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

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVIII, Issue 40
Jul.24,2021

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Table of Contents

1. Decadal Survey White Paper Organization: Machine Learning and Data Science

2. European Solar System Plasma Community (ESSPC)

3. VGEM Session: Machine Learning in Geospace

4. APS-DPP Mini-conference: Collisionless Shocks in Laboratory and Space Plasmas

5. JOB OPENING: NSF Geospace Program Director Position

6. JOB OPENINGS: Research Scientist and Postdoctoral positions in Space Physics Instrumentation and Data Analysis at Los Alamos National Laboratory

7. RHESSI Nuggets in July 2021

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


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Decadal Survey White Paper Organization: Machine Learning and Data Science

From: Matthew Argall (matthew.argall at unh.edu)

Members of the Heliophysics Community are coordinating and organizing white papers on Machine Learning and Data Science for the Heliophysics Decadal Survey in order to increase their visibility and impact. Anyone interested in leading, contributing to, or supporting a white paper, please reach out to Matthew Argall (matthew.argall[at]unh.edu) for more details.


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European Solar System Plasma Community (ESSPC)

From: Yuri Shprits (yshpirts at gfz-potsdam.de)

Over the last few years there has been a number of meetings and discussions, where the need for the organization of the European Solar System Plasma Community (ESSPC) has been discussed. 

To continue coordination across the related fields that include ionospheric and  magnetospheric physics, planetary magnetospheric environments, solar wind plasma, cometary plasmas, and solar plasmas, we would like to invite the members of the European community and those who are interested in collaborating with the European Solar System Plasma community, to join our mailing list. 

We are in the process of planning a meeting to discuss how we want to move forward with coordination across disciplines, countries, and agencies, as well as how to set up European priorities and objectives. Additionally, we would like to discuss the name of the group and how we can organize future meetings and other community events and activities. The details of the meeting will be announced through the mailing list. 

To subscribe to the email list please send an email to esspc-on at gfz-potsdam.de. If at any time you wish to unsubscribe, simply send an email to esspc-off at gfz-potsdam.de. 
You can join our slack channel: solarplasmacommunity.slack.com.
Further information can be found on the ESSPC website: www.esspc.eu
General enquiries: esspc-info at gfz-potsdam.de


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VGEM Session: Machine Learning in Geospace

From: Matthew Argall, Jacob Bortnik, Josh Rigler, Jason Shuster, Doga Ozturk, Wendy Carande (matthew.argall at unh.edu)

The Machine Learning in Geospace group is hosting two sessions at the upcoming VGEM meeting (July 28 & 30). One will be filled with invited and submitted talks and the other will focus on organizing a Kaggle Competition within the community.

The first session will focus on applications of machine learning to research in geospace by the community. It will serve as a forum to present finished work, obtain feedback on works in progress, and ask for help getting started with machine learning.

The second session will focus on designing a community-led Kaggle competition (https://www.kaggle.com/). It will start with talks from a Kaggle representative and other invited speakers about what goes into a successful competition, then will transition to a community-led discussion about how such a machine learning competition can address a large, interdisciplinary science problem. Please join to our pre-workshop discussion by contributing to our Jam Board:

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1SHbGU6FyxdiOaXhY_r8BnUbEMh4UMu_DI1fTL6MR1GU/edit?usp=sharing

For more details on the sessions, please see our GEM Wiki page:

https://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawiki/index.php/Machine_Learning_in_Geospace


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APS-DPP Mini-conference: Collisionless Shocks in Laboratory and Space Plasmas

From: Nikolai Pogorelov (np0002 at uah.edu)

63rd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics,  Pittsburgh, PA, November 8-12, 2021. Mini-conference 19.02: Collisonless Shocks in Laboratory and Space Plasmas

Collisionless shocks (CSs) are one of the most fundamental strongly nonlinear phenomena in plasmas. They are ubiquitous in many space physics, astrophysics, and laboratory settings. CS waves are important mechanisms for converting dynamic pressure of a supersonic flow into thermal energy and affect the distributions of particles and field across the universe. One of the central theoretical issues in modern plasma physics is the quantitative prediction of the downstream plasma state for given upstream parameters.

Despite more than six decades of CS research, the present status of this problem is essentially the same as was in the beginning, i.e., at the level of Rankine–Hugoniot relations which invoke assumptions about the equations of state for the downstream species. The majority of CSs observed in situ are in the heliosphere. Recently, significant progress has been achieved in creating stable magnetized shocks in laboratory. The lab shock experimental basis is developing rapidly and seems to be able to allow high resolution measurements at shock fronts soon. CSs are also observed remotely in many astrophysical objects. The grand challenge of this mini-conference is to discuss available data sets and theoretical approaches that would account for the kinetic nature of shock crossings in collisionless plasma, and especially the physics of ion and electron acceleration.

We call for papers addressing the wealth of in-situ measurements of collisionless shocks in nature and laboratory. This mini-symposium will also address the physical mechanisms that govern crossing of collisionless shocks by non-thermal plasma. Presentations discussing different theoretical approaches to describe the properties of collisionless shocks and their validation by observational and experimental data are especially welcome.

The abstract submission website is https://engage.aps.org/dpp/meetings/annual-meeting/sorting. The deadline is Aug. 2, 2021.

Conveners: Nikolai Pogorelov (University of Alabama in Huntsville), Michael Gedalin (Ben-Gurion University, Israel), and Derek Schaeffer (Princeton University).


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JOB OPENING: NSF Geospace Program Director Position

From: Mangala Sharma (MSharma at nsf.gov)

The NSF Geospace Sciences Section is recruiting a rotator Program Director to lead our new initiative on data systems with the goal to enhance data exploitation within the geospace field. The position will require engagement with the community, government agencies, and inter-directorate co-ordination and partnerships within NSF. The position will also include engagement with and support for all Geospace programs. Full details of the position and how to apply are available at https://beta.nsf.gov/careers/openings/geo/ags/ags-2021-5402. Please direct inquiries to the Acting Section Head, Dr. Lisa Winter (lwinter at nsf.gov).

Sincerely,
Dr. Alan Liu, Aeronomy
Dr. Roman Makarevich, Geospace Facilities
Dr. Ilia Roussev, Solar-Terrestrial Research
Dr. Mangala Sharma, Space Weather
Dr. Lisa Winter, Magnetospheric Physics/Acting Section Head


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JOB OPENINGS: Research Scientist and Postdoctoral positions in Space Physics Instrumentation and Data Analysis at Los Alamos National Laboratory

From: Dan Reisenfeld (dreisenfeld at lanl.gov)

Los Alamos National Laboratory seeks candidates for Research Scientist and Postdoctoral positions in heliophysics data analysis and instrumentation with the Space Science and Applications Group (ISR-1). ISR Division leads instruments on current and recent NASA missions such as IMAP, IBEX, Van Allen Probes, SWIFT, TWINS, and ACE, as well as NASA’s Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. We also build, fly, operate, and analyze data from measurement systems deployed to space for verification of international nuclear treaties, and develop innovative sensors for basic scientific missions, nuclear nonproliferation, space situational awareness and remote sensing. 

The successful applicants will be expected to support the development and calibration of a range of space plasma instrumentation for missions such as NASA/IMAP and current National Security missions, and the development of instrumentation for future missions. The candidates will also be expected to participate in original research in magnetospheric and/or heliospheric science.  For the Research Scientist position, applicants should have laboratory experience in the development of hardware for the detection of space plasmas or energetic neutral atoms, and an established record of original research in magnetospheric, ionospheric and/or heliospheric science.  For the Postdoctoral position, applicants should have laboratory experience broadly applicable to developing hardware for the detection of space plasmas; desired skills include familiarity with heliophysics (magnetospheres, ionospheres, solar wind, outer heliosphere, etc.), or a strong interest in learning about such environments. The selected candidates will have the opportunity to interact with Laboratory staff engaged in a broad range of observational, computational, and theoretical research in heliophysics.  Applicants should have a doctoral degree in Space Physics, Physics, Astronomy, Engineering, or appropriate similar fields. The ability to obtain a DOE Q clearance is desired.

Interested persons should apply online at https://lanl.jobs to position posting IRC86128 for the research scientist position, or IRC83749 for the postdoctoral position.  Candidates will be expected to furnish a CV and statement of research interests.   For further inquiries, contact dreisenfeld at lanl.gov.


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RHESSI Nuggets in July 2021

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

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

No. 411, “Flare Pulsations and the Heliosphere” by Brendan CLARKE et al.; flare pulsations turn out to link closely to structures in the distant heliosphere.

No. 412, “The Morphology of Flare Time Profiles,” by Larisa KASHAPOVA et al.; systematic comparison of solar and stellar flaring time profiles.

No. 413, “Impulsive and Gradual Eruptive Game Flares and Associated CMEs,” by Alexey STRUMINSKY et al.; Extreme behavior of flare/CME events explained by environment.

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

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