Table of Contents ====================================================================== 1. New SPA Advocacy Committee 2. Special AGU Session on Space Weather Forecasting ====================================================================== *************************** ** THE GEM MESSENGER ** *************************** Volume 23, Number 18 July 25, 2013 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. New SPA Advocacy Committee ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: James Klimchuk As I am sure you are aware, our discipline is being threatened. Budgets have sharply declined, and further cuts are being considered. To reverse this dangerous trend, it is imperative that we speak up as a unified community. Strong advocacy has worked effectively for other disciplines, but we are perceived as being complacent. The squeaky wheel gets the grease! I have therefore created a new SPA Advocacy Committee. Its charge (see below) is to lead the effort to remind the various stakeholders of the importance of our science and its value to the nation. The members of the Committee are Len Fisk (Chair), Dan Baker, Gordon Emslie, Maura Hagan, and Harlan Spence. You may notice a lack of junior and mid-career scientists. I feel this is warranted for this initial committee due to the extreme urgency of the situation. These first members are all highly experienced leaders in this arena who can act quickly and decisively. However, we need everyone’s help. If there are letter-writing campaigns, please participate. Congressional staffers consistently tell us that this works. The Committee may choose to create task forces. If asked to serve, please do. Or consider volunteering even before you are contacted. We are all in this together. If we act as a cohesive Heliophysics community, we can make positive things happen! Thanks. SPA Advocacy Committee Charter The American Geophysical Union Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA) Advocacy Committee is established on July 24, 2013. The charge of the Committee is to promote support for the field of Space Physics and Aeronomy, especially by the funding agencies and by the government in general. This will be done by all appropriate means, including letter writing campaigns, personal visits, newspaper editorials, and position statements. Audiences include Congress, the leadership of the funding agencies (especially NASA and NSF), the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Committee will monitor and evaluate the political environment, develop advocacy strategies, and implement those strategies. The Committee is free to pursue its objectives as it sees fit, including the option of recruiting members of the SPA community to serve on task forces. Each task force would be led by a Committee member, with the entire Committee providing oversight. The task forces should be representative of the community and include junior and mid-career scientists. The Committee will keep the elected SPA Officers apprised of its activities. Any especially significant or highly visible statements made on behalf of the SPA must be approved by the Officers. The Committee will consist of five members, including the Chair. The term of office is two years, commensurate with the terms of the SPA Officers. It is preferable that some members be reappointed for a second term to maintain continuity. Each of the four science sub- disciplines of the SPA will be represented: ionospheric (ITM), magnetospheric, heliospheric, and solar physics. Note: I submit this article as President of the SPA and not as a federal employee. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Special AGU Session on Space Weather Forecasting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tony Mannucci Dear Colleagues, Spiro, Tamas and I are organizing a special session at the fall AGU focused on scientific aspects of space weather forecasting. The session description is below. Please give this session your serious consideration. We welcome your contribution. The abstract deadline is August 6, 2013. Thank you. Sincerely, Tony Mannucci, JPL Spiro Antiochos, NASA Goddard Tamas Gombosi, University of Michigan Session SH012, co-sponsors SM, SA Session title: Scientific Aspects of Space Weather Forecasting Description: New satellite-based observations and physics-based models encompassing the solar corona to Earth's upper atmosphere are advancing space weather science. SDO and STEREO provide comprehensive measurements of the structure and dynamics of solar drivers, and the Van Allen Probes are measuring manifestations of space weather at Earth. Solar-heliosphere models recently transitioned to operations are permitting 1-4 day advance warning of disturbances. Yet, enormous scientific challenges remain in understanding and forecasting space weather. We invite presentations covering fundamental science, modeling, and observations in the solar, heliosphere, magnetosphere and upper atmosphere domains. Talks addressing forecasting complex phenomena are welcome. +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | To subscribe GEM Messengers, send an e-mail to | | | | with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: | | subscribe gem | | To remove yourself from the mailing list, the command is: | | unsubscribe gem | | | | To broadcast a message to the GEM community, please contact | | Peter Chi at | | | | Please use plain text as the format of your submission. | | | | GEM Messenger is also posted online via newsfeed at | | http://heliophysics.blogspot.com and | | http://www.facebook.com/heliophysics | | | | Back issues are available at ftp://igpp.ucla.edu/scratch/gem/ | | | | URL of GEM Home Page: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki | | Workshop Information: http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/index.html | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+