Solar Stormwatch

Day job: I am a mission facility scientist working in the Space Physics Division of the Space Science and Technology Department at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. I provide scientific and technical support for the Heliospheric Imager on the STEREO spacecraft, as well as for the RAPID energetic particle instrument on the Cluster mission which studies the Earth's magnetosphere. My scientific interests lie in the study of solar wind features, including solar storms, particularly in terms of their effect on planetary environments including that of the Earth. In fact, my PhD was based on studying the effects of such phenomena on the Earth's ionosphere, the most dramatic of which is undoubtedly the stunning visual display of the aurora.