[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXX, Issue 60

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXX, Issue 60
Nov.02,2023

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Table of Contents

1. Obituary:  Nelson Maynard

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Obituary:  Nelson Maynard

From: Robert Pfaff, Alv Egeland (robert.f.pfaff at nasa.gov)

Nelson C. Maynard

1938-2023

Nelson Maynard, pioneer of electric field measurements in space and renowned expert on the electrodynamics of the ionosphere and magnetosphere, died peacefully in northern Vermont on October 13, 2023.  He was 85.

Nelson was born on April 18, 1938, in Concord, NH where he grew up, graduating from Concord High School at the top of his class.  Nelson later received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire, an MS in Electrical Engineering from MIT, and a PhD in Physics from the University of New Hampshire.  Motivated, in part, by his early fascination with the aurora, Nelson chose a career path in space research.  

Nelson began his professional career with the Electrodynamics Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, in late 1965.  Together with Jim Heppner and Tom Aggson, he pioneered techniques for measuring electric fields in space using double probes, helping to found NASA’s Electric Field Laboratory which continues to carry out research to this day.  Nelson was the Principal Investigator (PI) of the vector electric field instrument on NASA’s Dynamics Explorer-2 satellite launched in 1981, as well as the electric field instrument on the San Marco satellite.  He was a key co-I of electric field instruments on numerous other satellites, including OGO-6, ISEE-1, CRESS, SCATHA, Polar, Cluster, and C/NOFS, among others.  In addition to his satellite work, Nelson was a regular and frequent sounding rocket PI, launching electric field experiments at such diverse launch ranges as Punta Lobos, Peru, and Ny-Alesund, Norway.  At Goddard, he developed a spherical payload for mesospheric electric field measurements and served as the first designated NASA Project Scientist for Sounding Rockets.

While working at NASA/Goddard, Nelson developed close ties with scientists at the Univ. of Oslo which continued until he retired.  This led to extended stays in Norway and the development of many joint Norwegian-US sounding rockets that were launched from Norwegian rocket ranges at both Andenes and Ny-Alesund.  

In 1984, Dr. Maynard joined the staff at the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base where he served as Chief of the Space Plasmas and Fields Branch, overseeing research programs designed to specify, predict, and mitigate space weather hazards to Department of Defense assets and operations. 

After retiring from the US Government in 1993, he continued his work at Mission Research Corporation in Nashua, NH and later as research professor at the University of New Hampshire. Throughout this period, the spectrum of Nelson’s research efforts continued to be quite broad, including studies of ionospheric signatures of magnetospheric boundaries, the dynamics of the night side auroral region, equatorial electrodynamics, models for space weather predictions, and the large-scale dynamics of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.  Recognized worldwide for his expertise in space electrodynamics, Nelson’s career included more than 200 published articles in scientific journals and books.

Nelson is survived by his wife, Jan, of 61 years, and his two children, Dan and Dianne.  Nelson was a kind, compassionate, and gentle man who consistently saw the good in everyone and everything.   A highly accomplished, dedicated leader in space research, Nelson Maynard was a great scientist and human being  --  a true inspiration to us all.  


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