Jan. 10, 2012
Fiery plumes of plasma and gusts of charged particles that can knock out satellites, power grids, and iPhones. It's the wild frontier of "space weather" that's increasingly in the news and the subject of a new master's and doctoral degree concentration at Catholic University - one that's unique among D.C. area universities.
In Catholic University's comprehensive Space Sciences and Space Weather Program, students will learn all aspects of the burgeoning field - from theory down to the construction of products the world needs to better predict solar flares and the like, and to protect manmade technologies from their sometimes devastating effects.
Catholic University's new concentration - which launches this month - is "the next generation of science education," says program director Antti Pulkkinen, 37, who is considered one of the world's top experts in the field of space weather.
"Antti Pulkkinen is a leader who understands everything from the science to the practical applications of space weather, and it is a wonderful opportunity for students to be exposed to that," says Michael Hesse, director of NASA's Heliophysics Science Division at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md.
The interdisciplinary curriculum encompasses physics, engineering, and hands-on work forecasting so students have a "coherent" understanding of space weather and how to develop technologies to manage its impact on human activity - from space exploration to the delivery of electric power on Earth, Pulkkinen explains.
Some instruction and the student research will take place at the University's heliospheric research center at NASA's GSFC. Earlier this year, NASA awarded Catholic University $8 million to establish the center where world-class astrophysicists conduct solar science research.
Given Catholic University's strong alliance with NASA, Pulkkinen explains, "We have the unique capacity to make the connection from basic research through models and application to operational space weather services." One such technology is Solar Shield, a joint NASA-Catholic University system that forecasts eruptions on the sun and their resulting and sometimes potentially catastrophic disruptions of the world's power grids.
The space weather concentration is one of several physics master's and Ph.D. degree specializations offered at the University.
For information about registering for the Space Sciences and Space Weather Program, contact Antti Pulkkinen at 202-319-4335 or pulkkinen@cua.edu.
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