Congratulations to Dr. Jo Baker on his promotion to the rank of full professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering! The announcement was made by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors during its June 2021 meeting, see https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2021/06/provost-promotion-tenure-bov-2021.html.

Since his arrival at Virginia Tech in 2008 Dr. Baker has been key to the growth of the SuperDARN research group including student mentorship and has been responsible for many initiatives in the teaching program of the department. He was awarded the prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award in 2012. Jo is currently providing senior leadership to both the SuperDARN and Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Science Team (MIST) programs.

A combined crew of SuperDARN PIs, research staff, and students visited the Blackstone site June 6 - 10. The goal was to prepare antenna poles and hardware for shipment to Iceland where they will be incorporated into the build of a new dual radar site at Pykkvibaer. The equipment has been stored at the Blackstone site for about ten years as a site was sought to complete the build of radars under the NSF Mid-Sized Infrastructure (MSI) program. The new radars will effectively replace the previous radars located at Stokkseyri and Pykkvibaer. Much woodworking and heavy lifting was required on this trip. The DC crew counted Simon Shepherd (PI) and undergrad Nathaniel Alden while the VT crew counted Mike Ruohoniemi (PI), Kevin Sterne, grad student Ian Kelley, and undergrad Mark Higgins. A second visit is planned to relocate the equipment stacks into shipping containers for delivery to a shipyard.

Dr. Nishitani-san has informed co-authors and the wider SuperDARN community that the paper "Review of the accomplishments of mid-latitude Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) HF radars" published in PEPS has been recognized as a most highly cited paper among those published between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019. Dr. Nishitani-san conceived the idea of writing a review paper as a collaborative exercise with members of the international SuperDARN community and organized two writing workshops with funding from the Joint Research Program of ISEE, Nagoya University (ISEE/CICR International Workshop). For more information about the award see 'Read More'. For a news summary of the workshops and publication of the paper with citation details click http://vt.superdarn.org/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=317
Link to ISEE news article showing Nishitani-san with award: https://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/news/award/2021/20210607.html

Congratulations to Nozomu and co-authors, and to all involved in making the mid-latitude SuperDARN radars a success!

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) provides early-career and more senior scientists opportunities to share in NASA's mission. NASA Postdoctoral Fellows work on 1 to 3 year assignments with NASA scientists and engineers at NASA centers and institutes to advance NASA's missions in earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, space bioscience, aeronautics, engineering, human exploration and space operations, astrobiology, and science management. For eligibility requirements see 'Read More'.

For complete details see the NPP website at https://npp.usra.edu/

Deadline for Applications: July 1, 2021 6:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is accepting applications for the 2021-2023 Next Generation Fellowships. Three awardees will receive financial support and two summer visits. Graduate students working on a masters or doctoral degree in Earth system science are encouraged to learn more about the fellowship online. For a listing of specific fellowship opportunities click on 'Read More'. Full fellowship details are available at: https://www.ucar.edu/opportunities/fellowships/ucar-next-generation-fellowships

Application and two referral letters must be received by Tuesday, June 15, 2021.
Awards announced: August 3, 2021
Awards begin: Fall semester 2021
Summer visits begin: May/June 2022 & May/June 2023

VT SuperDARN student Shibaji Chakraborty defended his doctoral disseration on Friday, May 7, 2021 to an examining committee of seven professors. Shibaji is advised by Drs. Jo Baker and Mike Ruohoniemi. He has published in leading journals on the impacts of solar flares on the lower ionosphere and his work has lead to an award from the NASA SWO2R ('Space Weather Operations-to-Research') program. The title of his dissertation is 'Characterization and Modeling of Solar Flare Effects in the Ionosphere Observed by HF Instruments'. While working towards his doctoral degree Shibaji earned a dual M.A. in Data Analysis & Applied Statistcs from the Department of Statistics and established significant collaborations with colleagues at LANL, NCAR/HAO, and Natural Resources Canada.

Congratulations, Shibaji!

Photo credit: Sarasi Banerjee