Jan J. Sojka

Department Head, Physics
Assistant Director, CASS
Faculty Advisor, USU Get Away Special (GAS) Program

Telephone #:(435)797-2964
E-mail address: sojka@cc.usu.edu

Employed at USU 1980

BSc (1972) Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland
BSc (1972) Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland (Natural Philosophy)
PhD (1976) University College, London

Research Interests:
– Global scale modeling of the ionosphere
– Magnetosphere - ionosphere coupling
– Solar-terrestrial weather forecasting
–Data compression
–Small satellite technologies

Research Interests

Modeling of the upper atmosphere (thermosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere-plasmasphere). A twenty-five year career in developing, validating, and using the Utah State University 3-D Time Dependent Ionosphere Model (TDIM) to study 100 km global scale phenomena. The emphasis being on understanding the underlying physical processes in the upper atmosphere.

Space weather is a topic of national and international interest that relates ionospheric research to the real world impact on society and technology, both in space and on Earth. I carry out research that spans the influence of the Sun via solar flares and auroral mass injections through interplanetary space and subsequently creates ? adverse effects on space systems as well as ground-based systems. The positive aspects of space weather is the "aurora". Have you seen it? As part of this research I serve on various national committees and co-chair a working group call Sun-Earth Climatology for the International SCOSTEP organization. (www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/SCOSTEP/scostep.html)

Back in Utah my research spreads to ground-based observational studies from an upper atmospheric observatory called the Bear Lake Observatory (BLO) in Northern Utah. A part from research interests in this observatory, I also serve as the Director. Even at Logan, Utah in the mid-latitudes there are a host of poorly understood phenomena. Even the aurora can be seen here on occasions, for example, on 30 March 2001 at 11:15 PM a huge auroral display covered the entire sky for over an hour (at Logan and much of the southern USA)! (See more information about the Bear Lake Observatory at: www.sdl.usu.edu/capabilities/science/bearlake/.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!

Bob Schunk, our director and group leader, is the principle investigator for a USA Congressional research effort, a Multiple University Research Initiative (MURI) entitled "Global Assimilations of Ionospheric Measurements (GAIM). This is the first major data assimilation project to be conducted in the ionosphere. I participate in this project scientifically in the data and its quality as well as a general skeptic and agitator about the robustness of Kalman filters. However, the team has successfully created the first "real-time" USA 3-D ionospheric assimilation model that ingests over 300 ground-based "GPS" receiver data sets. (http://gaim.usu.edu/, GAIM beta version to see how variable the ionosphere above us is, from altitudes of 180 to 1600 km.)

Teaching

Yes, I love the challenge of teaching "Undergraduate Calculus-Based Physics" to classes of 150 plus. That this amount of physics is relevant, some even necessary, and all a description of how our world works is to be conveyed to less than enthusiastic students is to me a year long rewarding task.

Students

This is even more fun! I have been the major professor for PhD and Master students interested in research work in the space environment. The space environment extends all the way from stars, our Sun, the polar wind, the magnetosphere, but especially in the ionosphere-thermosphere system. Not always theoretical-modeling. My students have also researched technology aspects such as the space shuttle, satellite charging, and radio wave propagation through the ionosphere.

Undergraduate Research

This to me is the Get Away Special (GAS) Program. (http://gas.physics.usu.edu/) This is where "walk-on" would be astronauts get to cut their teeth on building experiments that fly into space on board the NASA Space Shuttle. The GAS program has flown 12 payloads in 20 years. I've been the advisor to the GAS program for over a decade. This is where "can do" students from any background and university department/college work together on designing, fabrication, testing, and flying their experiments in space. The team includes high school students. Our last payload (G221) carried experiments from Box Elder High School (Northern Utah), Shoshone-Bannock Middle-High School (Southern Idaho), and Moscow High School (Moscow, Idaho). In addition fifth and sixth grade elementary school students from over a dozen schools have participated in testing "space popcorn." This payload of microwaveable popcorn is flown on all of our payloads and introduce the scientific method to these students in a novel, practical, and memorable way. Are you a student/teacher interested in space? If so, get in touch.