The purpose of the Solar Physics Division (SPD) is the advancement of the study of the Sun and the coordination of such research with other branches of science. The SPD holds annual scientific meetings, awards several different prizes, and supports students in various ways.

NEW

2021 AAS/SPD Meeting Abstract Deadline

Dear SPD Members,

Please be aware that the Solar Physics Division is meeting virtually with the AAS this summer, and the abstract deadline is coming up fast, Tuesday, 16 March. Please visit https://aas.org/meetings/aas238/abstracts to submit your abstract. The SPD scientific organizing committee is working to ensure a great program of solar related presentations, so you will not want to miss it. The summer meeting dates are 7-9 June, and the early registration deadline is 21 May.

Also, you will soon receive a ballot for the SPD elections for two open slots on the SPD Committee. Please vote!

Stay safe and healthy, and get your vaccination when you can.

Dale Gary, SPD Chair
Craig DeForest, SPD Vice Chair, SOC Chair

2021 / 2022 SPD Meeting

Meetings: SPD will meet with AAS this year 7-9 June 2020; TESS is delayed until 8-12 Aug 2022

Posted by: Craig DeForest

It is with profoundly mixed feelings that I report we are delaying by one year the Seattle/Bellevue WA Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS), due to ongoing uncertainty about travel at the presumed tail end of the COVID pandemic.

The TESS meeting is specifically dedicated to pulling together disparate communities and is not well suited to virtual sessions. Therefore, we decided to wait until we are sure that vaccine rollout will be widespread enough for in-person travel. I believe the decision is the right one, which tempers my disappointment that we won’t be meeting in Bellevue this summer.

In order to not forgo completely an SPD meeting in 2021, we have arranged to meet jointly with the AAS in their virtual meeting this June. We have arranged for the usual topical and mission-based SPD sessions to be available in the AAS meeting registration site as it is rolled out in the weeks to come. As at regular SPD meetings, we will further sort abstracts into natural sessions based on content, after they are received.

SPD will be fully supported as in other joint meetings. The schedule already includes our Division prize lectures, an Agency Townhall, and the ever-popular SPD business meeting, in addition to blocked-out intervals for our regular sessions. Please expect more details in subsequent issues of SolarNews as they develop. For questions or to schedule workshops, team meetings, or other sessions that do not require abstracts, please contact me directly and promptly at “deforest@boulder.swri.edu”, with a subject line that starts with “SPD:”.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at AAS/SPD-2021, and at TESS-2022!

Craig DeForest (SPD vice-chair)

Generous Contributions to the Metcalf Travel Award Fund

Maria Kazachenko, Chair, SPD Metcalf Travel Award Committee reports, "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." ... Read more.

New Student Category for SPD Popular Media Awards

In addition to the regular scientist and journalistic SPD popular media awards, SPD is pleased to add a new student category.

AAS Solar Physics Division Announces 2021 Hale and Harvey Prizes

The Solar Physics Division (SPD) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is proud to announce the 2021 winners of its two most prestigious annual scientific prizes. Dr. Russell Howard of the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, is awarded the George Ellery Hale Prize for his seminal work on the discovery, measurement, and understanding of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Dr. Lucia Kleint of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, is awarded the Karen Harvey Prize for her contributions to solar polarimetry, radiative transfer modeling, and leadership in next-generation solar instrumentation.