VT SuperDARN student Ian Kelley successfully presented his thesis in support of earning a Master of Science degree to a committee of professors on July 28, 2022. The title of his thesis is 'Medium Scale Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances sensed with GNSS TEC and SuperDARN'. Ian has shown that there is a class of medium scale TIDs that is associated with very strong electric fields during storm times. This work has been submitted for publication in JGR. His official advisors are Drs. Jo Baker and Mike Ruohoniemi while his primary mentor on the TID work has been Dr. Bharat Kunduri. He has also been mentored by scientists at MIT Haystack Observatory. During his time as a graduate student Ian has been very active on hardware under the supervision of Mr. Kevin Sterne and has worked extensively at Virginia Tech SuperDARN radar sites. Ian is a graduate of Virginia Tech's Undergraduate/Graduate (UG/G) Accelerated Master's Degree program.
Congratulations, Ian!
(Photo credit: Bharat Kunduri)

Dr. Atsuki Shinbori and colleagues at the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE) at Nagoya University have published a paper in Earth, Planets, and Space (EPS) that uses data from the SuperDARN Hokkaido pair of radars to elucidate the physics of TIDs observed in TEC data following the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption. It is shown that ionospheric effects reached the Japanese sector faster than atmospheric effects due to conjugacy. Here are links to press releases provided by the first author and coauthors including SuperDARN PI Dr. Nozomu Nishitani::
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/958792
https://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/news/research-results/2022/20220714.html
The potential significance of this finding for advance warning of disturbance in the coupled atmosphere-ocean system was picked up by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and reported here: https://www.preventionweb.net/news/shockwave-caused-tonga-underwater-eruption-may-help-scientists-predict-future-tsunami
Figure credit and citation: Shinbori, A., Otsuka, Y., Sori, T. et al. Electromagnetic conjugacy of ionospheric disturbances after the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption as seen in GNSS-TEC and SuperDARN Hokkaido pair of radars observations. Earth Planets Space 74, 106 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01665-8

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech has funding available for students to enroll in its PhD program and pursue research in the emerging area of geospace data analytics. Successful applicants will work with faculty in the Center for Space Science and Engineering Research (Space@VT) to conduct fundamental research on space weather specification and forecasting using globally distributed ground- and space-based datasets and numerical simulations. Outstanding candidates with advanced computer programming skills and academic backgrounds in physics or engineering are encouraged to respond. Potential applicants should make the Fellowship sponsors aware of their interest by emailing a resume and statement of purpose to Prof. Joseph Baker (jo.baker@vt.edu). Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the positions are filled.

NASA has announced that the Phase I award to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) for the Center for Geospace Storms (CGS) under the Diversity, Realize, Integrate, Venture, Educate (DRIVE) Science Center initiative will be extended into Phase II with five more years of funding. The goals of CGS are to fuse modeling and data to understand the physics of Earth's space environment (geospace) during storm conditions. The program of the DRIVE center is comprehensive with cutting edge research, community outreach, and student training. Virginia Tech is one of several participating universities with robust space programs. The lead researchers from Virginia Tech are Prof. J. Michael Ruohoniemi and Prof. Leonard Smith. The CGS DRIVE Center is led by the PI and director, Dr. Slava Merkin (JHU/APL), and deputy director, Dr. Michael Wiltberger (NCAR). News releases from these organizations and NASA are available at:
https://www.jhuapl.edu/NewsStory/220413-nasa-extends-apl-solar-and-space-physics-drive-center
https://news.ucar.edu/132837/ncar-partners-build-first-ever-comprehensive-community-geospace-model
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/nasa-selects-hubs-for-innovative-research-in-solar-sciences

The Boulder Space Weather Summer School (SWSS) is a two-week program, funded by NSF and hosted by HAO, that gives students a comprehensive introduction to the science of space weather: what it is, what it does, and what can be done about it. The theme is the physics of space weather and its impacts on the space environment, spacecraft, astronauts and ground based systems. Students will learn from leading researchers in the field and experts in forecasting space weather and meet other students working in the field. The program will appeal to graduate students starting their research careers in space physics as well as selected undergraduate students interested in exploring the topic.

The school wil be held July 18 – 29, 2022, in person in Boulder, CO (circumstances permitting). For more information see https://www2.hao.ucar.edu/SWSS

Application Deadline: June 3, 2022

In the U.S. community preparations are underway for the “Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033” under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences. This will lead to a series of recommendations that will determine research directions for the major agencies (e.g., NSF, NASA, NOAA). Numerous online discussions have been convened with the intention of drafting white papers as input to the agency-led deliberations. A deadline for submission of white papers is expected soon. Nominations to the Survey Steering Committee and Study Panels have closed. Meetings will begin in the July-August timeframe with a draft report expected by the end of the year.

Link to the grand spreadsheet of white paper thematic collections:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mn-RMMlorf-8fO0Vt-Mw1g4CC0o_RzKfBOoijgRSP_w/edit#gid=677557249

Guidance on preparation of white papers (FAQs):
https://nationalacademies.org/docs/DC459497C1AAFFB841F8221165878AE1DA04F96C5805