Space weather research done through USTAR
Herbert Carlson has been hired onto USU’s Science Technology and Research program as chief scientist in charge of space weather, and one of his duties will be to ensure that satellite communication remains in order.
“The nature of the work to be done by the center that I’m working is to try to understand the nature of space weather sufficiently well that space systems continue to function as designed,” Carlson said.
Carlson said it is important to have good modeler, and one factor in his decision to come to USU is “the best modelers in the world, in my opinion, are the ones right here in Utah State University.”
Carlson, who received his Ph.D from Cornell University, has had a variety of positions during his career as a researcher, ranging from lead scientist for the National Science Foundation to Chief Scientist for the United States Air Force.
It was shortly after this that Carlson came to work at USU. Jan Sojka, head of the physics department, said the University wanted Carlson to be part of the program because of the amount of experience he has in the field.
“The match between USU and Dr. Carlson in this case is second to none,” Sojka said.
“Dr. Carlson, while working with the USA Department of Defense, was a funding agent of various programs, not all classified. One in particular was to understand how in nature certain animals have unique attributes, an example being, how is it that a gecko can walk upside down on a ceiling,” Sojka said.
Early in his career, Carlson worked at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, and assisted in establishing the scientific research programs offered there.
Carlson said the observatory had “an antennae that’s 1,000-foot diameter in a natural sinkhole.”
The observatory was built to sense the top of the ionosphere, which no one had ever measured at that time, Carson said. The ionosphere is an ionized part of the atmosphere, he said, that is a normal part of any space system, but is known to cause problems with satellite radio communication.
Afterwards, he went to work at the University of Texas. Professor Rod Heelis, director of the Center of Space Sciences at the University of Texas, is currently visiting USU. He worked with Carlson in Texas after Carlson’s tenure at the Arecibo Observatory. Heelis said he and Carlson have worked together on several research projects and he is looking forward to working with Carlson again as their research begins to coincide again.
After working for the NSF, Carlsonworked for the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Carlson was invited to an Air Force laboratory where he received a chance to use aircraft outfitted with equipment that allowed for the study of the Ionosphere in a way never previously attempted.
“I was invited to go down to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in the air force to help identify technical priorities,” Carlson said. “It is the agency that tries to keep the U.S. Air Force at the forefront of technical capability in the long term.”
Carlson will continue his research here at USU through the USTAR program. For those interested in the space weather program, Sojka said that there is an app available, developed by the university, for the iPhone which gives updates on current space weather conditions.
– randall.henry@aggiemail.usu.edu