HAO Newkirk Graduate Fellowship Program

(For more information on being a graduate research fellow at HAO please see the Graduate Research Fellow page)

The HAO division consists of four primary research areas; Atmosphere, Ionosphere and Magnetosphere (AIM), Lower Solar Atmosphere (LSA), Corona and Helioshpere (C&H), and Solar Interior and Variability (SIV). Each quadrant in the image above contains a picture representing science that is currently taking place in each of these research areas. Please click on any of the above images for more information on that particular image.

WHAT IS THE NEWKIRK FELLOWSHIP?

The Newkirk Fellowship is named in honor of Gordon A. Newkirk Jr., astrophysicist, creator of the 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 or the advanced Stokes polarimeter experiment, and may utilize the Mauna Loa observing station in Hawaii.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for this program are accepted once a year. This year's application deadline is January 7, 2008. The following will comprise a complete application:

  • A 10-15 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 should be the HAO scientific staff member, who are 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:

Elizabeth Chapin echapin@ucar.edu
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 writing to the above address, sending e-mail to Elizabeth Chapin, or faxing Dr. Hanli Liu at (303) 497-1589.

Links to other NCAR Fellowship Programs