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SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
analytical and numerical techniques. His work has applications spanning a variety of physical systems,
including the solar corona, Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere, magnetically confined plasma, and
the interaction of intense lasers with plasma. His present focus is on magnetic reconnection with space
physics applications and on turbulence and transport with applications to the magnetic fusion program.
In recognition of his contributions to the field of plasma physics, he was made a fellow of the American
Physical Society (APS) and was awarded a Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award. Dr. Drake is also
a national associate of the NAS. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UCLA. Dr. Drake has
served on numerous NRC studies and has been a member of the Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA)
and of the Panel on Theory, Computation, and Data Exploration for the 2003 Decadal Survey on Solar
and Space Physics.
LENNARD A. FISK is the Thomas M. Donahue Distinguished University Professor of Space Science in the
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan. Dr. Fisk was
previously the associate administrator for Space Science and Applications and chief scientist at NASA. He
has served as a professor of physics and as vice president for research and financial affairs at the University
of New Hampshire. He is an active researcher in both theoretical and experimental studies of the solar
atmosphere and its expansion into space to form the heliosphere. He is a member of the NAS. Dr. Fisk is a
member of the board of directors of Orbital Sciences Corporation and co-founder of Michigan Aerospace
Corporation. He received his Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Fisk
was a member of the NRC Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space. His prior service also
includes chair of the SSB and membership on the Committee on Scientific Communication and National
Security, the Committee on Fusion Science Assessment, the Committee on International Space Programs,
the Air Force Physics Research Committee, and the Committee on Solar and Space Physics.
MARVIN A. GELLER is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. His research deals with atmospheric dynamics, the middle and upper
atmosphere, climate variability, and aeronomy. He became the fourth Stony Brook professor sharing the
2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for his participation in the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). Dr. Geller received the congratulatory letter from the United Nations Environment Programme on January 22, 2008, for his contribution in the assessment of stratospheric ozone depletion and
climate change that led to the Montreal Protocol. Dr. Geller has served on many national and international
advisory committees on atmospheric science, the upper atmosphere, and near-space environment and is
currently president of the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP); he has served as
co-chair of the World Climate Research Programme’s SPARC (Stratospheric Processes and Their Role in
Climate) project, president of the AGU’s Atmospheric Sciences section, chair of NASULGC’s Board on
the Oceans and Atmosphere, and president of ICSU’s SCOSTEP (Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial
Physics). He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the AGU and past president
of the AGU’s Atmospheric Sciences Section. He earned his Ph.D. in meteorology from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). He has served on numerous NRC panels and committees, including the
Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Research (chair) and as a member of the Board on Atmospheric Sciences
and Climate (BASC) and the Board on International Scientific Organizations.
SARAH GIBSON is currently a scientist at the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Gibson’s positions prior to her arrival at HAO
included a 1-year visit to Cambridge University in England as a NATO/NSF postdoctoral fellow and nearly
4 years at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—first as an NRC associate—as well as a research
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
382
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
analytical and numerical techniques. His work has applications spanning a variety of physical systems,
including the solar corona, Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere, magnetically confined plasma, and
the interaction of intense lasers with plasma. His present focus is on magnetic reconnection with space
physics applications and on turbulence and transport with applications to the magnetic fusion program.
In recognition of his contributions to the field of plasma physics, he was made a fellow of the American
Physical Society (APS) and was awarded a Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award. Dr. Drake is also
a national associate of the NAS. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UCLA. Dr. Drake has
served on numerous NRC studies and has been a member of the Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA)
and of the Panel on Theory, Computation, and Data Exploration for the 2003 Decadal Survey on Solar
and Space Physics.
LENNARD A. FISK is the Thomas M. Donahue Distinguished University Professor of Space Science in the
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan. Dr. Fisk was
previously the associate administrator for Space Science and Applications and chief scientist at NASA. He
has served as a professor of physics and as vice president for research and financial affairs at the University
of New Hampshire. He is an active researcher in both theoretical and experimental studies of the solar
atmosphere and its expansion into space to form the heliosphere. He is a member of the NAS. Dr. Fisk is a
member of the board of directors of Orbital Sciences Corporation and co-founder of Michigan Aerospace
Corporation. He received his Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Fisk
was a member of the NRC Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space. His prior service also
includes chair of the SSB and membership on the Committee on Scientific Communication and National
Security, the Committee on Fusion Science Assessment, the Committee on International Space Programs,
the Air Force Physics Research Committee, and the Committee on Solar and Space Physics.
MARVIN A. GELLER is a professor of atmospheric sciences at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. His research deals with atmospheric dynamics, the middle and upper
atmosphere, climate variability, and aeronomy. He became the fourth Stony Brook professor sharing the
2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for his participation in the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). Dr. Geller received the congratulatory letter from the United Nations Environment Programme on January 22, 2008, for his contribution in the assessment of stratospheric ozone depletion and
climate change that led to the Montreal Protocol. Dr. Geller has served on many national and international
advisory committees on atmospheric science, the upper atmosphere, and near-space environment and is
currently president of the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP); he has served as
co-chair of the World Climate Research Programme’s SPARC (Stratospheric Processes and Their Role in
Climate) project, president of the AGU’s Atmospheric Sciences section, chair of NASULGC’s Board on
the Oceans and Atmosphere, and president of ICSU’s SCOSTEP (Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial
Physics). He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the AGU and past president
of the AGU’s Atmospheric Sciences Section. He earned his Ph.D. in meteorology from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). He has served on numerous NRC panels and committees, including the
Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Research (chair) and as a member of the Board on Atmospheric Sciences
and Climate (BASC) and the Board on International Scientific Organizations.
SARAH GIBSON is currently a scientist at the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Gibson’s positions prior to her arrival at HAO
included a 1-year visit to Cambridge University in England as a NATO/NSF postdoctoral fellow and nearly
4 years at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—first as an NRC associate—as well as a research