FDSS: A Faculty Position in Space Sciences at New Mexico State University (NMSU) to Integrate Research and Education in Solar Magnetic Fields

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The goal of this 5-year Faculty Development in the Space Sciences (FDSS) project is to create and support a new tenure-track assistant professor position at the New Mexico State University (NMSU) in the space sciences focused on diagnosing and understanding the magnetic structure and thermodynamics of the Sun's atmosphere. The new faculty member will be provided with all the support required to develop a solar and space sciences research and education program at the NMSU, integrate their research topics of the space sciences in an interdisciplinary setting, and establish partnerships between the NMSU and the academic and research communities across the U.S. The long-term goal is to advance and transform the participation of the U.S. academic, research, and operational institutions in diagnosing the fundamental physical conditions in the Sun's atmosphere. As the world's largest solar telescope, designed to study the fundamental sources of solar magnetism, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) provides a career-defining opportunity for the successful candidate. This 5-year FDSS project describes a detailed roadmap for the successful integration of a faculty position into a comprehensive research and education program that: (i) strictly aligns with the university's new strategic mission; (ii) executes the near- and long-term vision of the Department of Astronomy by complementing current research in a high-interest area for graduate student research; (iii) exploits a major NSF facility investment (DKIST), while building expertise that will contribute towards other observatories, that advances our fundamental understanding of solar magnetic fields and with a clear impact on research in heliophysics; (iv) connects to national priorities as put forth in the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan and decadal surveys; and, (v) clearly addresses NSF's concerns about the loss of faculty at academic institutions that train future generations of space scientists.As the most powerful and well-equipped solar telescope available, DKIST allows for the field of solar physics to make transformative advances in our understanding of phenomena that have puzzled space scientists for decades, such as the coronal heating problem, the fundamental mechanisms and scales of magnetic energy release in flares and coronal mass ejections, and the physics of the solar wind. All components are in place for the new faculty member at the NMSU to build a career in leading a group of students and collaborators to exploit these breakthrough opportunities to carry out research in these areas. The Department of Astronomy has a vibrant, productive, and student-centric research, education, and outreach environment at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Fruitful current collaborations between Astronomy and other Departments at the university, and with national laboratories and institutes, will be expanded into new areas of research convergence. Although DKIST is the prime focus, additional observational facilities related to this project, particularly the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) operated by the NMSU, will play critical roles in high-impact research and student training in space sciences. The NSF's DKIST, the NASA's Parker Solar Probe, and the ESA/NASA's Solar Orbiter, working in sync, will lead us into an exciting era of multi-messenger space science that will transform our understanding of space weather throughout the heliosphere. This 5-year FDSS project provides a key component in this large-scale collaboration, by building up areas of expertise not readily available in the U.S. space sciences academic community. New insights into the solar atmosphere have immediate ramifications for studies of other stars and the planets they may host. As a fundamental part of these efforts, the new faculty position will lead to training of students at a Hispanic Serving Institution in important aspects of big data and instrumentation while using NSF facilities. The research and EPO agenda of this 5-year FDSS project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.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.