Thomas Metcalf Travel Awards

Dr. Thomas R. Metcalf was widely respected for his work in the observation, analysis, and interpretation of solar magnetic fields, as well as solar flare hard x-ray imaging and energetics. A patient mentor, Tom helped establish an undergraduate summer research program in Boulder, Colorado, and he expertly advised post-docs and graduate students through the years. He was a prolific researcher who has been described as “one of the nicest guys in science.” Dr. Metcalf passed away in July, 2007 at the age of 45.

In consultation with Dr. Metcalf’s family, the Solar Physics Division (SPD) has established the Thomas Metcalf SPD Travel Fund. The fund helps support newer members’ expenses for attending meetings relevant to solar physics.

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2024 Thomas Metcalf SPD Travel Awards – Call for Applications from Meeting Organizers

Posted by Maria D. Kazachenko | January 10 2024 | General

The Solar Physics Division (SPD) hereby announces the Thomas Metcalf SPD Travel Award Program for 2024. The Thomas Metcalf Travel Fund was established in 2007 with generous contributions from his family and many others to help early-career scientists attend meetings relevant to solar physics. For this year, two or three meetings will be selected by the Metcalf Travel Award Committee (MTAC) on the basis of brief applications from Meeting Organizers. The total amount available this year is expected to be about $10,000.

Organizers of meetings relevant to solar physics taking place before 1 April 2025 are encouraged to submit an application to Maria Kazachenko ([email protected]) for consideration by the full MTAC. Applications should be no more than three pages, and must be received by 1 April 2024. Check the application guidelines for additional details.

Briefly, the procedure is as follows. First, an application is submitted by Meeting Organizers to the MTAC. If selected, Meeting Organizers will then seek out qualified early-career scientists who can make a significant contribution to their meeting. Awardees (hereafter, Metcalf Lecturers) will be chosen by Meeting Organizers based on their potential for future contributions to the field of solar physics and relevance to the topic of the meeting. Prospective Metcalf Lecturers should apply directly to the Meeting Organizers, and not to the MTAC. The MTAC, however, will verify the eligibility of each awardee.

Metcalf Lecturers for 2024 must have received their Ph.D. no earlier than January 2020 or be a student within one year of completing their Ph.D. Awardees must be a member of the SPD (affiliate membership is OK) and not already have been a Metcalf Lecturer previously. Awardees must present their work at the meeting, and after the meeting they must submit a one-page report describing their contribution. Grants are provided directly to the Metcalf Lecturers by the Treasurer of the SPD upon receipt of their report by the MTAC.

For additional information about the program, please visit the program website (https://spd.aas.org/prizes/metcalf), consult the program rules (https://spd.aas.org/sites/spd.aas.org/files/MetcalfRules_General.pdf), or contact Maria Kazachenko ([email protected]).

Metcalf Travel Award Committee for 2024: Maria Kazachenko, Michael Kirk, Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo, Lucas Tarr

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January 2021: Generous Contributions to the Metcalf Travel Award Fund

Dear SPD members,

I would like to bring to your attention recent good news within our solar community.

About ten years ago, thanks to a major contribution from the Metcalf family, the SPD established the Thomas Metcalf Travel Award to support travel expenses of younger scientists to meetings relevant to solar physics. It was not expected that the funds would last more than 10-15 years. However, last year the SPD created a committee to explore extending the program. The committee adopted the goal of funding the program in perpetuity. Two large contributions have gotten the fund a good way toward this goal. Tom Metcalf’s parents, Fred and Marilyn, generously contributed $50K. Their contribution was generously matched by the Committee of the SPD. In the coming year the MTA Extension Committee will engage in fund raising to expand the endowment to allow the number of awards to better meet the demand. We look forward to celebrating this wonderful news in person as soon as circumstances permit.

Stay safe and happy new year!

Maria Kazachenko
Chair, SPD Metcalf Travel Award Committee

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More Information about the Metcalf Lecturer Program

• General Policy for the Metcalf Program
• Application Guidelines
• SPD Metcalf Travel Award Committee

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