By the end of 2022 EISCAT will launch the new EISCAT_3D facility, a world leading radar for incoherent scatter studies that will offer exciting new measurement opportunities. The new Director will have a cross-disciplinary view and excellent communication skills to convey the scientific opportunities of this new facility to a broad research community. 

The ideal candidate has a research background in atmospheric, geo-space or space science, or a related field. Experience of working with research infrastructures, managing large international projects and engaging highly qualified expert staff would be an advantage. The Director is expected to attract new funding and to bring additional international partners into EISCAT. 

The new Director is appointed from January 2023 and can start working in the Association from April 2022. The full‐time Director post is for a five‐year period. Re-appointment is possible for an additional five-year term through an open recruitment process. The Director is based at the EISCAT main office in Kiruna, Sweden. However, a considerable amount of international travel should be expected.

Applications should include a resume and a one page statement of the applicant’s vision for EISCAT and should be sent by email to: director2023 at eiscat.se, latest 17:00 (CET) on 20. September 2020. Applications will be treated confidentially. Candidates may be asked to participate in an externally performed pre-employment screening test at an early stage of the recruitment. Employment terms and conditions will be subject to negotiation with the board of EISCAT, the Council. For more information about the position, please contact the EISCAT Head of Administration Mr. Henrik Anderson (henrik.andersson at eiscat.se) or Council chair, Prof. Ingrid Mann (ingrid.b.mann at uit.no). 

EISCAT Scientific Association operates an incoherent scatter radar system and an ionospheric heater in Fenno‐Scandinavia and another system on Svalbard. The expected annual operating budget is around 50 MSEK, excluding projects. EISCAT_3D is a state-of-the-art multi-static phased array radar system now being deployed at three locations in Finland, Norway, and Sweden to replace the current mainland system. The build started in 2017 and the new system will be ready for use in 2022. More info at www.eiscat.se.


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JOB OPENING: Professor / Associate Professor in Physics and Senior Lecturer / Lecturer in Physics at Northumbria University

From: Robert Wicks (robert.wicks at northumbria.ac.uk)

The Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering (MPEE) at Northumbria University, UK is advertising the roles below with a deadline of the 25th of July. The roles are open to outstanding candidates in any field of physics or electrical engineering, however MPEE has a large and successful Solar Physics group that is currently expanding into research on the solar wind, magnetosphere, and solar-terrestrial system and so applications from the MIST community are very welcome. 

The department is also starting up a satellite hardware lab with significant investment into facilities, so anyone with an interest in satellite hardware, spacecraft design and systems engineering, mechanical design, scientific instrumentation, communication systems or electronics is also encouraged to apply.

Professor / Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering or Physics
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/work-for-us/job-vacancies/academic-3210-professor--associate-professor-in-electrical-engineering-or-physics

Senior Lecturer / Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in Electrical Engineering
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/work-for-us/job-vacancies/academic-3212-senior-lecturer--lecturer-in-electrical-engineering

Senior Lecturer / Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in Physics
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/work-for-us/job-vacancies/academic-3211-senior-lecturer--lecturer-in-physics

If you are interested in these positions and would like to make informal enquiries, please contact James McLaughlin (james.a.mclaughlin at northumbria.ac.uk), or you are welcome to contact me as well (Robert Wicks, robert.wicks at northumbria.ac.uk).

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff.  We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers.


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