Heliophysics Science: Global Magnetospheric Simulation

About the role

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

Description

Current research focuses on developing the next generation of global simulations of the terrestrial magnetosphere and on intercalibrating existing simulation codes against themselves, data-based global models (e.g., those due to Tsyganenko), and against direct spacecraft observations. World-class research capabilities exist in all of these areas. A long-range objective is to develop global magnetosphere simulations, which allow for a quantitatively correct description of the terrestrial magnetosphere system. The presence of the SEC/LWS Programs at Goddard and their goal of understanding the global magnetosphere as a system provide a strong motivation for these research activities. The principal new techniques in global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code development include the construction of a finite element; a fully adaptive grid global MHD magnetospheric code, which will allow us to test the limits of MHD methods to modeling the global magnetosphere and on a longer timescale; and the use of hybrid and kinetic code patches to regions of the global MHD code where MHD is not applicable.

Location

Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland

Field of Science

Heliophysics Science

Advisors

• Alex Glocer
  alex.glocer-1@nasa.gov
  301-286-9475
• Lutz Rastaetter
  lutz.rastaetter-1@nasa.gov
  301-286-1085
• Hyunju Kim Connor
  Hyunju.k.connor@nasa.gov
  301.286.7417
• Christopher Bard
  christopher.bard@nasa.gov

Eligibility

• U.S. Citizens;
• U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
• Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status; and,
• Applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. at the time of application with 1) a valid EAD card and 2) I-485 or I-589 forms in pending status

Questions

Please email npp@orau.org