HAO Newkirk Graduate Fellowship Program
(For more information on being a graduate research fellow at HAO please see the Graduate Research Fellow page.)
About HAO
The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) conducts research and provides community support and facilities in the following areas: Atmosphere, Ionosphere and Magnetosphere (AIM), Solar Transients and Space Weather (STSW), and Long-term Solar Variability (LSV). Each quadrant in the image above contains a picture representing science that is currently taking place in each of these research areas. Please click image for more information on the different images.
HAO is located in Boulder, Colorado, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. HAO conducts research in the areas of the solar interior, lower solar atmosphere, corona and heliosphere, and terrestrial and planetary atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere. Radiative transfer, hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, radiation hydrodynamics, and plasma physics are pursued for both their fundamental physical interests and their applications in the above areas of research. Visitors will have access to the HAO Linux/Unix computers, NCAR super computer system (link to CISL), and the HAO and NCAR libraries and data archives (link to UCAR library).
What Is the Newkirk Fellowship?
The Newkirk Fellowship is named in honor of Gordon A. Newkirk Jr., astrophysicist, creator of the HAO white-light coronagraph and a former HAO director. Newkirk's balloon observations laid the groundwork for successful spaceborne experiments by the observatory. This fellowship program has supported graduate research at HAO for decades.
The Newkirk Fellowship provides the financial and benefit support as described on the Graduate Research Fellow page. The student's progress will be reviewed on a yearly basis, with an eye to scientific achievement as well as continued academic suitability, until completion of the Ph.D. degree (usually 2-3 years).
Eligibility
The student must be enrolled full-time in a university graduate program having common interest with HAO research goals. Students must be Ph.D. candidates (post-comps) to apply. They may be but do not have to be already working at HAO as Graduate Research Fellows.
Newkirk Fellowships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, scientific potential, and compatibility of the students' interests with current HAO research pursuits. It is expected that the students research will constitute a doctoral dissertation.
How It Works
During the period of thesis work, it is expected that the student will spend a significant fraction of his/her time in residence at HAO, including summers. The cooperating university must accord the HAO scientist membership on the student's thesis committee (preferably as co-chair) and provide him or her the appropriate faculty appointment, as required for this purpose.
HAO Newkirk Fellows will enjoy the use of a wide range of technical facilities in their thesis work. These include access to the HAO Unix computers, NCAR IBM computer system, and the HAO and NCAR libraries and data archives. HAO Newkirk Fellows are eligible to participate in active theoretical and observational ventures, such as thermospheric general circulation modeling (TGCM), spectro-polarimetric observations and interpretation using HAO instrumentation and data inversion tools, engage in synoptic coronal studies using the Mauna Loa observing station in Hawaii, or get involved with one of the many instrument efforts at HAO.
How To Apply
Applications for this program are accepted once a year. This year's application deadline is January 4, 2013.
The following will comprise a complete application:
- A 3 to 5 page statement from the student describing their proposed thesis project along with any relevant work experience of which the evaluation committee should be aware;
- Letters of recommendation from three university faculty members or research supervisors, one of whom must be the HAO scientific staff member, who should be familiar with the student's work. Please note that it is the student's responsibility to request that the letters be sent;
- Official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate courses;
Materials should be sent to:
Amy Knack
HAO Visitor Committee
High Altitude Observatory
National Center for Atmospheric Research
P.O. Box 3000
Boulder, CO 80307-3000, U.S.A.
Consideration of Graduate Research Fellowships will be performed continuously throughout the year. Further details may be obtained by sending an e-mail to Amy Knack or Dr. Roberto Casini.