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Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial

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Call for applications for STFC Public Engagement Early-Career Researcher Forum

 

The STFC Public Engagement Early-Career Researcher Forum (the ‘PEER Forum’) will support talented scientists and engineers in the early stages of their career to develop their public engagement and outreach goals, to ensure the next generation of STFC scientists and engineers continue to deliver the highest quality of purposeful, audience-driven public engagement.

Applications are being taken until 4pm on 3 June 2021. If you would like to apply, visit the PEER Forum website, and if you have queries This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The PEER Forum aims:

  • To foster peer learning and support between early career scientists and engineers with similar passion for public engagement and outreach, thus developing a peer support network that goes beyond an individual’s term in the forum 
  • To foster a better knowledge and understanding of the support mechanisms available from STFC and other organisations, including funding mechanisms, evaluation, and reporting. As well as how to successfully access and utilise this support 
  • To explore the realities of delivering and leading public engagement as an early career professional and build an evidence base to inform and influence STFC and by extension UKRI’s approaches to public engagement, giving an effective voice to early career researchers

What will participation in the Forum involve?

Participants in the PEER Forum will meet face-to-face at least twice per year to share learning and to participate in session that will strengthen the depth and breadth of their understanding of public engagement and outreach.

Who can apply to join the Forum?

The PEER Forum is for practising early-career scientists and engineers who have passion and ambition for carrying out excellent public engagement alongside, and complementary to, their career in science or engineering. We are seeking Forum members from across the breadth of STFC’s pure and applied science and technology remit.

The specific personal requirements of PEER Forum membership are that members:

  • Have completed (or currently studying for – including apprentices and PhD students) their highest level of academic qualification within the last ten years (not including any career breaks)
  • Are employed at a Higher Education Institute, or a research-intensive Public Sector Research Organisation or Research Laboratory (including STFC’s own national laboratories)
  • Work within a science and technology field in STFC’s remit, or with a strong inter-disciplinary connection to STFC’s remit, or use an STFC facility to enable their own research
  • Clearly describe their track record of experience in their field, corresponding to the length of their career to date
  • Clearly describe their track record of delivering and leading, or seeking the opportunity to lead, public engagement and/or outreach
  • Can provide insight into their experiences in public engagement and/or outreach and also evidence one or more of
  • Inspiring others
  • Delivering impact
  • Demonstrating creativity
  • Introducing transformative ideas and/or inventions
  • Building and sustaining collaborations/networks
  • Are keen communicators with a willingness to contribute to the success of a UK-wide network

    • https://stfc.ukri.org/public-engagement/training-and-support/peer-forum/  

    Astronet Science Vision & Infrastructure Roadmap

     

    Astronet is a consortium of European funding agencies, established for the purpose of providing advice on long-term planning and development of European Astronomy. Setup in 2005, its members include most of the major European astronomy nations, with associated links to the European Space Agency, the European Southern Observatory, SKA, and the European Astronomical Society, among others. The purpose of the Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap is to deliver a coordinated vision covering the entire breadth of astronomical research, from the origin and early development of the Universe to our own solar system.

    The first European Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap for Astronomy was created by Astronet, using EU funds, in 2008/09, and updated in 2014/15. Astronet is now developing a new Science Vision & Infrastructure Roadmap, in a single document with an outlook for the next 20 years. A delivery date to European funding agencies of mid-2021 is anticipated. 

    The Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap revolves around the research themes listed below:

    • Origin and evolution of the Universe
    • Formation and evolution of galaxies
    • Formation & evolution of stars
    • Formation & evolution of planetary systems
    • Understanding the solar system and conditions for life

    but will include cross-cutting aspects such as computing and training and sustainability.

     

    After some delays due to the global pandemic, the first drafts of the chapters for the document are now available from the Panels asked to draft them, for you to view and comment on. For the Science Vision & Roadmap to be truly representative it is essential we take account of the views of as much of the European astronomy and space science community as possible – so your input is really valued by the Panels and Astronet. Please leave any comments, feedback or questions on the site by 1 May 2021.

    It is intended that a virtual “town hall” style event will be held in late Spring 2021, where an update on the project and responses to the feedback will be provided.

    Equitable Letters in Space Physics (ELSP)

    Equitable Letters for Space Physics (ELSP) is a project 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. You can learn more about ELSP's mission and find both letter writing and implicit bias resources at the ELSP website.

    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. Providing resources for people wishing to learn about different implicit biases and lessen their manifestation.
    3. Providing reviews of recommendation and nomination letters, with the goal of lessening implicit bias in these letters.

    At the moment, ELSP is 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.The ELSP board of directors is Angeline G. Burrell; John Coxon; Alexa Halford; McArthur Jones Jr.; and Kate Zawdie. If you have more questions or would like to participate, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    Call for proposals for ESA's Living Planet Fellowship

    ESA is currently inviting proposals for their Living Planet Fellowship with a deadline of 15 March 2021. These fellowships, worth a maximum of €110k, are intended:

    To support young scientists, at post-doctoral level, to undertake cutting-edge research in Earth Observation, Earth System Science or Climate Research, maximising the scientific return of ESA and European EO missions and datasets through the development of novel EO methods, techniques and products, and by delivering excellent scientific results addressing the grand Earth Science challenges of the next decade, enabling improved predictions of the physical interaction of society with the Earth system.

    Interested candidates need to propose a two-year-long research plan which contributes to either of the two themes of the fellowship: "Advancing novel methods and techniques" or "Advancing Earth system science". The call also includes opportunities in the use of cloud computing capabilities; to support small ground-based experiments and in situ data collection; and a visiting scientist scheme to join the new ESA Earth System Science Hub.

    Questions related to the call can be submitted via email, and must be "not later than two weeks before the Closing Date" (i.e. by the end of February 2021). The timeline for the fellowships is as follows:

    Milestone Date
    Submission of proposals 15 March 2021 
    Communication of results* Q2 2021
    Beginning of activities* Q3 2021

    *tentative

    "Mental Health and Wellbeing in the MIST Community": A series of panel discussions

    We are hosting a series of pre-recorded panel discussions on the topic of "Mental Health and Wellbeing in the MIST Community", exploring the sources and impacts within our community as well as discussing ways to move forwards. The discussions will focus on both individual and community-wide perspectives, and will consider perspectives from a range of career stages. The panel discussions will separately focus on views from a) PhD students, b) PDRAs, and c) Tenure positions. 
     
    To ensure that the discussion focuses on the needs and issues most important to the MIST Community, we request your input on questions that you would like to pose to the panel, as well as specific topics that you would like to see covered. To suggest questions & topics, please use the following form: https://forms.gle/J4QS5JdaVCo1hF6z7 and submit your suggestions by Friday 26 February. Please note that any responses on the form are completely anonymous.
     
    For support with mental health and wellbeing concerns, we recommend the following resources: https://ras.ac.uk/education-and-careers/places-you-can-find-support.
     
    If you have any other questions, concerns, or would like to discuss anything in further detail, please get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    ESCAPE Summer School on Data Science for Astronomy, Astroparticle and Particle Physics

    The ESCAPE Summer School on Data Science for Astronomy, Astroparticle and Particle Physics will be held online from 7 to 18 June 2021. Registration to attend the school is now open, with a deadline of with a registration deadline of 31 May 2021.

    This event is free and open to all, and is being carried out in the framework of Project ESCAPE (European Science Cluster of Astronomy & Particle physics ESFRI research infrastructures).

    The program of the school is devoted to project development for astrophysics, astroparticle physics & particle physics. It will provide theoretical and hands-on training on Data Science and Python development:

    • coding environment and good code practices
    • version control and collaborative development
    • Python packaging
    • scientific libraries for data science and analysis and machine learning

    A Slack community for the school will be available for communication between participants and to ask questions to tutors. The school is held as a continuation of the Asterics/Obelics summer schools (2017, 2018, 2019). Questions can be directed to the organisers.

    SuperDARN Workshop 2021

    The next SuperDARN workshop will be hosted by the South African National Space Agency virtually. For more details, visit the conference website. The meeting is set for 24–28 May 2021 and will consist mainly of video presentations. All aspects of space science, data analysis, radar operations and technology related directly or indirectly to SuperDARN are welcome.

    The key dates are:

    • Early bird registration deadline: 7 May 2021
    • Abstract Submission: 7 May 2021
    • Presentation submission deadline: 14 May 2021
    • Late bird registration deadline: 21 May 2021

    The organisers are Dr Judy Stephenson and Dr Mike Kosch and there is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    MIST sessions at NAM

    The forthcoming National Astronomy Meeting has a variety of sessions that have been proposed by members of the MIST community; the following is a list of the sessions that have been advertised on the MIST mailing list. (If you would like your session to appear below, please email MIST Council to be included.)

    Open session on Magnetospheric, Ionospheric and Solar-Terrestrial physics (Oliver Allanson, John Coxon, Gregory Hunt, Mathew Owens, Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, Maria-Theresia Walach)
    We welcome contributions from all MIST disciplines discussing the latest results: from global system-scale dynamics and climatological timescales, down to gyroscale processes.

    From plasma to galactic dynamics: collisionless physics across the Universe (Oliver Allanson, Thomas Neukirch, Chris Hamilton, Luca Franci, Jean-Baptiste Fouvry)
    In this inter-disciplinary session we welcome all observational, theoretical and modelling work that considers the physics of collisionless systems – in either (or both of) the plasma and gravitational contexts. Invited speakers: David Burgess (Queen Mary University of London) & Benoit Famaey (Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg).

    Magnetospheres of the outer planets (Gregory Hunt, Jonathan Nichols, Joe Kinrade)
    In this session, we invite presentations on any aspect of modelling or data analysis regarding the magnetospheres of the outer planets.

    Observations of CMEs: from onset to impact (Teodora Mihailescu, Shannon Jones, Lucie Green, Mathew Owens)
    We invite contributions which explore observations of CMEs: from high-resolution on disk images of CME onset, to heliospheric imagery and in situ measurements in the inner heliosphere, to create a coherent picture of a CME’s journey. We particularly welcome contributions which combine different types of remote sensing observations with plasma parameters measured in situ.

    SMILE supporting science: magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling (Michaela Mooney, Maria-Theresia Walach, Jennifer Carter)
    This session invites submissions concerning magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling using a combination of space and ground-based observations, or comparisons between space and ground-based observational datasets.

    The solar wind from a new perspective with Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe (David Stansby, Lorenzo Matteini, Laura Berčič, Lloyd Woodham, Stephanie Yardley)
    This session will focus on first results from Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe, including solar wind sources and connection science, heating and acceleration processes, turbulence and kinetic physics, as well as large-scale morphology. We welcome contributions from in-situ and remote sensing observations, modelling and theory.

    Space weather and plasma processes: from the Sun to the Earth Karen Meyer, Sarah N Bentley, Marianna Korsos, Teo Bloch, Shaun Bloomfield, Richard Boynton, Tom Elsden, Richard Harrison, Paolo Pagano, Andy Smith)
    We welcome presentations from the scale of individual processes to the coupling between physical systems, in the fields of solar, heliospheric, magnetospheric and ionospheric physics. We encourage contributions on a variety of research methodologies, including the application of techniques drawn from other disciplines, across observations, theory and modelling.

    Wave-Particle Interactions in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas (Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, Aurora Simionescu, Daniel Verscharen, Clare Watt, Emma Woodfield)
    Wave-particle interactions are an essential process in plasmas across our solar system and in astrophysical bodies that governs plasma heating and the transfer of energy between particles and electromagnetic fields. This session aims to bring together researchers from the solar, terrestrial, planetary, and astrophysics communities to evaluate the breadth of interactions and the variation of their characteristics for different plasma regimes. Invited speakers include Wen Li (Boston University) and Francesco Valentini (Università della Calabria).

    Waves and Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere in the High-Resolution Era (Noemi Zsamberger, David Kuridze, Anne-Marie Broomhall, Robertus Erdelyi) The session will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and expertise in the field of solar atmospheric waves and oscillations, with a special focus on new theoretical, modelling and observational results obtained thanks to a variety of new instrumentation (such as SDO/AIA, Parker Solar Probe, SST, GREGOR and DKIST) with unprecedented high spatial, temporal and spectral resolution capabilities.

    Quo vadis, European Space Weather community?

    A group of European space weather actors believe that now is the right time to frame the Space Weather and Space Climate discipline in Europe for the coming years. This group comprises Jean Lilensten, Mateja Dumbović, Luca Spogli, Anna Belehaki, Ronald Van der Linden, Stefaan Poedts, Teresa Barata, Mario M. Bisi, Gae ̈l Cessateur, Erwin De Donder, Antonio Guerrero, Emilia Kilpua, Marianna B. Korsos, Rui F. Pinto, Manuela Temmer, Ioanna Tsagouri, Jaroslav Urbāř, and Francesca Zuccarello.

    A series of reasons for this have been formulated in an article that has been submitted to the JSWSC. The group will be holding a virtual kick-off meeting on Wednesday 17 March at 12:00 UT to present their findings and to make propositions to the European Space Weather community at large (scientists, engineers, forecasters, users, educators, etc.) for a future organisation. A Q&A chat will be open during the presentations, and this will be followed by a two-month discussion period.

    Registration for the virtual kick-off meeting is now open.

     

     

     

    UK Space Safety Engagement Meetings

    The UK Space Safety Engagement Meetings are a series of meetings that are scheduled to run over 24–26 March 2021 in the afternoons (UK time). These meetings are UK-focussed, but are of interest to the international space weather and space safety communities and are not restricted to participants from the UK. 

    If you would like to register for free, visit the website and select which of the days you would like to register for. The meetings will take place over the Zoom platform – you must register in order to receive the Zoom link – and this link will be e-Mailed out to registrants on Monday 22nd March 2021. The deadline for registration is 12:00 UT on 19 March 2021.