Jonathon Smith is a Research Scientist in the Code 675 ITM lab. Jonathon studies Plasma instabilities in the Earth's Ionosphere using physical modeling and analysis of satellite data. His work focuses on producing open source scientific software for data management, analysis, and extension for general purpose research.
Jonathon M Smith
(Postdoctoral Researcher)
| Email: | jonathon.m.smith@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.286.3156 |
| Org Code: | 675 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 675 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | CATHOLIC UNIV OF AMERICA |
Brief Bio
Positions/Employment
Research Scientist
The Catholic University of America - GSFC
August 2018 - Present
Open source Software development using Python for ionospheric modeling and data analysis.
Development on pysat, sami2py, and growin. Use of these modeling and analysis tools for the
detection and analysis of ionospheric plasma depletions. Scientific evaluation for cubesat
mission PetitSat. Modeling focus on Rayleigh-Taylor growth rates to study equatorial plasma
bubble development.
Research Assistant
The University of Texas at Dallas - Richardson, TX
2015 - 2018
Software development using Matlab and Python for analysis of ionospheric plasma bubbles.
Utilizing C/NOFS satellite data, algorithms were developed using MATLAB and Python for the
automatic detection of plasma depletions. Databases generated from these detection
algorithms were used to study phenomenology of plasma depletions.
Teaching Assistant
The University of Texas at Dallas - Richardson, TX
2013 - 2015
Leading undergraduate Mechanics lab and point of contact for Graduate Electricity and
Magnetism course.
Physics and Mathematics Peer Tutor
The University of Texas at Dallas - Richardson, TX
2012 - 2013
Peer tutor for undergraduate students on a walk-in basis.
Education
2018 The University of Texas at Dallas Ph.D. Physics
2012 The University of Texas at Dallas B.S. Physics
Selected Publications
Refereed
2023. "The pysat ecosystem." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 10 [10.3389/fspas.2023.1119775] [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. "sami2py—Overview and applications." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1066480] [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. "Growin: Modeling ionospheric instability growth rates." Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate 12 26 [10.1051/swsc/2022021] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Longitudinal Variation of Postsunset Plasma Depletions From the Global‐Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) Mission." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 126 (2): [10.1029/2020ja028510] [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]