[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVII, Issue 69

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVII, Issue 69
Nov.09,2020

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Table of Contents

1. The 2020 Kristian Birkeland Medal for Space Weather and Space Climate

2. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Researcher Position at University of Colorado Boulder

3. JOB OPENING: A Postdoctoral Fellow Position in Space Physics Group at the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland

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


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The 2020 Kristian Birkeland Medal for Space Weather and Space Climate

From: Jean Lillensten (jean.lillensten at univ-grenoble-alpes.fr) and B. T. Tsurutani

The winner of the 2020 Kristian Birkeland  Medal is Professor Richard Horne, from the UK. (The recipient must have demonstrated a unique ability to combine basic and applied research to develop useful space weather products that are being used outside the research community, and/or across scientific research disciplines. The work must have led to a better physical comprehension of the solar-terrestrial phenomena related to space weather, to a drastic improvement of space weather modeling, or to a new generation of instruments).

Professor Horne has made some of the most seminal contributions to the observations and theory of magnetospheric plasma waves and their interactions with various particle populations. He is the world leader in this field. He showed that wave-particle interactions play a major role in accelerating relativistic “killer” electrons in the magnetosphere. The physics behind wave-particle interactions is one of the most difficult of all space physics and very few scientists worldwide are able, like Richard Horne did, to master it  This esoteric research field (involving ~500 researchers world-wide) could have confined Horne to his esoteric area, but he widen his vista to include the space weather topic of satellite radiation damage by energetic charged particles. He has received international recognition for this work. His scientific impact is outstanding, whatever the index that one considers. He led the EU-funded SPACECAST project to develop a space weather forecasting system for satellites and showed that including wave-particle interactions improves the forecast of space weather impacts significantly.  He also led the EU SPACESTORM project and showed that the risk to satellites by the space environment is much higher than previously thought. This work led to revised hazard assessments for the UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies. He has provided advice on Space Weather for the UK House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology (2010), Defence (2011) and NATO Group MEPs (2012). He was the PhD advisor of many students not only in UK, but also in Germany and the USA. He is a member of the Space Environment Impacts Expert Group which provides advice for the Civil Contingencies Unit at the UK Cabinet Office and is a Fellow of the AGU and of URSI.


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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Researcher Position at University of Colorado Boulder

From: Tzu-Wei Fang (tzu-wei.fang at noaa.gov)

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) in University of Colorado at Boulder is seeking a full-time Postdoc Fellow to contribute to the development of the ionosphere-thermosphere (I-T) modeling for space weather research. The position is focused on the development of the coupled Whole Atmosphere Model and Ionosphere Plasmasphere Electrodynamics model (WAM-IPE) and to study the I-T responses to geomagnetic storm and lower atmosphere perturbations. 

Applicants must be within 3 years of receiving a PhD degree in physics, space physics, meteorology, computer Sciences. Experience with large scale numerical model simulation and software development is desirable. Candidates with experience in developing code in Fortran, Python, and Shell script will be preferred.

Detailed job description can be found in this website. Applicants should submit a CV listing their qualifications along with a statement of research interests and a cover letter which includes contact information for three professional references. The position will remain posted until filled. Any questions please contact Tzu-Wei Fang (Tzu-Wei.Fang at noaa.gov).


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JOB OPENING: A Postdoctoral Fellow Position in Space Physics Group at the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland

From: Minna Palmroth (minna.palmroth at helsinki.fi)

The Space Physics Group at the Department of Physics is a leading European space physics group specialised in modelling of space plasmas. We develop the novel global hybrid-Vlasov simulation Vlasiator to investigate the near-Earth space in ion kinetic scales utilising hybrid-Vlasov methods.

We are now opening a postdoctoral fellow position for a 3-year project funded by the Academy of Finland. The postdoctoral fellow will focus on developing Vlasiator and modelling space plasmas. Prior knowledge in at least one of the following areas is required: GPU technologies, high-performance computing, parallelisation algorithms, C++. Other useful skills include: plasma physics, Python supercomputer environments, version control.

We offer a position in a dynamic and international research group, with a possibility to network and to develop as a researcher. The Vlasiator team is innovative, high-spirited and a close community, while Finland is the happiest country in the world offering a great environment fostering equality, equality of opportunities, the best schooling system, vacations, and possibilities for work-family balance.

The 3-year position is available from 1 Jan 2021 onwards. The deadline for applications is 4.12.2020.

For more information, please visit:
http://helsinki.fi/vlasiator
http://blogs.helsinki.fi/spacephysics/
https://www.helsinki.fi/sustainable-space

For specifics about the position, contact Professor Minna Palmroth (minna.palmroth(at)helsinki.fi). Interested candidates should send their informal application, CV, list of publications, and a maximum of three names to act as references to Mila.Hyytinen(at)helsinki.fi, and cc: Minna.Palmroth(at)helsinki.fi.


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