NSF Award
1933216
The Solar Heliospheric and Interplanetary Environment (SHINE) Program is a broad-based, community-initiated research program dedicated to promoting an enhanced understanding of the processes by which energy in the form of electro-magnetic fields and particles are produced by the Sun, accelerated in interplanetary space, and transported to the Earth and elsewhere in the heliosphere. The goal of SHINE activities is to enrich and strengthen both the physical understanding and predictive capabilities for these phenomena. Since it?s inception in 1996, SHINE has grown into a vibrant community of researchers spanning a wide range of disciplines, but still primarily focused on understanding solar processes and their influence on the inner heliospheric environment. A key factor in the success of the SHINE program is the annual summer workshop, which is highly valued for its uniqueness in style and effectiveness of communication. The workshops bring together a large number of active researchers in the solar, interplanetary, and heliospheric communities, including, not least, a strong and growing student and post-doc population. Typical numbers for students and postdocs attending the workshops are 65-75, which constitutes about 35% of the entire workshop population. The SHINE workshop provides students a unique opportunity to present their research, learn from experts in the field and network in a relaxed and collegial atmosphere. The main purpose of this award is to continue the support for students and postdocs to attend the annual workshops. <br/><br/>SHINE research focuses in particular upon: (i) the connection between events and phenomena on the Sun and their relation to solar wind structures in the heliosphere; (ii) the origin and evolution of the solar wind; (iii) the nature of turbulence in the interplanetary medium; and (iv) the production and transport of solar energetic particles from the Sun through the heliosphere. The annual SHINE workshops provide un-matched opportunities for active discussions and new collaborative projects around these topics.
