First, to address the elephant in the room... yes, I am reusing a photo from a previous post. It's nerdy, it's possibly the best pun(?) that I've come up with, and also perhaps the best drawing I've ever done. So please forgive me for the reuse. |
Just think, the FDA uses science to ensure public safety. FEMA uses science to ensure they can prepare and protect from natural disasters - this means they need the best science helping them. However, science results are sometimes used for political ends. In the name of science, people have oppressed others. And this makes scientists skittish. But it is part of the job of the scientist to make sure that people are informed. Scientists are needed to help construct good policy and be a resource of information as we encounter new materials, new viruses, new endeavors. Scientists are called on when we want to send humans to new places, and well learn more and more about the world, the universe, and our place in it.
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One of the best parts of the BARREL mission was being able to work with so many different people, institutions, and types of data. If you don't know yet, I kinda love data - any data, all data, can't get enough of it. As I'm sure you know, space is big, like really big, vast, massive! For this study, we had a balloon, a satellite, and multiple ground stations all relatively close together. But this is still just a small portion of the whole picture. It's like watching a baseball game but only being able to see how the pitcher holds the ball, just their hand, and the ball. If you don't know baseball, you might be able to tell that someone, and maybe even multiple people at different times are throwing a ball. If you watch a lot of baseball, you might be able to tell what type of pitch it is. If you are the pitching coach, you might even know the exact player who is pitching. Okay, so I don't watch much baseball. This analogy, perhaps, doesn't make any sense what so ever. But the point I'm trying to make is that we often can't seem much of what's going on because space is big. We bring in as much data, usually different types of data, to get a better picture of what's going on. Even then, we still might only get to see what's happening at the pitcher's mound. Okay enough with the sports analogy, what is happening in this paper that I'm supposedly writing a blog post on? Today's paper is "Investigating energetic electron precipitation through combining ground-based and balloon observations" and is led by Mark Clivard. This multi-national paper (UK, NZ, US, and CA) is looking at how electrons, energetic electrons, get lost from the magnetosphere to the atmosphere. If you've been reading this blog, you might be noticing that this is a common theme of my research: How do particles in the magnetosphere become lost to the atmosphere. You might be wondering when I'll figure it out and move on. The problem is we keep only seeing bits of this picture, like in this paper. We were able to infer the loss of particles, and specifically electrons, from the magnetosphere by the balloon. The balloons measure X-rays, which are a by-product of the energetic electrons interacting with the atmosphere. The ground-based instruments, very low frequency (VLF) receivers, also only infer the electrons being lost. The electron precipitation changes the path of the radio way so that the signal is altered in a recognizable way by the receiver. The CubeSat was able to measure the particles in space and see how this population changed throughout the time we were studying. If you notice, we didn't have any observations of waves where we saw/inferred the loss of the electrons. But, the characteristics of the electrons which were lost are similar to what we would expect if EMIC waves pushed them into the atmosphere.
Let's assume the electrons were lost to the atmosphere because they encountered an EMIC wave. We can make some new hypotheses. It looks like EMIC waves may have a small radial extent in the magnetosphere. Other studies agree with this hypothesis. Another interpretation is that EMIC waves may have a very long longitudinal length. So, in other words, EMIC waves maybe like a very thin shell - well have of a shell. Imagine that you've cut an onion in half and remove just one layer. That one-half layer is like a region of EMIC waves... maybe. It might be smaller or perhaps larger at different times. So while this paper had some significant observations of the particles, we still have some more work to do. More and more evidence, like that shown in this paper, is suggesting that EMIC waves cause the loss of magnetospheric electrons to the atmosphere. It looks like EMIC waves happen during the day and in the evening, but less so at midnight. Why is this important? Why should we keep looking into this? We care because EMIC waves can push very energetic particles into the atmosphere. We want to remove these very energetic particles from the magnetosphere because they can harm our satellites. But when some of the most energetic electrons interact with the atmosphere, they ultimately contribute to radiation at the altitudes where planes fly. A few of us are starting to look at how often this occurs. And the results of this paper suggest that most people need not worry about this! These events are very localized. The likelihood of a plane flying through one of them is small. If you happen to fly through this region, no worries, it's like getting an extra X-ray this year. But if you are a jet setter, you may be getting the dose of an additional 10 or 100 X-rays. That might be a problem as it can increase your likelihood of getting skin cancer. There is a solution! If we can predict when and where these events occur, because they are so localized, we may be able to let pilots know to fly around them. But, you ask, what if there is no way to fly around them. There are other potential solutions. The X-rays are relatively easily absorbed by the atmosphere. If we know the energy of the electrons, we might be able to fly at a lower altitude and fly under the event. These events are often short as well. It might be easy enough to just delay the flight for a bit - an annoyance for sure, but better safe than sorry is what I say. So there is a lot of work to do. There is a lot we need to learn before we can be confident of how this work may help people. But if we stop trying to learn more about this now - then we'll never know. Today is the official start of my new position, Associate Chief. I am now #2! The Ass. Cheif as my partner likes to say. This is my first official move into management. I say official because many, most, possibly all scientists at times are managers. They manage grants, groups, teams, committees, etc... But being part of the official leadership of the lab brings new opportunities and new fears, opportunities to bring change, and fears that I will fail the lab. The first question that I was asked during the interview was, "how do you define leadership?" Now for the past few years, I've been reading up on leadership, leadership types, and how best groups of scientists work together. Scientists are an odd bunch. I think we like to believe that we are more rational than the average person given our scientific training. I think we often forget that we are still human. We have egos (some more than others), and we still are often irrational. So while it is fantastic to see books and studies focused on how best scientists work together, we can learn a lot from management books. So I've read a bunch of books and peer-reviewed research on the science of team science. I've checked out books on "servant leadership" and "inclusive leadership." I was surprised by how much I enjoyed and learned reading "The five dysfunctions of a team." Given all this research into leadership and how teams best work together, I wasn't sure I had a clear answer. I found that in the past, I have used a combination of shared and inclusive leadership styles and that I still have a lot to learn. Specifically, I have a lot to learn about how to best lead a group of brilliant, outspoken, creative, and self-sufficient scientists. Knowing what styles of leadership I tend to gravitate towards is good to know, but it still doesn't really define what leadership is. Of course, we can go to the dictionary and find the official definition. But what does leadership mean to you - to lead people sure, but beyond that? What makes a good leader, what should a good leader be striving to achieve? I think I've found at least part of an answer. To me, a good leader should enable others to grow and reach their highest potential. A good leader should create an inclusive and safe environment where people can ask questions and be creative. A good leader should create new opportunities and new collaborations. A good leader should not be afraid of conflict, but strive to arrive at a consensus. A good leader should cultivate more good leaders. Now I hope that I can embody this definition - but I also know that I will likely fail from time to time. I hope that overall I can learn from those failures and continually grow into becoming a good leader. Now - with everything going on in the world - there are a few other aspects I'm both excited and fearful of as I move into this new role. I'm tera-cited (terrified and excited) or perhaps ex-fear-ited? I'm sure there is a good German word for this. Our lab is somewhat diverse, but we could and should be a lot more. Our field is not at all diverse, and we have some real issues that we need to work on. Specifically, we need to work on being more welcoming and inclusive. We need to be better about making our field a place where all feel valued and respected. Most importantly, we need to make our field a place where everyone looks forward to spending 20 - 50+ years of their life. Before this position, I have tried to work towards improving diversity through a few activities. Not everyone in the field is aware that there is a problem or that we should fix it. Now, women make up about 19% of space physics researchers, and other underrepresented groups make up a much smaller fraction. It may seem like the need for more diversity is an obvious point, and it should be. However, many people either don't notice, make an excuse, or don't feel secure in their position to speak out and make changes. Bringing this to the attention of the community through plenary sessions and union sessions at meetings was the first step. I have now led the AGU SPA Fellows Nomination Committee for the past 2 years. I have worked toward making sure we are aware of our own biases, both explicit and implicit, and put into practice mitigation processes. When choosing speakers and committee members, I try to make sure to have a diverse group. I have worked towards creating inclusive and safe environments for the teams I work with and lead. However, some have commented and stated how I have not done enough, not enough self-educating on the issues, nor enough to improve our field. They are right, and this leads to my tera-cited feeling about this new position. I am now in a position of leadership, influence, and perceived power (I really have no power within the lab - at least not to start). I will have more opportunities than most to talk with higher-ups - those who can affect the way we do business. I will have some influence on how the lab is structured and how we interact. I can not make anyone hire more diverse interns or put pronouns in their email signature. I can encourage people to look beyond their typical networks for a more diverse set of postdocs and summer students. I can continue to educate our lab on how diversity improves science. And I can continue to learn what more I can do to improve our lab. I hope that I don't make too many mistakes and fail our lab. I hope this post can be the start of a conversation. I think we are all learning this new language of leadership and what we can do to dismantle systemic structures that have held back the careers of many. I believe, like any language, there is only so much one can do by practicing alone. To become fluent, one needs to practice with others, talk with others, and interact with others. I feel like I've been practicing my French in the car, had a few conversations in high school French class, but now I'm heading to Paris. |
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