NCID-3411
Nichael Liemohn
Professor
University of Michigan
Education/Degree:
1 Atmospheric and Space Sciences Atmospheric and Space Sciences (University of Michigan)
About
I am space plasma physicist in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan. My primary research interest is the motion of fast electrically-charged particles through planetary space environments. I split my time between Earth (phenomena such as the aurora and radiation belts) as well as Mars, Saturn, and Venus. I started out in physics-based numerical modeling of charged particle motion and have moved into satellite mission data analysis, including spaceflight project leadership and management. I am a vocal advocate for equity and seek to make my workplace more inclusive and welcoming for all. I currently serve as a Faculty Associate Director of the U-M ADVANCE Program, working on equity in faculty workplace settings. I recently wrote a textbook on data-model comparison techniques and led a journal special collection on equity actions in the space physics research community.
Current Work
Dr. Liemohn is the Principal Investigator of a proposed $190M scientific mission concept to NASA, the Magnetospheric Auroral Asymmetry eXplorer (MAAX), to simutaneously view both the northern and southern high-latitude auroral zones. This mission would be two spacecraft in a fairly high altitude (just beyond geosynchronous orbit) and high inclination orbit (passing over the poles), allowing hours-long viewing times of the two polar regions of Earth. The mission's science objectives focus on energy flow through the near-Earth space environment, driven by electronmagnetic particle flows from the Sun and regulated by Earth's upper atmosphere and magnetic field. I also have group members examining the charged particle environments around the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. My recent scholarship includes the statistical approaches to data-model comparisons as well as several reviews of equity and inclusion best practices for the space physics research community.
Research Area Keyword(s)
equity in STEM, Equity in higher education, Equity in leadership development