2006 SPD Summer School Home Page

This high energy solar physics summer school is the second in a series endorsed by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society and sponsored by NASA's Living With a Star, Targeted Research and Technology Program. The first school held in 2005 was devoted to helioseismology. This second summer school held from 14 to 24 June, 2006, will cover the following topics:

The objective of the school is to motivate, educate, challenge, and train the next generation of researchers that will take the field of high-energy solar physics to new heights in the coming decades. In the short-term, we anticipate that the format of close interaction of researchers over an extended period of time will strengthen ongoing scientific investigations in high energy solar physics. A long-term goal is to motivate the next generation of experimentalists because it will be these researchers who will conceive, design, fabricate, and operate future missions.

The school will be held on the campus of the University of New Hampshire, the same location as the Solar Physics Division Meeting the following week. It will be hosted by the UNH Space Science Center, currently celebrating 50 years of research in high energy solar physics. The center's facilities allow for a substantial involvement in instrumentation and laboratory experiences for the students.

The school will be attended by over 40 graduate students and new postdocs in high energy solar physics. Some of the graduate students will enroll in UNH as non-degree-seeking students and earn 3 hours of graduate credit transferable to degree programs at their home institutions.

Over 17 scientists active in all aspects of high energy solar physics serve as the faculty. They were selected both for their expertise in the field and for their pedagogical abilities. They will give both formal lectures and practicums. The 90-minute lectures will cover all the topics listed above and electronic versions will be available on this web site. The practicums will provide hands on experience with the instrumental aspects of X-ray and gamma-ray imaging and spectroscopy, in-situ particle and field measurements, and radio observations. Faculty members will be in residence at UNH for extended periods during the summer school in order to create an atmosphere of lively exchange of information and ideas. The close interaction of over 50 researchers for a 10-day period will result in the formation of useful collaborations and the initiation of several research projects.