Biography:Janet Luhmann

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Short description: American physicist and researcher
Janet G. Luhmann
NationalityAmerican
Alma materB.S. Carnegie Mellon University
M.S. University of Maryland
Ph.D. University of Maryland
Scientific career
FieldsGeophysics
Heliophysics
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley
NASA
WebsiteResearch profile

Janet G. Luhmann (born 1946) is an American physicist and senior fellow of the Space Sciences Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley.[1] She has made major contributions to a wide range of topics in planetary, solar, magnetospheric, and heliospheric physics. She is the principal investigator of the IMPACT instrument suite on the twin-spacecraft STEREO mission.[2] IMPACT stands for In-situ Measurements of Particles and Coronal mass ejection (CME) Transients. It consists of a, "suite of seven instruments that samples the 3-D distribution of solar wind plasma electrons, the characteristics of the solar energetic particle (SEP) ions and electrons, and the local vector magnetic field."[3]

Early life and education

Luhmann holds a B.S. in physics from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.S. and Ph.D in astronomy from the University of Maryland. She began her professional research career in 1974 as a member of technical staff in the Particles and Fields Department at the Space Sciences Laboratory in the Aerospace Corporation, California. In 1980, she took up a research geophysicist position at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1994, she was appointed as a senior fellow at the space sciences laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley.

Research career

Luhmann's work focuses on the use of spacecraft observations and models to investigate solar wind interactions with the planets and the connections between the Sun and heliospheric conditions.[4] She has published approximately 500 refereed articles, with around 29,000 citations and a h-index of 88, making her one of the most prominent scientists in the field.[5]

She is the principal investigator (PI) for the In-situ Measurements of Particles and CME Transients (IMPACT) instrument suite on the twin-spacecraft STEREO mission.[6] IMPACT provides solar wind plasma and magnetic field measurements. Previously, Luhmann was Deputy PI of the MAVEN mission at Mars.[7] She has served as a co-investigator on the ASPERA plasma spectrometer team on both Mars Express and Venus Express, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, and the POLAR mission, and a science team member on Cassini’s Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer Team, and the Phobos mission to Mars.

Luhmann led the heliospheric science activity for the National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Space Weather Modeling.[8]

Awards and honors

Selected by the National Academy of Science to chair the most influential committee in her field, the Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP).[9]

Chair of the NRC Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP).[10]

2021: Jean Dominique Cassini Medal & Honorary Membership of the European Geosciences Union.[citation needed]

In 2015, she was awarded honorary fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society.[11]

In 2012, she was awarded the Space Science Award from the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).[12]

Also in 2012, Luhmann gave the American Geophysical Union's Eugene Parker Lecture, which is presented two out of every three years to a space scientist who has made significant contributions to the fields of solar and heliospheric science.[13]

2007: Awarded the John Adam Fleming medal of the American Geophysical Union for original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, space physics, and related sciences.[10]

1998-2001: Editor in chief of Journal of Geophysical Research.[14]

1997: She was made a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.[15]

1994-1996: Appointed president of the American Geophysical Union Space Physics and Aeronomy Section.[16]

See also

  • List of women in leadership positions on astronomical instrumentation projects

References

  1. "Janet Luhmann » Planetary Members". 2018-08-25. https://www.ssl.berkeley.edu/science/groups/planetary-members/name/janet-luhmann/. 
  2. Luhmann, J. G.; Curtis, D. W.; Schroeder, P.; McCauley, J.; Lin, R. P.; Larson, D. E.; Bale, S. D.; Sauvaud, J.-A. et al. (April 2008). "STEREO IMPACT Investigation Goals, Measurements, and Data Products Overview". Space Science Reviews 136 (1–4): 117–184. doi:10.1007/s11214-007-9170-x. ISSN 0038-6308. Bibcode2008SSRv..136..117L. 
  3. "STEREO/IMPACT - About IMPACT". http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/impact/about_impact.html. 
  4. Luhmann, Janet G.; Pollack, James B.; Colin, Lawrence (1994). "The Pioneer Mission to Venus". Scientific American 270 (4): 90–97. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0494-90. Bibcode1994SciAm.270d..90L. 
  5. "Janet G Luhmann - Google Scholar Citations". https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nvv94oMAAAAJ&hl=en. 
  6. "STEREO/IMPACT". http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/impact/. 
  7. Garner, Rob (2016-06-02). "MAVEN Team". http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/team/index.html. 
  8. "Center for Integrated Solar Weather Modeling". http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/cism/. 
  9. Climate, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and; Resources, Commission on Geosciences, Environment and; Studies, Division on Earth and Life; Council, National Research (1998-11-05). The Atmospheric Sciences: Entering the Twenty-First Century. National Academies Press. ISBN 9780309517652. https://books.google.com/books?id=U7NuAgAAQBAJ&q=Committee+on+Solar+and+Space+Physics+luhmann. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Janet G. Luhmann". https://honors.agu.org/winners/janet-g-luhmann/. 
  11. "RAS Awards 2015RAS AWARDS". Astronomy & Geophysics 56 (1): 1.10–1.11. 2015-02-01. doi:10.1093/astrogeo/atv022. ISSN 1366-8781. https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/56/1/1.10/262379. 
  12. "Space Science Award | COSPAR". https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/awards/space-science-medal. 
  13. "Eugene Parker Lecture | AGU". https://www.agu.org/Honor-and-Recognize/Honors/Section-Awards/Parker-Lecture. 
  14. "Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics". doi:10.1002/(ISSN)2169-9402. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/21699402/previous-editors. 
  15. "Fellows Alphabetical List". https://honors.agu.org/fellows/fellows-alpha-list/. 
  16. "Portrait of Janet Luhmann Luhmann Janet A1". 2014-02-24. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/photos/luhmann-janet-a1.