Undergraduate Graduate Faculty

21-25 of 25 results

  • On The Origin and Transport of Energetic Particles

    PI Heidi Nykyri

    CO-I Xuanye Ma

    Understanding the properties, origin and dynamics of energetic particles in the solar wind and magnetosphere is crucial for safe unmanned and manned space operations. This project will  unravel the birth-mechanism of the source population of the Earth's radiation belts.



    Understanding the properties, origin and dynamics of energetic particles in the solar wind and magnetosphere is crucial for safe unmanned and manned space operations.  Therefore,  energetic particles have attracted attention from the space physics community for decades. However, different regions and energy ranges of energetic particles may have their own unique origin and role for magnetospheric dynamics, which have not been fully explored and deserve to be investigated case by case. For instance, MMS recently observed dispersionless micro-injections in the 30-300 keV electrons accompanied by strong anisotropic ion temperature at the high-latitude magnetospheric boundary layer in the vicinity of the exterior southern cusp.  Due to the different magnetic field geometry, these high-latitude microinjections could have a totally different origin than the typical low-latitude microinjections. Because this region is close to the radiation belts, ionosphere, and magnetosheath, these high-latitude microinjections could be the ~ tens to hundreds of keV seed population of the radiation belts,  as well as leak into the ionosphere or into the magnetosheath. This project will unravel the birth-mechanism of the source population of the Earth's radiation belts.

    Categories: Faculty-Staff

  • Experimental Identification of Plasma Wave Modes

    PI Heidi Nykyri

    CO-I Rachel Rice

    Project uses MMS data to identify plasma wave modes contributing  to the heating of the magnetospheric boundary layer

    Projects uses single and multi-spacecraft data-analysis techniques to experimentally identify various plasma modes at different frequencies and assess their contribution to plasma heating 

    Categories: Faculty-Staff

  • Bayesian Analysis of Stellar Evolution

    PI Theodore von Hippel

    Bayesian Analysis of Stellar Evolution is an international collaboration studying stellar evolution with an emphasis on stellar ages. We also develop and support a Bayesian software suite that recovers star cluster and stellar parameters from photometry, currently called BASE-9.

    BASE-9 is useful for analyzing single-age, single-metallicity star clusters, binaries, or single stars, and for simulating such systems. BASE9 uses Markov chain Monte Carlo to estimate the posterior probability distribution for the age, metallicity, distance modulus, and line-of-sight absorption for a cluster, and for the mass, binary mass ratio, and cluster membership probability for every cluster member.

    Categories: Faculty-Staff

  • Media Literacy and Online Critical Thinking Initiatives

    PI Diane Zorri

    CO-I Ann Phillips

    CO-I Daniel Gressang

    CO-I Matthew Sharp

    CO-I Mihhail Berezovski

    CO-I Rachel Silverman

    CO-I Steven Master

    This project proposes a train-the-trainer professional development program for Volusia county’s secondary school educators to co-opt pedagogical tools and methods that challenge online violence mobilization narratives, increase awareness of violent extremist messaging and recruiting, and increase the capabilities of targeted populations to resist and counter messaging. 

    Participants of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s train-the-trainer seminars will identify problematic online and media messages that could lead to radicalization to violent extremism, critically evaluate the problematic assumptions, data, or logic of those messages, and develop pedagogical strategies for teaching their own students to recognize and critically evaluate those messages. This applicant fulfills the grant program priority to achieve diversity of project type.

    Categories: Faculty-Staff

  • Iranian Proxy Groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen A Comparative Analysis

    CO-I Hugh Sadri

     After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Tehran’s leaders took advantage of Baghdad’s weak position and put many Iraqi power centers and local groups under their influence using a variety of soft to hard power instruments. After the withdrawal of coalition forces from the region in 2011 and through its proxy networks, Tehran gained a solid foothold in Iraq and Syria under the guise of helping Baghdad and Damascus fight the Islamic State. Likewise, Iranian proxy groups have backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting a regime dependent on Saudi Arabia for survival. Our primary research question is: How does Iran develop, employ, and sustain proxy organizations in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, and what vulnerabilities does its regional strategy face as a result? Our objective is to analyze the role of Iranian influence in its proxy organizations across the Middle East. 

    This study, funded by Joint Special Operations University, offers a fresh perspective to the study of Iranian proxy organizations in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Our research employs a comparative analysis of Iranian proxy groups (a target of SOF Research Topics, 2019) across the Middle East. The demise of the Ba’athist Party in Iraq in 2003 created a regional power vacuum gradually filled by Iranian organizations.

    Categories: Faculty-Staff

21-25 of 25 results

Undergraduate Graduate Faculty