Sciences and Exploration Directorate

ALEXA (She/Her) J HALFORD

(Chief)

ALEXA (She/Her) J HALFORD's Contact Card & Information.
Email: alexa.j.halford@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.286.7794
Org Code: 675
Address:
NASA/GSFC
Mail Code 675
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:
NASA

Brief Bio


I am currently the Lab chief for the ITM lab and a space physics researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, working with the LAMP, petitSat, Artemis, and SPI missions. As an undergraduate at Augsburg College with Mark Engebretson, I started researching waves in Earth's magnetosphere using ground-based magnetometers in the Arctic and Antarctic. I moved away from waves to focus on geomagnetic storms and substorms during my masters at the University of Colorado Boulder with Dan Baker. Still, I returned to waves with my Ph.D. at the University of Newcastle NSW, Australia, working under Brian Fraser. My Ph.D. thesis was on Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves during the CRRES mission and their relationship to the plasmasphere and radiation belts. During my postdoc at Dartmouth College, I worked on the BARREL mission. I have moved down the field line (from a space perspective) and looked at the population of particles lost due to these interactions and their impact on the ionosphere and upper atmosphere.


Today, I continue to bounce around the heliosphere and work to connect these regions, processes, and analysis techniques across boundaries.

Research Interests


Space Precipitation Impacts (SPI)

Solar System: Geophysics

SPI is an interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research group focused on studying the drivers and dynamics of low (<10 keV), medium (10-100 keV), and high energy (>100 keV) precipitation and their subsequent impacts on the ionosphere and upper atmosphere. SPI uses a unique combination of data analysis, theory and model development, and simulations within our team of experts to address three topics. Still, interconnected science questions investigating (A) the drivers of(B) the variation in, and (C) the impacts of precipitation. SPI's three high-level science objectives are:


(A) How do the drivers of and pathways to energetic particle precipitation change under varying geomagnetic and solar wind conditions?

(B) How does the amount of low, medium, and high energy ion and electron precipitation change with varying physical drivers under different solar wind and geomagnetic conditions?

(C) What effect does precipitation have on satellite drag, and how does this vary with the dynamics of solar wind driving and geomagnetic activity?


Papers related to and from this work:


  • Halford, A. J., Garcia-Sage, K., Mann, I. R., Turner, D. L., & Breneman, A. W. (2023). The effect of compression-induced chorus waves on 10–100 s eV electron precipitation. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2022GL098842. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098842
  • Murphy, K. R., Sandhu, J., Rae, I. J., Daggitt, T., Glauert, S., Horne, R. B., et al. (2023). A new four-component L*-dependent model for radial diffusion based on solar wind and magnetospheric drivers of ULF waves. Space Weather, 21, e2023SW003440. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003440
  • Pettit J, Elliott S, Randall C, Halford A, Jaynes A and Garcia-Sage K (2023) Investigation of the drivers and atmospheric impacts of energetic electron precipitation. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10:1162564. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1162564
  • Remya, B., Halford, A. J., Sibeck, D. G., Murphy, K. R., & Fok, M.-C. (2023). Understanding quiet and storm time EMIC waves—Van Allen Probes results. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 128, e2023JA031712. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031712
  •  Halford AJ, Chen TY, and Rastaetter L (2022) Data needs to be a priority. Front. Phys. 10:1061681. doi: 10.3389/fphy.2022.1061681
  • Elliott SS, Breneman A, Colpitts C, Bortnik J, Jaynes A, Halford A, Shumko M, Blum L, Chen L, Greeley A and Turner D (2022) Understanding the properties, wave drivers, and impacts of electron microburst precipitation: Current understanding and critical knowledge gaps. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9:1062422. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1062422
  • Shumko M, Chaddock D, Gallardo-Lacourt B, Donovan E, Spanswick EL, Halford AJ, Thompson I and Murphy KR (2022) AuroraX, PyAuroraX, and aurora-asi-lib: A user-friendly auroral all-sky imager analysis framework. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9:1009450. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1009450
  • Klenzing J, Smith JM, Halford AJ, Huba JD and Burrell AG (2022) sami2py—Overview and applications. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9:1066480. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1066480
  • Elliott, S. S., Breneman, A. W., Colpitts, C., Pettit, J. M., Cattell, C. A., Halford, A. J., et al. (2022). Quantifying the size and duration of a microburst-producing chorus region on 5 December 2017. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2022GL099655. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099655
  • Ledvina VE, Palmerio E, McGranaghan RM, Halford AJ, Thayer A, Brandt L, MacDonald EA, Bhaskar A, Dong C, Altintas I, Colliander J, Jin M, Jain RN, Chatterjee S, Shaikh Z, Frissell NA, Chen TY, French RJ, Isola B, McIntosh SW, Mason EI, Riley P, Young T, Barkhouse W, Kazachenko MD, Snow M, Ozturk DS, Claudepierre SG, Di Mare F, Witteman A and Kuzub J (2022) How open data and interdisciplinary collaboration improve our understanding of space weather: A risk and resiliency perspective. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9:1067571. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1067571
  • Halford AJ, Burrell AG, Liemohn MW, Jones M, Maute A, Pulkkinen TI, Bard CM, McGranaghan RM, Wilson LB, Allen RC, Dong C, Vines SK, Wang L, Turner N, Garcia-Sage K, Mandt K and Klenzing J (2023) Cultivating a culture of inclusivity in heliophysics. Front. Phys. 11:1061683. doi: 10.3389/fphy.2023.1061683
  •  Halford AJ, Chen TY, and Rastaetter L (2022) Data needs to be a priority. Front. Phys. 10:1061681. doi: 10.3389/fphy.2022.1061681
  • Klenzing J, Halford AJ, Kellerman A and Thompson B (2023) Using Application Usability Levels to support tracking the health of Heliophysics. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10:1144053. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1144053
  • Bain HM, Onsager TG, Mertens CJ, Copeland K, Benton ER, Clem J, Mangeard P-S, Green JC, Guild TB, Tobiska WK, Shelton-Mur K, Zheng Y, Halford AJ, Carlson S and Pulkkinen A (2023) Improved space weather observations and modeling for aviation radiation. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10:1149014. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1149014
  • Pettit J, Elliott S, Randall C, Halford A, Jaynes A and Garcia-Sage K (2023) Investigation of the drivers and atmospheric impacts of energetic electron precipitation. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10:1162564. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1162564
  •  Klenzing J, Halford AJ, Liu G, Smith JM, Zhang Y, Zawdie K, Maruyama N, Pfaff R and Bishop RL (2023) A system science perspective of the drivers of equatorial plasma bubbles. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9:1064150. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1064150
  • Schonfeld SJ, Pesnell WD, Verniero JL, Rivera YJ, Halford AJ, Vines SK and Spitzer SA (2023) Expanding the deep space network to support the heliophysics system observatory. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 9:1051527. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2022.1051527
  • Garcia-Sage K, Farrish AO, Airapetian VS, Alexander D, Cohen O, Domagal-Goldman S, Dong C, Gronoff G, Halford AJ, Lazio J, Luhmann JG, Schwieterman E, Sciola A, Segura A, Toffoletto F, Vievering J, Ahmed MR, Bali K and Rau G (2023) Star-exoplanet interactions: A growing interdisciplinary field in heliophysics. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10:1064076. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1064076
  • Burrell AG, Jones M, Zawdie KA, Coxon JC and Halford AJ (2023) Tips for writing a good recommendation letter. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10:1114821. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2023.1114821
  • Shumko, M., Gallardo-Lacourt, B., Halford, A. J., Liang, J., Blum, L. W., Donovan, E., et al. (2021). A strong correlation between relativistic electron microbursts and patchy aurora. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL094696. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094696
  • Angeline G Burrell, McArthur Jones, Jr, Alexa Halford, Kate Zawdie, John Coxon, Bypassing the bias, Astronomy & Geophysics, Volume 62, Issue 5, October 2021, Pages 5.28–5.29, https://doi.org/10.1093/astrogeo/atab090
  • Breneman, A. W., Halford, A. J., Millan, R. M., Woodger, L. A., Zhang, X.-J., Sandhu, J. K., et al. (2020). Driving of outer belt electron loss by solar wind dynamic pressure structures: Analysis of balloon and satellite data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 125, e2020JA028097. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028097
  • Shumko, M., Johnson, A. T., O'Brien, T. P., Turner, D. L., Greeley, A. D., Sample, J. G., et al. (2020). Statistical properties of electron curtain precipitation estimated with AeroCube-6. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 125, e2020JA028462. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028462


The Balloon Array for Relativistic Radiation Belt Electron Loss (BARREL)

Heliophysics: Earth's Magnetosphere

During my postdoc, I worked with the Balloon Array for Relativistic Radiation belt Electron Losses (BARREL) mission. While the mission has ended, the research has not. We continue to use this unique data set to continue to explore the spatial and temporal dynamics of particle loss from the Sun and Magnetosphere into the ionosphere and upper atmosphere.


Papers from this work: 

  • Millan R.M. et al. (2013) The Balloon Array for RBSP Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL). In: Fox N., Burch J.L. (eds) The Van Allen Probes Mission. Springer, Boston, MA
  • Manweiler, J.W., Breneman, A., Niehof, J. et al. Science of the Van Allen Probes Science Operations Centers. Space Sci Rev 218, 66 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-022-00919-x
  • Breneman, A.W., Wygant, J.R., Tian, S. et al. The Van Allen Probes Electric Field and Waves Instrument: Science Results, Measurements, and Access to Data. Space Sci Rev 218, 69 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-022-00934-y
  • Halford, A. J., McGregor, S. L., Murphy, K. R., Millan, R. M., Hudson, M. K., Woodger, L. A., Cattel, C. A., Breneman, A. W., Mann, I. R., Kurth, W. S., Hospodarsky, G. B., Gkioulidou, M., and Fennell, J. F. ( 2015), BARREL observations of an ICME‐shock impact with the magnetosphere and the resultant radiation belt electron loss. J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 120, 2557– 2570, doi: 10.1002/2014JA020873.
  • Halford, A. J., McGregor, S. L., Hudson, M. K., Millan, R. M., and Kress, B. T. ( 2016), BARREL observations of a solar energetic electron and solar energetic proton event, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 121, 4205– 4216, doi:10.1002/2016JA022462.
  • Blum, L. W., Halford, A., Millan, R., Bonnell, J. W., Goldstein, J., Usanova, M., Engebretson, M., Ohnsted, M., Reeves, G., Singer, H., et al. ( 2015), Observations of coincident EMIC wave activity and duskside energetic electron precipitation on 18–19 January 2013, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 5727– 5735, doi:10.1002/2015GL065245.
  • Breneman, A., Halford, A., Millan, R. et al. Global-scale coherence modulation of radiation-belt electron loss from plasmaspheric hiss. Nature 523, 193–195 (2015) doi:10.1038/nature14515
  • Blum, L. W., Schiller, Q., Li, X., Millan, R., Halford, A., and Woodger, L. ( 2013), New conjunctive CubeSat and balloon measurements to quantify rapid energetic electron precipitation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 5833– 5837, doi:10.1002/2013GL058546.
  • Woodger, L. A., Halford, A. J., Millan, R. M., McCarthy, M. P., Smith, D. M., Bowers, G. S., Sample, J. G., Anderson, B. R., and Liang, X. ( 2015), A summary of the BARREL campaigns: Technique for studying electron precipitation. J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 120, 4922– 4935. doi: 10.1002/2014JA020874.
  • Angelopoulos, V., Cruce, P., Drozdov, A. et al. The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS). Space Sci Rev 215, 9 (2019) doi:10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4
  • Zhang, J., et al. ( 2016), EMIC waves and associated relativistic electron precipitation on 25–26 January 2013, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 121, 11,086– 11,100, doi:10.1002/2016JA022918.
  • Brito, T., Hudson, M. K., Kress, B., Paral, J., Halford, A., Millan, R., and Usanova, M. ( 2015), Simulation of ULF wave‐modulated radiation belt electron precipitation during the 17 March 2013 storm. J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 120, 3444– 3461. doi: 10.1002/2014JA020838.
  • Clilverd, M. A., Rodger, C. J., McCarthy, M., Millan, R., Blum, L. W., Cobbett, N., Brundell, J. B., Danskin, D., and Halford, A. J. ( 2017), Investigating energetic electron precipitation through combining ground‐based and balloon observations, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 122, 534– 546, doi:10.1002/2016JA022812.
  • Rae, I. J., Murphy, K. R., Watt, C. E. J., Halford, A. J., Mann, I. R., Ozeke, L. G., … Singer, H. J. ( 2018). The role of localized compressional ultra‐low frequency waves in energetic electron precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 123, 1900– 1914. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA024674
  • Chaston, C. C., Bonnell, J. W., Halford, A. J., Reeves, G. D., Baker, D. N., Kletzing, C. A., & Wygant, J. R. ( 2018). Pitch angle scattering and loss of radiation belt electrons in broadband electromagnetic waves. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 9344– 9352. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079527






 

Current Projects


petitSat

Earth's Ionosphere

petitSat is a 6U CubeSat designed to look at plasmaspheric bubbles and blobs. We are hoping to launch in 2021 from the international space station. 


Selected Publications:

J. Klenzing, R.L. Davidson, S.L. Jones, C. Martinis, K.A. Zawdie, G.D. Earle, J.M. Smith, A.J. Halford, S. Noel, N. Paschalidis, R.F. Pfaff, E. Robertson, The petitSat mission – Science goals and instrumentation, Advances in Space Research, Volume 66, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 107-115, ISSN 0273-1177, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2019.12.013.


Community for the Unified Study of Interhemispheric Asymmetries

Earth's Magnetosphere

From the CUSIA Website https://cusia.uta.edu/about/:


"CUSIA is leading in the next generation of theory and models that account for asymmetries imposed onto the geospace system

Understanding the effects of interhemispheric asymmetries is a grand challenge that crosses all boundaries in geospace. It is a critical area for understanding solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, thermospheric dynamics, and outflow into the magnetosphere. It remains one of the most glaring deficiencies of our numerical modeling capabilities.


"At present, no global model or combination of coupled models incorporates all or even most of the existing asymmetries found in nature. This issue is compounded by the interconnected nature of these asymmetries: it is not sufficient to include one or some; all processes must be considered to understand how interhemispheric asymmetries change the fundamental nature of the M-I-T system. This capability void represents a significant impediment to modeling, understanding, and forecasting space and upper atmosphere environment.


A large-scale center approach is necessary to bring together the scientists and resources to update and validate models and theory to properly account for interhemispheric asymmetries. "


LAMP Loss through Auroral Microburst Precipitation

Earth's Ionosphere

From the LAMP website https://lamp-mission.sites.uiowa.edu/


LAMP is a sounding rocket mission designed to explore the energy of a certain type of aurora called pulsating aurora. The aurora, or Northern Lights, comes in many forms. Pulsating aurora looks like large patches or splotches of light across the sky and is typically much fainter than the bright arcs and curtains shown in most photography. It gets its name from the periodic pulsations it exhibits – from several to 10’s of seconds between on and off phases. 


Relevant Publications:


Simultaneous Precipitation of Sub-Relativistic Electron Microburst and Pulsating Aurora Electrons Taku Namekawa, Takefumi Mitani, Kazushi Asamura, Yoshizumi Mioshi, Keisuke Hosokawa, Marc R Lessard, Chrystal Moser, Alexa J. Halford, Takeshi Sakanoi, Miki Kawamura, Masahito Nosé, Reiko Nomura, Mariko Teramoto, Mykhaylo Shumko, Kristina A Lynch, Allison N Jaynes, Matthew G McHarg DOI: 10.22541/essoar.168167378.83120518/v1

Positions/Employment


PostDoc/Space Grant Visiting Scientist

Dartmouth College - Hanover NH

July 2012 - October 2017

During my postdoc I worked with the BARREL mission.

 

Papers from this work: 

 

 

 


Research Staff Member

The Aerospace Corporation - Chantilly VA

November 2017 - October 2019

I worked on space weather impacts from magnetospheric radiation populations with the REACH satellite constellation. 


Selected Publications:

  • Burrell, A. G., Halford, A., Klenzing, J., Stoneback, R. A., Morley, S. K., Annex, A. M., et al. (2018). Snakes on a spaceship—An overview of Python in heliophysics. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 123, 10,384– 10,402. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA025877
  • Rae, I. J., Murphy, K. R., Watt, C. E. J., Halford, A. J., Mann, I. R., Ozeke, L. G., et al, (2018). The role of localized compressional ultra‐low frequency waves in energetic electron precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 123, 1900– 1914. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA024674
  • J.T. Rudd, D.M. Oliveira, A. Bhaskar, A.J. Halford, How do interplanetary shock impact angles control the size of the geoeffective magnetosphere?, Advances in Space Research, Volume 63, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 317-326, ISSN 0273-1177, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2018.09.013.
  • Chaston, C. C., Bonnell, J. W., Halford, A. J., Reeves, G. D., Baker, D. N., Kletzing, C. A., & Wygant, J. R. (2018). Pitch angle scattering and loss of radiation belt electrons in broadband electromagnetic waves. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 9344– 9352. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079527
  • Bingley, L., Angelopoulos, V., Sibeck, D., Zhang, X., & Halford, A. (2019). The evolution of a pitch‐angle “bite‐out” scattering signature caused by EMIC wave activity: A case study. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124, 5042– 5055. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA026292
  • A. J. Halford, Adam C. Kellerman, Katherine Garcia-Sage, Jeffrey Klenzing, Brett A. Carter, Ryan M. McGranaghan, Timothy Guild, Consuelo Cid, Carl J. Henney, Natalia Yu. Ganushkina, Angeline G. Burrell, Mike Terkildsen, Daniel T. Welling, Sophie A. Murray, K. D. Leka, James P. McCollough, Barbara J. Thompson, Antti Pulkkinen, Shing F. Fung, Suzy Bingham, Mario M. Bisi, Michael W. Liemohn, Brian M. Walsh, Steven K. Morley, Application usability levels: a framework for tracking project product progress, J. Space Weather Space Clim. 9 A34 (2019) DOI: 10.1051/swsc/2019030
  • Claudia Medeiros, V. M. Souza, L. E. A. Vieira, D. G. Sibeck, A. J. Halford, S.-B. Kang, L. A. Da Silva, L. R. Alves, J. P. Marchezi, R. S. Dallaqua, P. R. Jauer, M. Rockenbach, O. Mendes, M. V. Alves, A. Dal Lago, M.-C. Fok, S. G. Kanekal, D. N. Baker, C. A. Kletzing, On the Contribution of EMIC Waves to the Reconfiguration of the Relativistic Electron Butterfly Pitch Angle Distribution Shape on 2014 September 12: A Case Study, The Astrophysical Journal, vol 872, p. 36, American Astronomical Society, Feb. 2019


Research Scientist

Goddard Space Flight Center NASA Code 675 - Greenbelt

November 2019 - Present

I am within the Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere lab. I am currently the deputy PI of petitSat which will launch hopefully in 2021 from the international space station. 


Selected publications:

  • Remya, B., Sibeck, D. G., Ruohoniemi, J. M., Kunduri, B., Halford, A. J., Reeves, G. D., & Reddy, V. (2020). Association between EMIC wave occurrence and enhanced convection periods during ion injections. Geophysical Research Letters, 47, e2019GL085676. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085676
  • Cid, C., Guerrero, A., Saiz, E., Halford, A. J., & Kellerman, A. C. (2020). Developing the LDi and LCi geomagnetic indices, an example of application of the AULs framework. Space Weather, 18, e2019SW002171. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019SW002171
  • Shumko, Mykhaylo and Johnson, Arlo and O’Brien, Thomas Paul and Turner, Drew L. and Greeley, Ashley D and Sample, John and Blake, J Bernard and Blum, Lauren W and Halford, Alexa J., Statistical Properties of Electron Curtain Precipitation Estimated with AeroCube-6, Earth and Space Science Open Archive, 17, 2020, 10.1002/essoar.10503661.1
  • Thiago V. Brito, Alexa J. Halford, Scot R. Elkington, Chapter 2 - Ultralow frequency-wave induced losses, Editor(s): Allison N. Jaynes, Maria E. Usanova, The Dynamic Loss of Earth's Radiation Belts, Elsevier, 2020, Pages 29-48, ISBN 9780128133712, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813371-2.00002-0.
  • J. Klenzing, R.L. Davidson, S.L. Jones, C. Martinis, K.A. Zawdie, G.D. Earle, J.M. Smith, A.J. Halford, S. Noel, N. Paschalidis, R.F. Pfaff, E. Robertson, The petitSat mission – Science goals and instrumentation, Advances in Space Research, Volume 66, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 107-115, ISSN 0273-1177, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2019.12.013.


Education


PhD 2012, The University of Newcastle Australia - Thesis can be found here

Masters 2007 CU Boulder 

BA double major in Math/Physics graduated from honors & McNair program Augsburg University

Professional Societies


The American Geophysical Union

2002 - Present


The American Meteorological Society

2019 - Present

Professional Service


My service to the larger scientific community has come primarily in four parts:
1) Service to mission coordination and mission leadership which include planing and coordinating projects with other agencies and scientists to conduct pioneering projects, developing experimental investigations, and planning the appropriate approach for data acquisition to ensure the right types of data where collected to help resolve outstanding critical scientific problems.
2) Organizing conferences, workshops, sessions, and seminars for the dissemination of presentable results, and to encourage new collaborative research.

3) Service on professional committees which have allowed me the opportunity to help guide the field through recommending future proposal calls, encourage engagement of the scientific community with their political representatives in the hopes of increased funding for the field, and through recognizing some of our outstanding scientific peers.
4) Service to the science community at large and service to my current place of employment through serving as a reviewer for papers and reviewer and panelist for grant opportunities as well as an advocate for the wonderful science completed at my place of employment.

 

Service to Mission coordination and Mission leadership

  • Led BARREL collaborations and contact to multiple missions (both US based and interna- tional) including NASA’s Van Allen Probes (US-NASA), Cluster (EU), LOMONOSOV (Russia), ABOVE2 (CA), Firebird (US-UNH and MSU ), AC6 (US-Aerospace Corporation), and CSSWE (US-LASP CU Boulder) as well as with the larger scientific community. I was the BARREL lead for the daily meetings between BARREL and the Van Allen Probe’s instru- ments teams to determine data collection and retrieval during the BARREL campaigns. Other satellite, ground, and CubeSat missions also attended these meetings to determine when they should collect and download data to ensure the correct data type for answering critical science questions for the 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and the August 2015 and 2016 campaigns.
  • Helped organize and plan the EFW/BARREL workshop and follow up science meetings, 2013- 2014
  • Successfully conceived, planed, and developed experimental investigations and proposed for EISCAT radar time with strong international collaborations for experimental investigations taking advantage of conjugate observations with FIREBIRD, Van Allen Probes, and BARREL for both the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. This work addressed and attempted to resolve scientific problems with identifying the in situ source and scale size of microbursts and other radiation belt electron precipitation events.
  • Advocated for the BARREL mission to the larger scientific community and public through near real time dissemination of BARREL progress, observations, and results through the BARREL blog (both one for the public and one for the scientific community), Facebook page, and twitter accounts. December 2012 - present
  • Advocated for the BARREL mission to the larger scientific community by presenting and running informal sessions at GEM and AGU on how to use the BARREL data analysis software, how to interpret the BARREL data, and how to identify events vs contamination/noise in the novel BARREL data set.
  • Advocated for the BARREL mission to the public through multiple public lectures, a temporary exhibit at a museum, and the creation of a mission short film which was uploaded to the NASA YouTube channel.

Organizing conference/workshops and sessions/seminars

  • Program Committee for AGU Chapman conference on ”Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes”
  • Chair of an AGU Fall 2018 Session titled ”Quantitative Understanding of Particle Dynamics in Earth’s Radiation Belts”
  • Co - convener and chair of an Fall 2018 AGU session titled ”The Application Usability Level (AUL) framework: a standard measure of progress to benefit heliophysics research, and the needs of our society.” with Adam Kellerman, and Jeffery Klenzing.
  • Co - convener of an AGU Fall 2018 Session titled ”Challenges in Extreme Space Weather Research: Science, Applications, and Policies” with Denny Oliveira, Noe Lugaz, and Sophie Murray
  • Co - convener of an AGU Fall 2018 Session titled ”Application Development in Python for Solar and Space Physics” with Alex DeWolfe and D Aaron Roberts
  • Co - convener and chair of an AGU Fall 2018 Union Session titled ”The Challenges of Recog- nizing Implicit Bias in Earth and Space Sciences and Strategies for Minimizing its Impact in the Coming Decades of the AGU” with Hazel Bain and Blair Schneider
  • On the Program Committee for the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting including Extremes
  • Co-Convener and Chair of a plenary at the TESS meeting in VA, 2018 titled ”Unconscious bias in Space Physics: what is it and what are the solutions?” with K Garcia Sage, N. Vail, Y. Collado-Vega
  • • Co - convener and chair of an Fall 2017 AGU session titled ”Assessment of Space Environment Models and Data: Validation Metrics, Frameworks, and Applications” with Adam Kellerman, Katherine Garcia-Sage, and Jeffery Klenzing.
  • Organizer for a mini workshop on Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress Toward Science Understanding and Operational Readiness group at the International Forum for Space Weather Capabilities Assessment working group the Sunday before AGU
  • Co-lead with Adam Kellerman the Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress Toward Science Understanding and Operational Readiness group at the International Forum for Space Weather Capabilities Assessment Workshop run by the CCMC and LWS. 2016 - present. This includes leading and conducting studies on tracking the progress of our field, development of application usability levels, and development of a framework for dissemination of information including metric and validation techniques and progress.
  • On the organizing committee for the Inner Magnetosphere Coupling III meeting held March 2015 at University of California Los Angeles
  • Co-lead with Adam Kellerman a special GEM 2017 session on Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress Toward Science Understanding and Operational Readiness
  • AGU Fall 2016 session ”Understanding the scale and significance of ULF modulation of higher frequency wave power and energetic particle loss rates” with Aaron Breneman and Chris Colpitts
  • • Co-Convener and chair of a joint CEDAR GEM 2016 focus group ”Particle Precipitation and the Effects on Earth’s Atmosphere” with Kyle Murphy, Roger Varney, Stephen Kaeppler, and Allison Jaynes.
  • Co-Convener and chair of the Comparative studies of the storm-time inner magnetosphere for the Fall 2015 AGU conference. with Matina Gkioulidou, Drew Turner, and Philip Valek.
  • • Co-Convener and chair of the Multi-point Observations in the Inner Magnetosphere: System- wide Understanding of Particle Transport, Energization, and Loss at the Fall 2014 AGU con- ference with Matina Gkioulidou and Drew Turner.
  • Ran the Dartmouth Spring Plasma Physics Seminar series, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Chaired session for Fall AGU 2013 Buildup and Dynamics of Ring Current and Radiation Belts at Earth II session.
  • Space Physics & Aeronomy Program Committee session liaison for the Outstanding Student Paper Award for sections SM23C, SM24B, SM33A for the Fall AGU 2013 meeting

Professional Organization Membership and Committees

  • Serving on the GEM Metrics and Validation Standing Resource Group 2020
  • Served on NASA LWS TR&T steering committee 2016
  • Member of the American Geophysical Union 2002 - present
    • Serving on the AGU SPA Fellows Committee 2017, 2018, Chair 2019, 2020
    • Serving on the AGU SPA Advocacy committee. 2017 - 2019


Service to Community/institute

  • Presented to the AGU Fellows nomination task force on implicit bias and how to write a non-gendered nomination packages. 2017, 2018
  • Panelist on the GEM student night panel about Ethics 2017
  • Goddard point of contact/organizer for the United States Naval Academy- Goddard summer student research program 2017
  • Code 674 point of contact for nugget slides for codes 600, 100, and headquarters, working with Dr. Alex Young 2016 - 2017
  • Co-guest Editor of the JGR Energetic Electron Loss and its Impacts on the Atmosphere special issue
  • Served on NASA and NSF grant review panels as a write in reviewer, panelist and as chair.
  • Active referee for a number of journals including Geophysical Reviews, the Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Annales Geophysicae, Physics of Plasmas, EOS, and Nature Communications.

Awards


  • NASA Peer Award for setting up Science Fridays, a new networking event to enable cross pollination of ideas and innovative thinking throughout Goddard, September 2020
  • NASA Special Act Award For serving in a critical leadership role as the ARTEMIS Point of Contact in 670, and connecting Heliophysics to the larger efforts at the Center in support of human exploration of the Moon and Moon to Mars.August 2020
  • 2018 Editor’s Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Reviews of Geophysics
  • The Aerospace Corporation ”Strategic Imperative Hero pin” for growth 2018
  • Goddard Heliophysics Science Division Peer award 2017
  • Augsburg First Decade Award 2013 “The First Decade Award is presented to Augsburg graduates of the past 10 years who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community, and in so doing exemplify the mission of the College: to prepare future leaders in service to the world.” - Augsburg College (now Augsburg University)
  • Dartmouth Young Visiting Scientist 2012 - 2013.
  • Best Science Story at the 10th annual New Year’s Poster Party at NASA Goddard 2017
  • Finalist in the Three min. thesis competition, Newcastle University, Callaghan Australia June 2010
  • Winner of the Three min. thesis competition in the College round Newcastle University, Callaghan Australia, June 2010
  • Voted Best Poster by participating students at Science Research Expo, Newcastle University, Callaghan Australia June 2008
  • BA Graduation with honors and from the McNair program, Augsburg College Minneapolis MN May 2003
  • Received Outstanding student paper award for poster at Spring 2002 AGU conference
  • Student in the McNair Program. A program to prepare minority, underrepresented, and first generation low income students for post graduate studies through research opportunities and other academic activities. Admission is based on academic standing. 2001-2003
  • Augsburg Tuition Grant 2002-2003
  • President of SPS and President of Unbounded (math club) 2002-2003
  • Honorable mention in MCM Mathematical Modeling Contest
  • Bev Durkee Mathematics Scholarship 2001-2003
  • Leif Sverdrup Physics Scholarship 2000-2003
  • Early Advantage Regents’ Scholarship1999-2003
  • Augsburg Faculty Leadership Scholarship 1999-2003
  • T. Hanwick Science Scholarship 1999-2003
  • Prime Church Scholarship 1999-2003
  • Prime Augsburg match 1999-2003

Publications


Refereed

2023. "Will we find Martian lightning via Schumann resonances?." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 10 [10.3389/fspas.2023.1162624] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "The importance of recruitment and retention in Heliophysics: it’s not just a pipeline problem." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 10 [10.3389/fspas.2023.1216449] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "How Open Data and Interdisciplinary Collaboration Improve Our Understanding of Space Weather: A Risk & Resiliency Perspective." Bulletin of the AAS [10.3847/25c2cfeb.165ff6b0] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Science for all: The case for Citizen Science in all NASA missions." Bulletin of the AAS [10.3847/25c2cfeb.084a6ba8] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Cross-Scale and Cross-Regime Coupling in the ITM: Studying Weather, not just Climate, in the Middle and Upper Atmosphere." Bulletin of the AAS 55 (3): [10.3847/25c2cfeb.041166a2] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Using Application Usability Levels to support tracking the health of Heliophysics." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 10 [10.3389/fspas.2023.1144053] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Cultivating a culture of inclusivity in heliophysics." Frontiers in Physics 11 [10.3389/fphy.2023.1061683] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Expanding the deep space network to support the heliophysics system observatory." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1051527] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "A system science perspective of the drivers of equatorial plasma bubbles." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1064150] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Supporting responsible machine learning in heliophysics." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1064233] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Thoughts from a past AGU SPA fellows committee." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1054343] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Recommendations on simple but transformative diversity, equity, and inclusion measures in Heliophysics over the next decade." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1062970] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Data needs to be a priority." Frontiers in Physics 10 [10.3389/fphy.2022.1061681] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "sami2py—Overview and applications." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1066480] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "How open data and interdisciplinary collaboration improve our understanding of space weather: A risk and resiliency perspective." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1067571] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "The Van Allen Probes Electric Field and Waves Instrument: Science Results, Measurements, and Access to Data." Space Science Reviews 218 (8): 69 [10.1007/s11214-022-00934-y] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Science of the Van Allen Probes Science Operations Centers." Space Science Reviews 218 (8): 66 [10.1007/s11214-022-00919-x] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Impacts of acoustic and gravity waves on the ionosphere." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1064152] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "GMAG: An open-source python package for ground-based magnetometers." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1005061] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "AuroraX, PyAuroraX, and aurora-asi-lib: A user-friendly auroral all-sky imager analysis framework." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1009450] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "The Effect of Compression Induced Chorus Waves on 10s to 100s eV Electron Precipitation." Geophysical Research Letters [10.1029/2022gl098842] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Proton aurora and relativistic electron microbursts scattered by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.975123] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Quantifying the Size and Duration of a Microburst‐Producing Chorus Region on 5 December 2017." Geophysical Research Letters 49 (15): [10.1029/2022gl099655] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Drift Phase Structure Implications for Radiation Belt Transport." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 127 (8): [10.1029/2022ja030331] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Bypassing the bias." Astronomy & Geophysics 62 (5): 5.28-5.29 [10.1093/astrogeo/atab090] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "A Strong Correlation Between Relativistic Electron Microbursts and Patchy Aurora." Geophysical Research Letters 48 (18): [10.1029/2021gl094696] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Driving of Outer Belt Electron Loss by Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure Structures: Analysis of Balloon and Satellite Data." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 125 (12): [10.1029/2020ja028097] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Statistical Properties of Electron Curtain Precipitation Estimated With AeroCube‐6." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 125 (12): [10.1029/2020ja028462] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "The petitSat Mission – Science Goals and Instrumentation." Advances in Space Research 66 (1): 107-115 [10.1016/j.asr.2019.12.013] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Association between EMIC wave occurrence and enhanced convection periods during ion injections." Geophysical Research Letters 2019GL085676 [10.1029/2019gl085676] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Ultralow frequency-wave induced losses." The Dynamic Loss of Earth's Radiation Belts 29-48 [10.1016/b978-0-12-813371-2.00002-0] [Article in Book]

2019. "Developing the LDi and LCi geomagnetic indices, an example of application of the AULs framework." Space Weather 2019SW002171 [10.1029/2019sw002171] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Application Usability Levels: A Framework for Tracking Project Product Progress." J. Space Weather Space Clim. 9 A34 [https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2019030] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "The Evolution of a Pitch‐Angle “Bite‐Out” Scattering Signature Caused by EMIC Wave Activity: A Case Study." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 124 (7): 5042-5055 [10.1029/2018ja026292] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Generation of EMIC Waves and Effects on Particle Precipitation During a Solar Wind Pressure Intensification with B z > 0." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 2019JA026477 [10.1029/2019ja026477] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "On the Contribution of EMIC Waves to the Reconfiguration of the Relativistic Electron Butterfly Pitch Angle Distribution Shape on 2014 September 12—A Case Study." The Astrophysical Journal 872 (1): 36 [10.3847/1538-4357/aaf970] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS)." Space Science Reviews 215 (1): 9 [10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "How do interplanetary shock impact angles control the size of the geoeffective magnetosphere?." Advances in Space Research 61 (1): 317-326 [10.1016/j.asr.2018.09.013] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Snakes on a Spaceship—An Overview of Python in Heliophysics." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 123 (12): 2018JA025877 [10.1029/2018ja025877] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Pitch Angle Scattering and Loss of Radiation Belt Electrons in Broadband Electromagnetic Waves." Geophysical Research Letters 45 (18): 9344-9352 [10.1029/2018gl079527] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "NASA and University of Houston’s Approach in Engaging and Developing Undergraduate Students’ Skills Through Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project." 2018 AIAA SPACE and Astronautics Forum and Exposition [10.2514/6.2018-5139] [Proceedings]

2018. "Ion Injection Triggered EMIC Waves in the Earth's Magnetosphere." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 123 (6): 4921-4938 [10.1029/2018ja025354] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Geomagnetically induced currents caused by interplanetary shocks with different impact angles and speeds." Space Weather 16 (6): 636-647 [10.1029/2018sw001880] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "The Role of Localized Compressional Ultra-low Frequency Waves in Energetic Electron Precipitation." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics [10.1002/2017ja024674] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "The Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project: A Foray into Instrument Design, Payload Fabrication, and Project Management." AIAA SPACE and Astronautics Forum and Exposition [10.2514/6.2017-5136] [Proceedings]

2017. "Investigating energetic electron precipitation through combining ground‐based and balloon observations." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 122 (1): 534-546 [10.1002/2016ja022812] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "EMIC waves and associated relativistic electron precipitation on 25-26 January 2013." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 121 (11): 11,086-11,100 [10.1002/2016ja022918] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "Dependence of EMIC wave parameters during quiet, geomagnetic storm, and geomagnetic storm phase times." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 121 (7): 6277–6291 [10.1002/2016ja022694] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "BARREL observations of a solar energetic electron and solar energetic proton event." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 121 (5): 4205-4216 [10.1002/2016ja022462] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Interplanetary shocks and the resulting geomagnetically induced currents at the equator." Geophysical Research Letters 42 (16): 6554-6559 [10.1002/2015gl065060] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Observations of coincident EMIC wave activity and duskside energetic electron precipitation on 18-19 January 2013." Geophysical Research Letters 42 (14): 5727-5735 [10.1002/2015gl065245] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Global-scale coherence modulation of radiation-belt electron loss from plasmaspheric hiss." Nature 523 (7559): 193-195 [10.1038/nature14515] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "A summary of the BARREL campaigns: Technique for studying electron precipitation." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 120 (6): 4922-4935 [10.1002/2014ja020874] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Simulation of ULF wave-modulated radiation belt electron precipitation during the 17 March 2013 storm." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 120 (5): 3444-3461 [10.1002/2014ja020838] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "BARREL observations of an ICME-shock impact with the magnetosphere and the resultant radiation belt electron loss." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 120 (4): 2557-2570 [10.1002/2014ja020873] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "EMIC waves and plasmaspheric and plume density: CRRES results." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 120 (3): 1974-1992 [10.1002/2014ja020338] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "New conjunctive CubeSat and balloon measurements to quantify rapid energetic electron precipitation." Geophysical Research Letters 40 (22): 5833-5837 [10.1002/2013gl058546] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "The Balloon Array for RBSP Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL)." Space Science Reviews 179 (1-4): 503-530 [10.1007/s11214-013-9971-z] [Journal Article/Letter]

2010. "EMIC wave activity during geomagnetic storm and nonstorm periods: CRRES results." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 115 (A12): [10.1029/2010ja015716] [Journal Article/Letter]

2004. "Latitudinal and seasonal variations of quasiperiodic and periodic VLF emissions in the outer magnetosphere." Journal of Geophysical Research 109 (A5): A05216 [10.1029/2003ja010335] [Journal Article/Letter]

Talks, Presentations and Posters


Invited

The Effect of Compression Induced Chorus Waves on 10s eV to 100s keV Electron Precipitation

August 2020

CU Boulder LASP FoM Seminar series


Space Weather: Killer Electron Edition, USIP: Balloon-borne System Data Sensors Seminar Class

May 2020

University Houston


The Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress Working Group, Tracking Space Weather Application Progress Towards Usability: Application Usability Levels

June 2019

A.J. Halford A. Kellerman,B. Thompson, A. Pulkkinen, K. Garcia-Sage, B. Carter, S. A. Murray, S. Bingham, D. Welling, The Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress Working Group, Tracking Space Weather Application Progress Towards Usability: Application Usability Levels, JPGU, May 2019, Chiba, Japan


Panelist on "And Beyond… the Next 60 Years of NASA" 

April 2019

The panel was recorded can be watched at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/120752782


 Application Usability Levels, European Space Weather Week, Nov. 2018

December 2018

European Space Weather Week


The storm that wasn't: A look at multiple loss processes occurring simultaneously and how they interact with each other

August 2018

Exploring Systems-Science Techniques for the Earth's Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere, Los Alamos NM


Coincident Compression Generated EMIC Chorus and Hiss waves

June 2017

JpGU-AUG Joint meeting May 2017, Chiba, Japan


Taking up Space

April 2017

Maryland Institute College of Art, March 2017


Observations of a solar storm from the stratosphere: The BARREL Mission

2016

Dec. 2016, Google Hangout University of Houston Physics Seminar series


A Sun to mud view of a heliospheric storm: The little mission that could

February 2016

Plasma Physics seminar, January 2016 Dartmouth College Hanover NH


Precipitation events as observed with BARREL

April 2015

the BARREL team, Precipitation events as observed with BARREL, Inner Magnetosphere Coupling III, March 2015, UCLA


Space Balloons and Killer Electrons

November 2014

Space Balloons and Killer Electrons, Google Hangout about Space physics directed for STEM majors at Alabama universities. I was asked to give this talk based on my twitter activities and participation through EPSCORE workshops. October 21 2014


Early Results from the BARREL 2013 Balloon Campaign and a look to the 2014 Campaign

October 2013

A.J. Halford, R. Millan, BARREL Team, Early Results from the BARREL 2013 Balloon Campaign and a look to the 2014 Campaign, Cluster workshop, Tromso, Norway, September 2013


Early Results from the BARREL 2013 Balloon Campaign

September 2013

A.J. Halford, R. Millan, BARREL Team, Early Results from the BARREL 2013 Balloon Campaign, IAGA, Merida, Mexico, August 2013


EMIC waves and the radiation belts

July 2012

EMIC waves and the radiation belts, Dartmouth, New Hampshire, invited talk 2012


EMIC waves and the plasmasphere

2011

EMIC waves and the plasmasphere, UNH, New Hampshire, invited talk 2011

Other

Selected Public Outreach


Panelist on Astrobiology, at Awesome Con Washington DC

May 2019 - May 2019


Massive sunspots and huge solar flares mean unexpected space weather for Earth, originally posted in TheConversation.com

October 2017 - October 2017

Halford, A. J., B. A. Carter, J. Currie, editor Maggie Villiger, Massive sunspots and huge solar flares mean unexpected space weather for Earth, originally posted in TheConversation.com at https://theconversation.com/massive-sunspots-and-huge-solar-flares-mean-unexpected-space-weather-for-earth-83677, picked up by other newsoutlets e.g. NewsWeek


What's the science behind the eclipse?

September 2017 - September 2017