Physics graduate student, Mohammad Barani, recently received the Newkirk Fellowship awarded by the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Newkirk Fellowship is one of the most prestigious fellowships in the field of space plasma physics, which is in honor of Gordon A. Newkirk Jr. (1928-1985), a famous astrophysicist whose contribution to balloon observations was a groundwork in space-born experiments.
This fellowship, including a funding of ~$41,100, starts in 2019 and supports Barani’s visits at HAO over up to three summers, with a research focus on the Ultra-Low-Frequency waves in near-Earth space and their effects on space plasmas. His visits will be hosted by Professor Mary Hudson, a world-leading expert in space plasmas and waves. His work will make use of real time wave observations from multiple satellites operated by NOAA and NASA, including the recent NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission composed of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation to measure waves and plasmas with unprecedentedly high spatial and temporal resolutions. Barani’s research is part of an effort at WVU to model the wave and plasma environment in near-Earth space led by Professor Weichao Tu.
Read more about the Newkirk Fellowship.
Watch a video of Barani’s visiting presentation at HAO.