September 2007
Summer school—but not the remedial kind
VSP hosted the Heliophysics Summer School for a week in early August. Sponsored by NASA, it was the first session of a three-year program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The goal is to deepen students' appreciation of the basic science of heliophysics through highly interactive seminars and hands-on working groups, as well as to produce a series of textbooks. Thirty-eight students and 21 faculty members participated.
"We were not sure we could organize this summer school in the short time frame that we had available, but it turned out to be a great success, and we are looking forward to organizing the next two in 2008 and 2009," says Meg Austin, VSP program director.
Each of the three summer sessions is assigned a different theme related to the physical processes that play a role in connecting the Sun's interior to the planetary environments and atmospheres throughout the heliosphere (region of space through which the solar wind extends). This year, the school focused on the plasma physics of the local cosmos. Next year, it will focus on explosive energy conversions and energetic particles, followed in 2009 by Earth's climate system and long-term solar activity.
On the Web
VSP - Heliophysics Summer School
In this issue...
A smoother ride
HAO's Phil Judge returns full-time after cancer
More power for the TeraGrid
Summer school—but not the remedial kind
Planning for retirement
SOARS poster session
Symposium salutes Warren Washington
Art + Science: EcoArts returns to Boulder area
UCAR ranks high in Colorado's Best Companies contest
Just One Look
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