National Science Foundation (NSF) Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Workshop Coordination: 2019-2023

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This grant is to support the organization of the NSF Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Workshop Coordination for 2019-2023. The National Science Foundation (NSF) GEM program is a cornerstone of NSF's Magnetospheric Physics Program which supports the study of the physics of the magnetosphere and the coupling of the magnetosphere to the atmosphere and to the solar wind. The GEM program focuses on the development of global magnetospheric models. The success of this effort depends on open cooperation and exchange of ideas and the development and sharing of models. Through various data-model challenges, models are compared and validated in an open and constructive process. The means of achieving the open communication and cooperation required for GEM lies largely in the regular GEM workshops. This workshop award supports the science of the program by providing an opportunity for Principal Investigators (PIs) and students present results and discuss outstanding issues in an interactive setting. There are two GEM workshops each year: the week-long GEM Summer workshop in June which includes a student day and the one-day Mini-GEM workshop in December which is held the Sunday before the American Geophysical Union's Fall meeting. This award provides coordination support for both GEM workshops and travel support for approximately 75 students to attend the Summer workshop. Basic research in magnetospheric physics is a critical component of the National Space Weather Action Plan and associated efforts. The magnetosphere is the dynamic force field protecting Earth from Solar radiation. Space Weather impacts on Earth occur in and propagate through the magnetosphere. The severity of the impacts depends on the condition of the magnetosphere at the time of impact. Scientific modeling of the magnetosphere is critical for building the tools that can transition to operationally relevant models. Another very important component of the GEM workshops is a strong student-oriented educational element. The majority of this award is for support of student participation in the GEM Summer workshops. Most of the student support is directed toward graduate students but may also toward very talented undergraduate students (attending a U.S. university). In large part, the GEM workshops act to mentor the students and facilitate the transition from student to researcher in the science community. Students have the opportunity to participate fully in the focus group sessions and to present their research in poster sessions that enable detailed discussion and interaction with the broader magnetospheric community. The GEM student organization has been formalized with student leaders and a student-only meeting including tutorial lectures.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.