Core Team

While Aether is an open-source project, its development is lead by a core team of scientists.

Team members

Aaron Ridley has significant experience developing models and teaching students. He has worked on porting the TIEGCM to the Linux architecture and coupling it to a global MHD code. He rewrote the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics technique, developed an ionospheric electrodynamics solver, helped to develop the Space Weather Modeling Framework, developed GITM, helped to develop a state-of-the-art orbit propagator for determining the probability of collisions, and is currently coupling GITM to the SAMI3 model of the ionosphere. He teaches engineering and science classes at every level. Prof. Ridley manages the effort to develop Aether and the supporting education program. He leads team meetings, helps to develop the architecture of Aether (including core model, UQ, DA, and OSSE support), leads the development and gathering of educational resources including the school lesson planning, and helps with community support.

Jeffrey Anderson is a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research where he leads the Data Assimilation Research Section. He is the lead architect of Data Assimilation Research Testbed, including its application to large models on high-performance computing. He has extensive experience in developing ensemble data assimilation algorithms and applying them to earth system models and observations. Dr. Anderson has experience applying DART to upper atmosphere and space weather models including GITM, TIEGCM, Open-GGCM, and WACCM-X and to models that used the cubed-sphere grid like CAM-SE. He was the lead developer of an earlier version of the GFDL atmospheric prediction system and the original developer of the GFDL Flexible Modeling System, a software system for efficient model development.

Jared Bell is a planetary atmospheres modeler at GSFC. He has modified the Earth version of GITM to work at Titan, and has helped to develop the Mars version of GITM. He has upgraded the time stepping in GITM to be 4th order, the vertical boundary conditions to be 4th order, and the vertical solver from a Rusanov-type to the AUSM+-up solver. He is currently working on an oblated spheroid version of GITM, allowing the radius to the lower boundary to vary as a function of latitude, so that fast rotating planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, can be simulated. His role on the Aether team is to support the model development, specifically the solvers and the grid system, and its application.

Alex Glocer has extensive experience developing and coupling models of the space environment. He is the primary developer of the Polar Wind Outflow Model having expanded it from a single field line code to a global code and coupling it to a global magnetosphere model. He further expanded PWOM to a combined fluid-kinetic model, and worked on the development of the multi- fluid MHD BATS-R-US magnetosphere model. He contributes to the development of ring current and radiation belt models and their coupling with the global magnetosphere. His role on the Aether team is to support the model development and application.

Angeline Burrell has extensive experience developing scientific programs in collaborative environments. She is actively working on model validation efforts at NRL, and is working to create a score card that can be used to track the global and regional improvement of ionospheric models. Her role will include supporting the model development by performing code reviews, creating tools for model validation, validating model results against publicly available data, and providing community support.

Meghan Burleigh is an early career scientist and has experience developing ionospheric models. She created GEMINI-TIA, a local scale, multi-fluid model designed for the high-latitude ionosphere. In addition, she is working on incorporating 2-way coupling of GITM to the SWMF to facilitate self-consistent physics. She is developing a new course at UM titled “Programming Practices for Scientists”, with Qusai Al Shidi, that focuses on teaching students good coding practices, including methods that promote collaboration and facilitate version control. Her role on the Aether team includes assisting with the development of the architecture of Aether, contributing to educational resources, teaching at the coding school, and providing community support.

Qusai Al Shidi is an early career scientist with experience in both space physics and computer science, having developed a solar chromosphere model from scratch. The model is a two-fluid collisional MHD model. Ionosphere and chromosphere MHD models are usually presented together since they share the same multi-fluid and collisional physics. He is currently working on studying the energy transfer of ICME’s into storms by running multi-scale Space Weather Modeling Framework simulations of the Sun-Earth system, from solar wind to ionosphere. His role will include Aether development and developing software standards for Aether and its teaching.

Ben Johnson is an early career scientist who works with the NCAR software engineer and Jeff Anderson to develop DART interfaces to Aether that will support the science requirements of the project. He assists software engineer in implementing these interfaces, provide scientific expertise in the evaluation of both OSSE and real-data tests of DART/Aether, and lead the implementation of enhanced documentation and tutorial material for ensemble data assimilation.