Michelle Thomsen

Michelle Fluckey Thomsen
Alma mater	University of Iowa
Scientific career
Institutions	Planetary Science Institute
Thesis	On determining a radical diffusion coefficient from the observed effects of Jupiter's satellites  (1977)
Doctoral advisor	James Van Allen

Michelle F. Thomsen is space physicist known for her research on the magnetospheres of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Education and career

Thomsen received an undergraduate degree from Colorado College in 1971. ^[1] She then earned an M.S. (1974) ^[2] and a Ph.D. (1977) in physics from the University of Iowa. ^[3]

Her doctoral advisor, James Van Allen, recruited her right from her entrance exam to work on the data from Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 on the radiation belts of Jupiter and Saturn. ^{[4] [5]} From 1977 until 1980 she remained at the University of Iowa as a postdoctoral scientist, and then left for the Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie in Lindau, West Germany. In 1981 she joined Los Alamos National Laboratory. ^[2] There, she served as the Space Physics Team Leader of the LANL Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group, the Director of the LANL Center for Space Science and Exploration, and the NASA Program Manager. ^[6]

In 2013, she joined the Planetary Science Institute as a permanent staff. ^[6]

As of 2019, she is a guest scientist at Los Alamos and a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. ^[5]

She has been involved in many committees of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and NASA: ^[6]

• Chair of the AGU Panel on Solar-Wind/Magnetospheric Interactions
• Chair of the AGU Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey Committee
• Chair of the AGU National Academy of Sciences Space Studies Board
• Chair of the NASA Sun-Earth Connections Advisory Subcommittee
• Chair of the NASA Earth-Sun Systems Subcommittee
• Member of the NASA Heliophysics Advisory Subcommittee

In the publishing domain, she has been an Associate Editor of Geophysical Research Letters and a member of the Editorial Board of Space Science Reviews. ^[6]

Research

The figure shows the systems making up Pioneer 10 which Thomsen used in her graduate research to study the radiation belts of Jupiter.

Thomsen's early research was on the magnetospheres of Jupiter ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]} and Saturn. ^{[11] [12]} Her research on Earth's bow shock used the ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 satellites to track the behavior of high energy particles from the magnetosphere. ^{[13] [14]} She has also studied the cavities upstream of Earth's bow shock, ^[15] the comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, ^{[16] [17]} and the physics of collisionless shocks. ^{[18] [19]} As a co-investigator of the co-investigator of Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) program, ^[20] she used the Cassini–Huygens mission to research Saturn and its moons. ^{[21] [22]}

Selected publications

• Young, D. T.; Berthelier, J. J.; Blanc, M.; Burch, J. L.; Coates, A. J.; Goldstein, R.; Grande, M.; Hill, T. W.; Johnson, R. E.; Kelha, V.; Mccomas, D. J.; Sittler, E. C.; Svenes, K. R.; Szegö, K.; Tanskanen, P.; Ahola, K.; Anderson, D.; Bakshi, S.; Baragiola, R. A.; Barraclough, B. L.; Black, R. K.; Bolton, S.; Booker, T.; Bowman, R.; Casey, P.; Crary, F. J.; Delapp, D.; Dirks, G.; Eaker, N.; Funsten, H.; Furman, J. D.; Gosling, J. T.; Hannula, H.; Holmlund, C.; Huomo, H.; Illiano, J. M.; Jensen, P.; Johnson, M. A.; Linder, D. R.; Luntama, T.; Maurice, S.; Mccabe, K. P.; Mursula, K.; Narheim, B. T.; Nordholt, J. E.; Preece, A.; Rudzki, J.; Ruitberg, A.; Smith, K.; Szalai, S.; Thomsen, M. F.; Viherkanto, K.; Vilppola, J.; Vollmer, T.; Wahl, T. E.; Wüest, M.; Ylikorpi, T.; Zinsmeyer, C. (September 2004). "Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Investigation". Space Science Reviews. 114 (1–4): 1–112. Bibcode:2004SSRv..114....1Y. doi:10.1007/s11214-004-1406-4. S2CID   125352558.
• Feldman, W. C.; Anderson, R. C.; Bame, S. J.; Gary, S. P.; Gosling, J. T.; McComas, D. J.; Thomsen, M. F.; Paschmann, G.; Hoppe, M. M. (1983). "Electron velocity distributions near the Earth's bow shock". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 88 (A1): 96–110. Bibcode:1983JGR....88...96F. doi:10.1029/JA088iA01p00096.
• Thomsen, M. F.; Reisenfeld, D. B.; Delapp, D. M.; Tokar, R. L.; Young, D. T.; Crary, F. J.; Sittler, E. C.; McGraw, M. A.; Williams, J. D. (2010). "Survey of ion plasma parameters in Saturn's magnetosphere". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 115 (A10): n/a. Bibcode:2010JGRA..11510220T. doi:10.1029/2010JA015267.
• Thomsen, M. F. (2004). "Why Kp is such a good measure of magnetospheric convection". Space Weather. 2 (11): n/a. Bibcode:2004SpWea...211004T. doi:10.1029/2004SW000089. S2CID   118639459.

Awards and honors

• Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Iowa (1985) ^[2]
• Honorary Doctorate in Science, Colorado College (1992) ^{[23] [1]}
• Laboratory Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory (1997) ^{[23] [24]}
• Group Achievement Award, National Aeronautic and Space Administration (1998) ^[23]
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2001) ^[25]
• Arctowski Medal, National Academy of Sciences (2019) ^[26]
• John Adam Fleming Medal, American Geophysical Union (2019) ^[27]

References

1. "Recipients - Colorado College". www.coloradocollege.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
2. "DAA Awardee: Michelle (Fluckey) Thomsen | University of Iowa Center for Advancement". www.foriowa.org. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
3. Thomsen, M. F (1977). On determining a radical diffusion coefficient from the observed effects of Jupiter's satellites (Thesis). OCLC   233076706.
4. Foerstner, Abigail (2009). James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles. University of Iowa Press. p. 236. ISBN   978-1-58729-720-5.
5. Reporter, Los Alamos (2019-12-11). "LANL Fellow Michelle Thomsen Awarded Prestigious Fleming Medal". Los Alamos Reporter. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
6. "Michelle F. Thomsen". IEEEXplore. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
7. Van Allen, J. A.; Baker, D. N.; Randall, B. A.; Thomsen, M. F.; Sentman, D. D.; Flindt, H. R. (1974-01-25). "Energetic Electrons in the Magnetosphere of Jupiter" . Science. 183 (4122): 309–311. Bibcode:1974Sci...183..309V. doi:10.1126/science.183.4122.309. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   17821090. S2CID   20304776.
8. Allen, J. A. Van; Randall, B. A.; Baker, D. N.; Goertz, C. K.; Sentman, D. D.; Thomsen, M. F.; Flindt, H. R. (1975-05-02). "Pioneer 11 Observations of Energetic Particles in the Jovian Magnetosphere" . Science. 188 (4187): 459–462. Bibcode:1975Sci...188..459V. doi:10.1126/science.188.4187.459. PMID   17734361. S2CID   12737576.
9. Thomsen, M. F.; Goertz, C. K.; Van Allen, J. A. (1977-09-01). "A determination of the L dependence of the radial diffusion coefficient for protons in Jupiter's inner magnetosphere" . Journal of Geophysical Research. 82 (25): 3655–3658. Bibcode:1977JGR....82.3655T. doi:10.1029/JA082i025p03655.
10. Thomsen, M. F. (1979). "Jovian magnetosphere-Satellite interactions: Aspects of energetic charged particle loss" . Reviews of Geophysics. 17 (3): 369–387. doi:10.1029/RG017i003p00369. ISSN   8755-1209.
11. Van Allen, J. A.; Randall, B. A.; Thomsen, M. F. (1980). "Sources and sinks of energetic electrons and protons in Saturn's magnetosphere" . Journal of Geophysical Research. 85 (A11): 5679. Bibcode:1980JGR....85.5679V. doi:10.1029/JA085iA11p05679. ISSN   0148-0227.
12. Thomsen, M. F.; Van Allen, J. A. (1980). "Motion of trapped electrons and protons in Saturn's inner magnetosphere" . Journal of Geophysical Research. 85 (A11): 5831. Bibcode:1980JGR....85.5831T. doi:10.1029/JA085iA11p05831. ISSN   0148-0227.
13. Thomsen, M. F.; Gosling, J. T.; Bame, S. J.; Feldman, W. C.; Paschmann, G.; Sckopke, N. (1983). "Field-aligned ion beams upstream of the Earth's bow shock: Evidence for a magnetosheath source" . Geophysical Research Letters. 10 (12): 1207–1210. Bibcode:1983GeoRL..10.1207T. doi:10.1029/GL010i012p01207.
14. Schwartz, Steven J.; Thomsen, Michelle F.; Gosling, John T. (1983). "Ions upstream of the Earth's bow shock: A theoretical comparison of alternative source populations" . Journal of Geophysical Research. 88 (A3): 2039. Bibcode:1983JGR....88.2039S. doi:10.1029/JA088iA03p02039. ISSN   0148-0227.
15. Thomsen, M. F.; Gosling, J. T.; Fuselier, S. A.; Bame, S. J.; Russell, C. T. (1986). "Hot, diamagnetic cavities upstream from the Earth's bow shock" . Journal of Geophysical Research. 91 (A3): 2961. Bibcode:1986JGR....91.2961T. doi:10.1029/JA091iA03p02961. ISSN   0148-0227.
16. Bame, S. J.; Anderson, R. C.; Asbridge, J. R.; Baker, D. N.; Feldman, W. C.; Fuselier, S. A.; Gosling, J. T.; Mccomas, D. J.; Thomsen, M. F.; Young, D. T.; Zwickl, R. D. (1986-04-18). "Comet Giacobini-Zinner: Plasma Description" . Science. 232 (4748): 356–361. Bibcode:1986Sci...232..356B. doi:10.1126/science.232.4748.356. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   17792144. S2CID   31305816.
17. Thomsen, M. F.; Bame, S. J.; Feldman, W. C.; Gosling, J. T.; McComas, D. J.; Young, D. T. (1986). "The comet/solar wind transition region at Giacobini-Zinner". Geophysical Research Letters. 13 (4): 393–396. Bibcode:1986GeoRL..13..393T. doi: 10.1029/GL013i004p00393 .
18. Winske, D.; Gosling, J. T.; Thomsen, M. F. (1986). "Comment on "Increase of Ion kinetic temperature across a collisionless shock: I. A new concept by L. C. Lee et al." and "Ion acceleration in quasiperpendicular magnetosonic shock waves with subcritical Mach number by Y. Ohsawa and J. Sakai"". Geophysical Research Letters. 13 (6): 561–562. Bibcode:1986GeoRL..13..561W. doi: 10.1029/GL013i006p00561 .
19. Thomsen, M. F.; Gosling, J. T.; Bame, S. J.; Quest, K. B.; Winske, D.; Livesey, W. A.; Russell, C. T. (1987). "On the noncoplanarity of the magnetic field within a fast collisionless shock" . Journal of Geophysical Research. 92 (A3): 2305. Bibcode:1987JGR....92.2305T. doi:10.1029/JA092iA03p02305. ISSN   0148-0227.
20. Lindbergh, Ben (2017-09-14). "NASA Scientists Pick the Cassini Spacecraft's Most Mind-Blowing Photos". The Ringer. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
21. Thomsen, M. F.; Coates, A. J.; Jackman, C. M.; Sergis, N.; Jia, X.; Hansen, K. C. (2018-03-01). "Survey of Magnetosheath Plasma Properties at Saturn and Inference of Upstream Flow Conditions". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 123 (3): 2034. Bibcode:2018JGRA..123.2034T. doi:10.1002/2018JA025214. hdl: 2027.42/143774 . S2CID   133845119.
22. Thomsen, M. F.; Jackman, C. M.; Lamy, L. (2019). "Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure Upstream From Saturn: Estimation From Magnetosheath Properties and Comparison With SKR". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 124 (10): 7799–7819. Bibcode:2019JGRA..124.7799T. doi: 10.1029/2019JA026819 . ISSN   2169-9380. S2CID   197586345.
23. "Dr. Michelle Thomsen". Planetary Science Institute. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
24. Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the U. S. Department of. "Fellows Biographies". www.lanl.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
25. "Thomsen". Honors Program. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
26. "Michelle F. Thomsen". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
27. "Michelle F. Thomsen Receives 2019 John Adam Fleming Medal". Eos. January 15, 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-08.

External links

• Michelle F. Thomsen - 2019 Arctowski Medal on YouTube May 6, 2019