Welcome to the Virginia Tech SuperDARN Student Interest Page. Here you will find information important to prospective, current, and future VT SuperDARN students, as well students with a general interest in Space Science. This includes information about the lab, news items of interest to students, and important training and policy information. If you have interest in SuperDARN or space related studies, please contact either Dr. Mike Ruohoniemi or Dr. Jo Baker.
The Virginia Tech SuperDARN radar group conducts research on Earth’s space environment using HF radars and allied instrumentation and operates the U.S. component of the international SuperDARN collaboration as an Upper Atmosphere Facility for the National Science Foundation. The activities of the group are student-centered and involve all facets of research, including hardware design, operations, data analysis, and collaborative support for the scientific community. The group is a component of the Space@VT research center within the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech.
Current student research activities include analysis of ionospheric irregularities observed with the new mid-latitude chain of SuperDARN radars, study of ultra low frequency pulsations in the magnetosphere and ionosphere, intercomparison of GPS/TEC data with radar observations of ionospheric stucture, and studies of ionospheric plasma convection and the impacts of space weather disturbance on the ionosphere. Students are closely involved with the operation of the radars including travel to the sites and hardware development and testing. Students also develop new data products and software tools for analysis. They assist members of the scientific community in accessing and utilizing the SuperDARN data set, develop scientific collaborations with colleagues, and represent the group at meetings and conferences. The Virginia Tech SuperDARN radar group is headed by Drs. J. Michael Ruohoniemi (miker@vt.edu) and Joseph B. H. Baker (bakerjb@vt.edu).
Please visit our Archive of Student Items page for important information such as research ethics training and other important information all SuperDARN students need to know.
News Items of Student Interest
Many of the news items below represent excellent opportunities for interested students at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
By: miker
on: Sun., Dec. 04, 2022 11:15 PM EST
(12 Reads)
The University of Colorado Boulder invites undergraduates to apply for a paid summer research experience for highly motivated students interested in solar and space physics. Students will come to Boulder, Colorado for 10 weeks to work on a research project with a mentor. The topic areas span the field of solar and space physics, from instrument hardware to data analysis to modeling of the Sun, the Sun-Earth system, the near-Earth environment, or the heliosphere. Successful applicants will work with scientist mentors at one of eight Boulder institutes (see 'Read More'). For further details see https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/information/undergraduates/reu/ and to request more information, email
By: miker
on: Sun., Dec. 04, 2022 03:24 PM EST
(148 Reads)
UCAR | CPAESS is pleased to announce the 2023 call for applications to the NASA Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowships, sponsored by the NASA Living With a Star (LWS) program. The two-year fellowships are designed to train the next generation of researchers in the emerging interdisciplinary field of Heliophysics. Early-career PhDs are matched with experienced scientists at U.S. host research institutions. There will be up to 5 positions available this year. For more information including how to apply see the program website at heliophysics.ucar.edu/jack-eddy
By: miker
on: Tue., Nov. 29, 2022 11:10 AM EST
(87 Reads)
UCAR | CPAESS is accepting applications for the NASA Heliophysics Summer School which focuses on the physics of space weather events that start at the Sun and influence atmospheres, ionospheres, and magnetospheres throughout the solar system. This year’s theme is Observational Heliophysics.
Program website: https://heliophysics.ucar.edu/summer-school/recruitment-announcement
The Summer School has two sections. There will be a remote phase from July 17-21, 2023; and an in-person phase from August 7-11, 2023. The summer school has been expanded to include a remote phase so that more people can participate. Admission is competitive; up to 50 students are selected to attend each year. Application deadline: March 3, 2023.
By: miker
on: Tue., Nov. 29, 2022 10:45 AM EST
(184 Reads)
The Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) Undergraduate STEM Research Scholarship Program provides awards of up to $8,500 to rising juniors and seniors who are enrolled full-time in a program of study in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and have a specific faculty-mentored research project that has NASA or aerospace relevance. Application deadline is January 27, 2023. See https://vsgc.odu.edu/undergraduatescholarships/
The VSGC Graduate Research STEM Fellowship Program provides fellowships of $6,000 in add-on support to graduate students to supplement and enhance basic research support. Applicants must be enrolled full-time in a program of study in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) and have a specific faculty-mentored research project that has NASA or aerospace relevance. Application deadline is January 27, 2023. See https://vsgc.odu.edu/graduatefellowships/
The VSGC STEM Bridge Scholarship Program provides scholarships of $1,000 to students who are rising sophomores or juniors majoring in STEM. Students from any federally recognized minority group in STEM and enrolled full-time in a program of STEM at one of the five Virginia Space Grant member universities are strongly encouraged to apply. Application deadline is March 10, 2023. See https://vsgc.odu.edu/stembridge/
By: miker
on: Sun., Nov. 27, 2022 11:00 AM EST
(454 Reads)
The NCAR Advanced Study Program is accepting applications from students and the NCAR scientific staff for two programs: 1 - Graduate Visitor Program (GVP)
The Graduate Visitor Program provides opportunities to the NCAR staff to bring graduate students to NCAR for visits ranging from two months to a full year. These visits have the goal of enhancing NCAR partnerships with other public and private institutions while enriching the research of the participating students. Application deadline: October 31, 2022.
Website: https://edec.ucar.edu/advanced-study-program/graduate-visitor-program 2 - GVP Bridge Program
The new GVP Bridge program provides a one-month internship at NCAR for graduate students who may be early in their career or who don't have a fully defined collaborative project for a regular GVP visit. The internship will give the student an opportunity to explore potential collaborations at NCAR with the goal of a longer visit in the future. Unlike the regular GVP process, this program does not require an application from an NCAR sponsor. Application deadline: November 30, 2022
Website: https://edec.ucar.edu/advanced-study-program/gvp-bridge-program
By: miker
on: Sun., Nov. 27, 2022 07:57 AM EST
(317 Reads)
Research groups in the Center for Space Science and Engineering Research (Space@VT) at Virginia Tech have funding available for students to enroll in the PhD program of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and pursue research in the emerging area of geospace data analytics. Successful applicants will work with Space@VT faculty on space weather specification and forecasting using globally distributed ground- and space-based datasets and numerical simulations. Applicants must be able to satisfy the admission requirements to the ECE PhD degree program. Candidates with suitable academic backgrounds in physics or engineering and advanced computer skills are encouraged to respond. Candidates should make the Fellowship sponsors aware of their interest by emailing a resume and statement of purpose to Prof. Joseph Baker (jo.baker@vt.edu). Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the positions are filled.
By: miker
on: Mon., Oct. 31, 2022 10:55 AM EDT
(342 Reads)
The NASA Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) has announced that NASA Internship Programs are preparing for Spring 2023 selections and spring applications are now open. The Intern program allows high school and college-level students to contribute to agency projects under the guidance of a NASA mentor. The Pathways Intern program offers current students and recent graduates internships that are direct pipelines to full-time emplyment at NASA upon graduation. There are also Fellowships for graduate-level students and International Internships. For more information see: https://intern.nasa.gov/
The internships are split into spring and summer sessions: Spring session dates: January 23 – May 12 > Application deadline: November 7, 2022 Summer session dates: June 5 – August 11 > Application deadline: March 10, 2023
An informal series of online ‘Coffee talks’ is being held this semester for undergraduate students to find out about career opportunities in space research and engineering. The next Talk will be held on Thursday, October 20, 5 - 6 PM on the topic of ‘Women in Space Sciences.’ A panel of young researchers will relate personal stories of how they found out about this field and progressed from undergrads to interns to career professionals. The series of Coffee Talks is hosted by four teaching universities (including Virginia Tech) that are participating in the recently awarded NASA DRIVE Science Center for Geospace Storms (CGS). Link to Flyer: http://vt.superdarn.org/assets/docs/news/CoffeeTalkSeriesPoster_Oct2022.pdf
Coffee Talk time: October 20, 2022, 5 - 6 pm
Zoom link: https://jhuapl.zoomgov.com/j/1612216069?pwd=SmZK Z1RoZE1najY1NVlLcnU1Vi9udz09
The 6th IAGA (International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy) Summer School will be held in early July 2023 at the Niemegk geomagnetic observatory of GFZ near to and just before the IUGG General Assembly (11-20 July, 2023) in Berlin, Germany. About 20 early career scientists will be sponsored for accommodation and cost of living (but not the travel cost to Germany). The definition of early career scientists is: 'Being an undergraduate or postgraduate (Masters/PhD) student or having received the highest degree qualification (e.g., BSc, MSc, PhD) within the last two years from 31 December, 2022.'
By: miker
on: Wed., Sep. 14, 2022 11:02 AM EDT
(317 Reads)
The Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) designs and implements strategies to increase access to STEM education, funding, and careers. Towards this end, the IBP has created the website www.PathwaysToScience.org as a resource to help students find paid summer research programs and fully funded STEM graduate programs. PathwaysToScience.org has over 70 portable scholarships and fellowships posted on the site. These include undergraduate, graduate, and postdoc level funding opportunities with an emphasis on increasing diversity in STEM.
Undergraduate scholarships and tips and resources for applying: https://pathwaystoscience.org/Undergrads.aspx
Graduate fellowships and resources for applying: https://pathwaystoscience.org/Grad.aspx
Postdoc funding and resources: https://pathwaystoscience.org/Postdocs_Portal.aspx
and to request more information, email 
