Table of Contents
- Stanislav Sazykin (1972-2021)
- Equitable Letters for Space Physics
- Magnetosphere Online Seminar Series
- WHPI Workshop Announcement
- IAGA-IASPEI 2021
- JOB OPENING: Two Postdoc Positions at Los Alamos National Lab: Ionospheric/Lightning Physics
- JOB OPENING: GSFC Civil Servant Position Advertisement
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1. Stanislav Sazykin (1972-2021)
From: Richard Wolf (rawolf(at)rice.edu)
Stan Sazykin died suddenly and unexpectedly on May 3 at the age of 49. The cause of his death has not yet been determined.
After completing B.S. and M. S. degrees from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Stan came to the United States in 1993 as an exchange student, as part of the USSR-USA Bush-Gorbachev Exchange Program (later Russia-USA). He earned additional undergraduate and graduate degrees from Utah State University (B.S. and Ph.D.), working under the direction of Bela Fejer. He initially worked on equatorial and low latitude thermospheric winds, but later shifted to theoretical studies of the penetration of magnetospheric electric fields in the ionosphere under the guidance of Richard Wolf and Robert Spiro at Rice University. He came to Rice University in 2000 as a postdoc, rising quickly through the ranks to Associate Research Professor. Stan was a distinguished computational physicist and a well-established and highly-respected member of the space plasma physics community. He was one of the smartest people any of us have ever encountered, with an extraordinarily rigorous and penetrating mind. He was particularly adept at finding weak points in arguments, putting him in high demand as a reviewer.
As a graduate student, Stan reprogrammed most of the Rice Convection Model (RCM) of the Earth's inner magnetosphere. At Rice, Stan led the continued development and use of the RCM, updating its numerics and extending its usefulness by participating in multiple code-coupling projects with other large-scale models. It is largely through Stan’s efforts that the RCM is presently being used by several research groups around the country and is available for scientific use through NASA's Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC). When anyone had questions about the RCM and its implementation, Stan was the person to consult. Stan played an important role in the development of the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF), a large University of Michigan led effort that coupled the RCM with a thermosphere-ionosphere code and a large-scale magnetohydrodynamic model to provide a comprehensive picture of the space environment near the Earth. Available through the CCMC, SWMF was the first large-scale magnetospheric model selected for transition to operations at the NOAA's Space Forecast Center, which provides nowcasts and forecasts of space weather conditions for commercial, government, and private customers.
Much of Stan's research centered on the physics of electric fields in the middle- and low-latitude ionosphere. Usually, the magnetosphere is the driver for electric fields in the auroral and polar-cap ionosphere, while lower-latitude electric fields are largely controlled by neutral winds. However, in extreme circumstances, magnetospherically driven electric fields can penetrate all the way to the equator, sometimes dramatically altering the structure of the low-latitude ionosphere. In less extreme but still active magnetospheric conditions, localized westward ionospheric drift enhancements occur just equatorward of the auroral zone. Driven by magnetospheric electric fields, these regions of strong flow, are called by various names (Polarization Jets, SubAuroral Ion Drifts (SAIDs), and SAPS (SubAuroral Polarization Streams)). Stan's work with the RCM substantially affected research on all of those topics, often through use of coupled ionosphere-magnetosphere models. Using a version of the RCM, he also made important contributions to our understanding of the magnetosphere of Saturn.
As a colleague, Stan was always a team player. Through the 2010s, much of the RCM effort focused on the role of plasma sheet bubbles, which are regions of reduced flux tube entropy that move earthward through the plasma sheet, often at very high speeds. Those bubbles, which exist with various sizes and shapes, are responsible for important dynamic features of the plasma sheet, specifically bursty bulk flows, auroral streamers, sawtooth events, and substorm expansions. The RCM played a substantial role as many members of the magnetospheric community worked to sort out the physics responsible for these phenomena. Use of the RCM for these efforts required deep changes in the code, changes that required Stan’s unique expertise and understanding.
Stan was an active member of the space science community, convening sessions at meetings and focus groups, chairing sessions with good humor and penetrating comments. For five years, he was a member of the Steering Committee of the Geospace Environment Modeling Program (GEM). He also served Rice University as a member of the Rice University Faculty/Staff Benefit Committee. For seven years, he also served on the Faculty Senate, playing an important role in the development of Rice’s policies for research and teaching professors.
Stan will be sorely missed by his wife Ying and his three young sons Andrew, Logan, and Victor, as well as his colleagues at Rice and members of the magnetospheric and ionospheric scientific communities throughout the world. Since the family was dependent on Stan’s income, Rice's Physics and Astronomy Department has established a GoFundMe account to help support his family through this difficult time: https://gofund.me/06094fbf
Dick Wolf, Frank Toffoletto, Bela Fejer, Tom Hill, Bob Spiro, Jian Yang
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2. Equitable Letters for Space Physics
From: Angeline Burrell, John Coxon, Alexa Halford, McArthur Jones Jr., Kate Zawdie (angeline.burrell(at)nrl.navy.mil)
Dear GEM community,
I am pleased to announce the launch of a new effort, Equitable Letters for Space Physics (ELSP), to encourage merit-based recommendations and nominations in the space physics community by providing resources for letter writing and reviews of recommendation and nomination letters. ELSP seeks to achieve this goal by:
1) Providing resources for people writing letters of recommendation and award nomination at the undergraduate level and above,
2) Provide resources for people wishing to learn about different implicit biases and lessen their manifestation, and
3) Provide reviews of recommendation and nomination letters, with the goal of lessening implicit bias in these letters.
At the moment, we are seeking volunteers to participate as reviewers in the letter submission system. This system will function similarly to double-blind journal article reviews, with the ELSP executive director acting as editor. If you have more questions or would like to participate, please contact us at: equitable.space.letters(at)gmail.com.
You can also learn more about our mission and find both letter writing and implicit bias resources at the ELSP website: https://equitableletterssp.github.io/ELSP/.
Happy Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month,
Angeline G. Burrell
John Coxon,
Alexa Halford,
McArthur Jones Jr.,
Kate Zawdie
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3. Magnetosphere Online Seminar Series
From: Jason Shuster (magnetosphere.seminars(at)gmail.com)
We invite you to join us every Monday at 12pm (ET) for the weekly Magnetosphere Online Seminar Series.
On Monday, May 10, Brian Walsh will present on ""Soft X-Rays in the Magnetosphere"". A link to join the seminar via Zoom or YouTube can be found on our home page:
https://msolss.github.io/MagSeminars/
The password to join the Zoom seminar is: Mag@1
The following week on May 17, Jacob Bortnik is scheduled to present on ""Machine Learning in Magnetospheric Physics"".
You can view the current 2021 schedule here:
https://msolss.github.io/MagSeminars/schedule.html
Add your name to our mailing list here:
https://msolss.github.io/MagSeminars/mail-list.html
Read about previous talks here:
https://msolss.github.io/MagSeminars/blog.html
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4. WHPI Workshop Announcement
From: Liying Qian (lqian(at)ucar.edu)
Dear Colleagues,
The Whole Heliosphere and Planetary Interactions Workshop will be held during 13 - 17 September, 2021
The Whole Heliosphere and Planetary Interactions (WHPI) is an international initiative focused around the solar minimum period that aims to understand the interconnected sun-heliospheric-planetary system. The goal of the workshop will be to foster collaborations across disciplines by providing a forum for comparing models and observations of specific aspects of the extended solar minimum time period in a truly interactive and collaborative environment. Research on all aspects of solar minimum modeling and observations are encouraged, including: the global connected structure of the heliosphere and planetary space environments/atmospheres, the origins and impacts of high-speed solar wind streams, CMEs from sun-to-heliopause, and comparative solar minima.
Registration is now open (it is free, deadline August 31, 2021) as is abstract submission (due by June 30, 2021). Further information may be found here: https://cpaess.ucar.edu/node/14559.
Cheers,
The WHPI Team
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5. IAGA-IASPEI 2021
From: Simon Wing (simon.wing(at)jhuapl.edu)
The Assembly of IAGA-IASPEI 2021 will be held virtually on 2021 August 21-27. Abstract deadline has been extended to May 7, 2021. Div III will hold 12 sessions (including a joint session with Div II) that are relevant to magnetosphere, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, and solar wind-magnetosphere coupling. Session descriptions and other details can be found at the IAGA website http://iaga-iaspei-india2021.in/symposia-details.html
Abstract Submission: January 15 to May 7, 2021
Early bird registration: January 15 to June 30, 2021
For abstract submission, registration, and other information, please visit the meeting website http://iaga-iaspei-india2021.in/
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us,
Simon Wing (Div III chair)
George Balasis (Div III co-chair)
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6. JOB OPENING: Two Postdoc Positions at Los Alamos National Lab: Ionospheric/Lightning Physics
From: Erin Lay (elay(at)lanl.gov)
Dear GEM Community,
The Space and Remote Sensing Sciences Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking a post-doctoral applicant in lightning and ionospheric remote sensing. Both positions will focus on scientific data analysis from the Radio Frequency Sensor (RFS), an RF lightning detector in geosynchronous orbit. This instrument will provide the first opportunity for RF lightning detection at GEO, allowing constant viewing of RF emissions in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, polarized RF measurements in the low VHF will provide opportunity for innovative ionospheric science. We seek to fill two RFS-driven post-doctoral positions, with two distinct focus areas.
Focus Area 1) Studies of storm evolution over the entire thunderstorm, and comparison of RF lightning signals with the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) optical measurements of the same thunderstorms. This work would focus on understanding the origins of optical versus RF emissions from storms.
Focus Area 2) This work will focus on developing novel data analysis techniques using lightning polarization information and dispersion information from RF ionospheric delay. Studies will be done in conjunction with ground-based 3-D polarization sensing measurements.
Postdoctoral candidates are required to have a Ph.D. degree, completed within the past five years, or soon to be completed. Appointments are for two years, renewable for a third year.
Our team’s research program in lightning and ionospheric physics is conducted in support of performance assessment of GPS-based global nuclear detonation sensors for treaty monitoring. LANL offers a stimulating environment of diverse, world-class science, in a beautiful mountain setting, where scientists pursue research to solve problems of national significance. The successful candidate should have familiarity with scientific data processing, programming, and statistical analysis.
Please find the complete job ad at jobs.lanl.gov : Vacancy Name = IRC84602
https://jobszp1.lanl.gov:443/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?OAFunc=IRC_VIS_VAC_DISPLAY&OAMC=R&p_svid=84602&p_spid=3764398&p_lang_code=US
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7. JOB OPENING: GSFC Civil Servant Position Advertisement
From: Eftyhia Zesta (eftyhia.zesta(at)nasa.gov)
The Geospace Laboratory in the Heliophysics Division of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Research Astrophysicist serving as a data scientist to support current and upcoming missions such as Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), lunar opportunities associated with the Artemis program, preparation for Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC), and various CubeSat and SmallSat programs such as Dione that support NASA's Strategic Science Plan. The qualified applicant will have relevant experience in the topic of magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling and apply innovative methods to his or her research. The position ID is GSFC-21-DE-11086123-ST, and applicants must have competencies in leadership, research, space science, and planetary atmospheres. Annual salary is in the range $96,013-$147,493 depending on experience and qualifications. The position will be advertised at USAJOBS.GOV. It is expected to open on May 14 for application and will close on May 18 at 11:59pm EST. Interested applicants, please create a profile at usajobs.gov and submit your application during the May 14-18 time period that the position will be open. Applicants are encouraged not to wait until the last minute to apply.
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