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Sciences and Exploration Directorate

Yihua Zheng

(RESEARCH AST, FIELDS AND PARTICLES)

Yihua Zheng's Contact Card & Information.
Email: yihua.zheng@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.286.0111
Org Code: 674
Address:
NASA/GSFC
Mail Code 674
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:
NASA

Missions & Projects

Brief Bio


Dr. Zheng’s research experience includes magnetospheric physics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, and space weather. Dr. Zheng has authored/co-authored 70+ journal publications and numerous technical documents.


Beyond her research, Dr. Zheng has demonstrated leadership as the co-lead/lead (from 2010 to 2017) of the Space Weather Research Center (now the Moon-to-Mars Space Weather Analysis Office), providing crucial space weather services to NASA missions. Furthermore, Dr. Zheng led space weather bootcamps and training sessions for a diverse audience, including high school and college students, engineers, scientists, and professionals, both domestically and internationally. Active in the international space weather community, she is a vice chair of the COSPAR Panel on Radiation Belts Environment Modeling. She also plays a key role in the COSPAR ISWAT (International Space Weather Action Teams) initiative. She is consulted frequently on many aspects of space weather and its effects, including spacecraft anomalies, forecasting methods & tools, and model validation. She has been actively involved in U.S multiagency and international space weather efforts since 2010. She served as a GEM Steering Committee member from 2019 to 2023. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the LWS Program Analysis Group (LPAG) (2024 – 2027).


Currently serving as the U.S. Project Scientist for the SNIPE mission and leading multipoint data analysis methods applicable to any multi-spacecraft missions, Dr. Zheng has been actively involved in space missions/projects. She previously served as the Project Scientist for LWS/SET (Space Environment Testbeds) onboard Air Force and NASA’s DSX mission.


Dr. Zheng has served as the Subtopic Manager/Participating Subtopic Manager in space weather and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or Technical Monitor for the NASA SBIR/STTR program since 2011. In this role, she helps strengthen NASA’s space weather capabilities and encourages the growth and development of small businesses in space science and space weather modeling. 

Positions/Employment


Research Astrophysicist

NASA - GSFC

February 2010 - Present



Research Scientist

JHU/APL - Laurel, MD

February 2005 - January 2010



NRC Resident Research Associate

NRC - NASA/GSFC

August 2003 - February 2005



Postdoctoral Researcher

USRA/NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt,MD

September 2001 - July 2003


Education


Ph.D Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 2001



Awards


  • 2012 NASA Special Act Award – Outstanding Leadership in Space Weather Research
  • 2013 Robert H. Goddard Award: Exceptional Achievement for Outreach
  • 2014 NASA Group Honor Award - Exceptional Achievement Customer Service Team: Space Weather Research Center
  • 2015 NASA Group Achievement Honor Award: Spitzer Space Weather Collaborative Operation Team
  • 2015 Heliophysics Science Division Peer Award
  • 2018 NASA Group Achievement Award: CCMC team
  • 2019 Robert H. Goddard Award: Exceptional Achievement for Science – DREAM2 (Dynamic Response of the Environments at Asteroids, the Moon, and moons of Mars) Center for Space Environments
  • 2019 NASA-wide Recognition for Contributions to NASA SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research)/STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) Program
  • 2023 NASA Special Act Award -- Leadership as the NASA SNIPE Project Scientist
  • 2024 NASA Special Act Award -- For her work on implementing NAIRAS model at CCMC that has led to major benefits for our federal partners. 
  • 2024 NASA Space Weather Prominence Award -- For her contribution to NASA's SBIR/STTR program.
  • 2024 Heliophysics Science Division Peer Award
  • 2025 NASA Special Act Award -- For implementating the realtime version of NAIRAS at the CCMC and making it available to the Space Force, enabling them to save 29 million dollars


Selected Publications


Refereed

2024. "Responses of Field‐Aligned Currents and Equatorial Electrojet to Sudden Decrease of Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure During the March 2023 Geomagnetic Storm.", Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (10): [10.1029/2024gl109427] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Overview, progress and next steps for our understanding of the near-earth space radiation and plasma environment: Science and applications.", Advances in Space Research, [10.1016/j.asr.2024.05.017] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Moon: Handle With Care.", Vol. 56, Issue 1 (Obituaries, News & Commentaries, Community Reports), 56 (1): [10.3847/25c2cfeb.917b6d52] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Making an executable paper with the Python in Heliophysics Community to foster open science and improve reproducibility.", Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.977781] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "A Model of an Integrated Research and Education Program in Space Weather at a Community College.", Space Weather Journal, [doi.org/10.1029/2019SW00230] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Space Radiation and Plasma Effects on Satellites and Aviation: Quantities and Metrics for Tracking Performance of Space Weather Environment Models.", Space Weather, 2018SW002042 [10.1029/2018sw002042] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Space Weather Modeling Capabilities Assessment: Auroral Precipitation and High‐Latitude Ionospheric Electrodynamics.", Space Weather, 17 (2): 212-215 [10.1029/2018sw002127] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Initial Results From the GEM Challenge on the Spacecraft Surface Charging Environment.", Space Weather, 17 (2): 299-312 [10.1029/2018sw002031] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "PROPAGATION OF THE 2014 JANUARY 7 CME AND RESULTING GEOMAGNETIC NON-EVENT.", The Astrophysical Journal, 812 (2): 145 [10.1088/0004-637x/812/2/145] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Relativistic electron response to the combined magnetospheric impact of a coronal mass ejection overlapping with a high-speed stream: Van Allen Probes observations.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 120 (9): 7629-7641 [10.1002/2015ja021395] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Ensemble Modeling of CMEs Using the WSA–ENLIL+Cone Model.", Sol Phys, 290 (6): 1775-1814 [10.1007/s11207-015-0692-1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Assessing predictive ability of three auroral precipitation models using DMSP energy flux.", Space Weather, 13 61-71 [10.1002/2014SW001085] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Forecasting propagation and evolution of CMEs in an operational setting: What has been learned.", Space Weather, 11 (10): 557-574 [10.1002/swe.20096] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Non-linear whistler mode wave effects on magnetospheric energetic electrons.", Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 102 8-16 [10.1016/j.jastp.2013.03.018] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "The SCORE Scale: A Coronal Mass Ejection Typification System Based on Speed.", Space Weather, [10.1002/swe.20058] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Improving CME Forecasting Capability: An Urgent Need.", SPACE WEATHER-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS, 11 641-642 [10.1002/2013SW001004] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Simulation of the 23 July 2012 extreme space weather event: What if this extremely rare CME was Earth directed?.", SPACE WEATHER-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS, 11 671-679 [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "The magnetopause as an intermediary between interplanetary structures and the Earth's inner magnetosphere.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A2290- [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Cassini Observations During the Saturn Auroral Campaign of Spring 2013 (Invited).", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A4- [Journal Article/Letter]

2012. "Large-scale observations of a subauroral polarizatioin by midlatitude SuperDARN radars: Instantaneous longitudinal velocity variations.", Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics, [10.1029/2011JA017232] [Journal Article/Letter]

2012. "Electron energy diffusion and advection due to non-linear electron-chorus wave interactions.", Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 80 152-160 [doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2012.01.011] [Journal Article/Letter]

2011. "Attempt to quantitize non-linear wave particle interactions using multi-pass test particle code.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2038- [Journal Article/Letter]

2011. "On the Relationship Between High Speed Solar Wind Streams and Radiation Belt Electron Fluxes.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A7- [Journal Article/Letter]

2010. "Effects of plasma sheet properties on storm-time ring current.", J. Geophys. Res., 115 (A8): A08220 [10.1029/2009JA014806] [Journal Article/Letter]

2009. "Two Moderate Storms During Solar Minimum: Combine Modeling and Observations.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A1547- [Journal Article/Letter]

2009. "IBEX Backgrounds and Signal-to-Noise Ratio.", Space Science Reviews, 146 173-206 [10.1007/s11214-009-9515-8] [Journal Article/Letter]

2009. "Toward an integrated view of inner magnetosphere and radiation belts.", Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 71 (16): [doi: 10.1016/j.jastp.2009.04.01] [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "Evaluation of substorm models with Cluster observations of plasma flow reversal in the magnetotail.", Advances in Space Research, 41 1611-1618 [10.1016/j.asr.2007.05.047] [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "A Study of Energetic Neutral Oxygen Emissions and its Implications.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A10- [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "Probing Ring Current Properties From Multiple Satellite Data and Numerical Analyses.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A1563- [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "Flux transfer events simultaneously observed by Polar and Cluster: Flux rope in the subsolar region and flux tube addition to the polar cusp.", Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics), 113 [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "On ionospheric trough conductance and subauroral polarization streams: Simulation results.", Journal of Geophysical Research, 113 (A04209): [doi:10.1029/2007JA012532] [Journal Article/Letter]

2008. "Viewing perspective in energetic neutral atom intensity.", Journal of Geophysical Research, 113 (A09217): [doi:10.1029/2008JA013070] [Journal Article/Letter]

2007. "Breakdown of the frozen-in condition in the Earth's magnetotail.", Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics), 112 [4215-10.1029/2006JA012000] [Journal Article/Letter]

2007. "Ring current auroras.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, - [Journal Article/Letter]

2007. "Effects of Ionospheric Trough on the Relationship Between the Ring Current and SAPS.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A5- [Journal Article/Letter]

2007. "Cluster Observations in the Inner Magnetosphere during the 18 April 2002 Sawtooth Event: Dipolarization and Injection at r = 4.6 Re.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, 6- [Journal Article/Letter]

2007. "Analysis of perturbations near FTEs in the magnetopause region.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A11- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Cluster observation of plasma flow reversal in the magnetotail during a substorm.", 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, 36 817- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Prelude to THEMIS Tail Conjunction Study.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A6- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "The Auroral Ionosphere as a Source of Magnetospheric Plasma.", 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, 36 1645- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Controlling Factors of Region 2 Field-Aligned Current and its Relationship to the Ring Current: Model Results.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A3- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Cluster Observations of Plasma Flow Reversal in the Magnetotail During a Substorm.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 363- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Magnetotail substorm features from multi-point observations.", Cluster and Double Star Symposium, 598 - [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "How Does the Ring Current and the Inner Magnetospheric Electric Fields Control Each Other?.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A5- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Numerical results on the relationship of region 2 field-aligned current and the ring current.", 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, 36 1656- [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Relationship between Region 2 field-aligned current and the ring current: Model results.", Journal of Geophysical Research, 111 (A11): A11S06 [10.1029/2006JA011603] [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Characteristics of 2-6 MeV electrons in the Slot region and inner radiation belt.", Journal of Geophysical Research, 111 (A10204): [doi:10.1029/2006JA011748] [Journal Article/Letter]

2006. "Coordinated observation of field-line resonance in the mid-magnetotail.", Annales Geophysicae, 24 707-723 [doi:10.5194/angeo-24-707-2006] [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "How the Ring Current Couples to the Radiation Belts and the Ionosphere.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A3- [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Global Ring Current Ion Distributions Obtained by IMAGE/HENA DURING STORMS AND SUBSTORMS.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, 3- [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Coordinated Observation of Field Line Resonance in the Mid-magnetotail.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A4- [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Flux transfer event in the subsolar region and near the cusp: Simultaneous Polar and Cluster Observations.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 7- [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Near Simultaneous Observations of the Magnetopause by the Polar and Cluster Satellites.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A4- [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Polar study of ionospheric ion outflow versus energy input.", JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS, 110 [10.1029/2004JA010995] [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Cluster observation of continuous reconnection at dayside magnetopause around cusp.", Annales Geophysicae, 23 (6): 2199-2215 [doi:10.5194/angeo-23-2199-2005] [Journal Article/Letter]

2005. "Polar study of ionospheric ion outflow versus its energy input.", Journal of Geophysical Research, 110 (A07210): [doi:10.1029/2004JA010955] [Journal Article/Letter]

2004. "Coordinated polar spacecraft, geosynchronous spacecraft, and ground-based observations of magnetopause processes and their coupling to the ionosphere.", Annales Geophysicae, 22 4329-4350 [10.5194/angeo-22-4329-2004] [Journal Article/Letter]

2004. "A Survey of the Motion of Flux Transfer Events Observed by Polar.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 388- [Journal Article/Letter]

2004. "Coordinated polar spacecraft; geosynchronous spacecraft; and ground-based observations of magnetopause processes and their coupling to the ionosphere.", ANNALES GEOPHYSICAE, 22 4329-4350 [Journal Article/Letter]

2003. "A radiation belt-ring current forecasting model.", SPACE WEATHER-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS, 1 [Journal Article/Letter]

2003. "Polar Study of Ion Outflow Versus its Energy Input.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 7- [Journal Article/Letter]

2003. "Multipoint measurements of field-aligned current density in the auroral zone.", Journal of Geophysical Research, 108 (A5): [doi:10.1029/2002JA009450] [Journal Article/Letter]

2003. "A Radiation Belt – Ring Current Forecasting Model.", Space Weather, 1 (3): 1013 [doi:10.1029/2003SW000007] [Journal Article/Letter]

2002. "Forecasting the Radiation Belt Environment: Model and Product.", AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts, A10- [Journal Article/Letter]

2002. "Effects of Wave-Particle Interactions on Radiation Belt Development.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A506- [Journal Article/Letter]

2002. "Auroral Precipitation and Quasi-Trapped electrons.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 3- [Journal Article/Letter]

Non-Refereed

2013. "Community Coordinated Modeling Center: Paving the Way for Progress in Space Science Research to Operational Space Weather Forecasting.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2235- [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Inner Magnetosphere Modeling at the CCMC: Ring Current, Radiation Belt and Magnetic Field Mapping.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A2300- [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "'Where to Hide?': A Tele-Robotic Application for HEOMD's Earth-Moon L2 Mission.", Lunar and Planetary Institute Science Conference Abstracts, 44 2514 [Journal Article/Letter]

2011. "Enabling Space Weather research, analysis, and forecasting at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2- [Journal Article/Letter]

2010. "Analyses of the Recent Space Weather Events Using a Suite of Models and Observations.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 1866- [Journal Article/Letter]

2010. "Space Weather Services at Goddard Space Flight Center.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A1746- [Journal Article/Letter]

2010. "AFWA-CCMC partnership to advance USAF space weather forecasting capabilities.", AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, A1747- [Journal Article/Letter]