R. T. James McAteer | |
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![]() McAteer, teaching at NMSU | |
Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast Queen's University Belfast |
Known for | Academic executive leadership |
Office | Deputy Provost of New Mexico State University |
Awards | National Science Foundation Career, National Academy of Sciences. |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astrophysics |
Institutions | New Mexico State University Sunspot Solar Observatory Goddard Space Flight Center Trinity College Dublin |
Thesis | Low Frequency Oscillations of the Solar Atmosphere (2003) |
R.T. James McAteer is an American solar physicist, Deputy Provost, and professor of astronomy, at New Mexico State University. He leads areas of Academic Affairs, policy management, and faculty relations. His academic research lies in studies of the coronal heating problem and space weather. McAteer is the author of the book "The Planets", and has published over 100 research articles [1] , and serves as a member of the board for AURA.
Dr McAteer was appointed as the first Senior Associate Provost at NMSU in August 2022, [2] a position retitled Deputy Provost in August 2024. Dr McAteer was Department chair of Astronomy from 2021 to 2022, including Director of both Apache Point Observatory and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In 2020 he was appointed to the New Mexico State Commission for Space History. [3] by the governor of New Mexico. From 2016 to 2021 he was the Director of Sunspot Solar Observatory.
McAteer graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a master's in physics with astrophysics in 2000. He completed his Ph.D. from Queen's University Belfast with this thesis Low Frequency Oscillations of the Solar Atmosphere [4] in 2004. [5]
McAteer is a professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University. [6] After completing his thesis, he moved to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from 2004 to 2008, as a NASA STEREO scientist. He won a European Union Marie Curie Fellowship in 2008, which he took at Trinity College Dublin. He started at New Mexico State University in 2010, and became the director of the newly formed Sunspot Solar Observatory in 2016.
He is noted for wide-ranging contributions to solar physics and space plasma physics, including chromospheric heating, [7] space weather [8] and turbulence. [9] His research includes cross disciplinary papers in image processing, computer vision and big data. [10] His research includes the subject of spectropolarimetry. He was awarded a NSF Career award in 2013 for combining his research and teaching efforts around studies of the Sun.
He is a Member of the Board for AURA.
He was a member of the 2020 National Academy of Science Decadel Survey in Astrophysics. [11]
In 2019 he published "The Planets".[ citation needed ], an introduction to the solar system from higher education classes.
He was awarded the NMSU "Truly Innovative Teaching" in 2022, the NMUS global iniatitive in 2016, and the early career research award in 2014.