Promoting applied space weather education in the academic environment: successes and lessons learned

Abstract:

Several years ago, the Physics Department of the Catholic University of America introduced a new degree program, Applied Space Weather Research (ASWR), aiming to educate the next generation of space weather experts for the national laboratories and the growing sector of commercial companies impacted by space weather effects. The ASWR program encompasses a Master of Science in space weather research and a matching undergraduate minor degree. The graduates learn the fundamental physics of Space Weather, as well as the applied aspects that will enable them to contribute their expert knowledge to electric power, aviation, navigation, communications, and satellite industries. They also have the opportunity to round out their academic experience with research appointments at NASA and other federal agencies. In this talk, we will overview the main elements of the ASWR program intended to provide our students with an understanding of space weather system science, including the origins of space weather on the Sun, transport of particles and radiation through space, interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere, space plasma physics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes, and the chemistry, dynamics, and electrical properties of the ionosphere and thermosphere. The coursework also trains the students in processing and interpreting different types of relevant data products. We will also share our experience in coordinating hands-on research projects allowing future ASWR graduates to gain a deeper insight into the first-principle physics of key space weather phenomena, and discuss the goals and the challenges faced by our program and space weather education in general.