Wen Li (space physicist)

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Wen Li
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Scientific career
InstitutionsBoston University
Thesis Characteristics, generation, and role of chorus waves in the Earth's radiation belts : observations and simulations  (2010)

Wen Li is a space physicist at Boston University. [1] Her research interests include space plasma waves, Earth's radiation belt physics, solar-wind magnetosphere coupling, energetic particle precipitation, and the Jovian magnetosphere and aurora. [2] She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

Contents

Biography

Wen Li received a B.Sc. in Geophysics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2005. [3] She earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Following her Ph.D., she remained at the University of California, Los Angeles as an associate researcher until 2016, when she moved to Boston University. [3]

Li's research focuses on waves in Earth's magnetosphere, modeling Earth's radiation belts, and examining radiation belts on Jupiter. In 2019, she received funding to examine plasma waves called 'whistler mode waves', which are high-energy electrons in Earth's radiation belts. [4]

Research

One of Li's research areas concerns "killer electrons," electrons that emit a high level of radiation that can damage satellites in Earth's radiation belts. Li uses multi-satellite observations to study this process, which has implications for national security and commercial interests. [1] [3]

Her research and use of low-altitude satellite data has revealed that electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves during geomagnetic storms and recovery cause the loss of relativistic electrons that would typically be trapped in Earth's radiation belts. To understand the distribution of these plasma waves, Li used low-satellite data to calculate plasma wave properties and create a more detailed global distribution than previously available. These findings have since been incorporated into numerous other research projects and studies. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Honors and awards

Selected publications

References

  1. 1 2 "Meet BU's Six NSF CAREER Award Recipients". Boston University. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  2. ↑ "Wen Li BU Profile". BU Center for Space Physics. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Home". home. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  4. ↑ "NSF Award Search: Award # 1847818 - CAREER: Exploring Mysterious Whistler Mode Waves in Earth's Plasmaspheric Plumes". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  5. 1 2 3 Home, Richard. "Wen Li". AGU. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Thorne, R; Li, W; Ni, B (2013). "Rapid local acceleration of relativistic radiation-belt electrons by magnetospheric chorus" . Nature. 504 (7480): 411–414. Bibcode:2013Natur.504..411T. doi:10.1038/nature12889. PMID   24352287. S2CID   4387148 . Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  7. ↑ Li, W; Shprits, R; Thorne, M (23 October 2007). "Dynamic evolution of energetic outer zone electrons due to wave-particle interactions during storms". Journal of Geophysical Research. 112 (A10). Bibcode:2007JGRA..11210220L. doi:10.1029/2007JA012368.
  8. ↑ Li, W; Thorne, R; Angelopoulos, V; Bortnik, J; Cully, C; Ni, B; LeContel, O; Roux, A; Auster, U; Magnes, W (May 2009). "Global distribution of whistler-mode chorus waves observed on the THEMIS spacecraft". Geophysical Research Letters. 36 (9). Bibcode:2009GeoRL..36.9104L. doi: 10.1029/2009GL037595 . S2CID   120391902.
  9. ↑ "AFOSR awards grants to 57 scientists and engineers through its Young Investigator Research Program". WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Young Scientists". International Union of Radio Science. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Boston University". Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Award Abstract # 1847818 CAREER: Exploring Mysterious Whistler Mode Waves in Earth's Plasmaspheric Plumes". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 28 July 2021.


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