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Meet: Daniel Winterhalter
Space Plasma Physicist
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
What I do
I have worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
for more than 20 years now and thoroughly enjoy what I do. Currently,
I am involved in three different activities that call for me to be a research
scientist, a science experiment representative and an instrument designer.
As a research scientist, my present research interests
include the spatial evolution of the solar wind into the outer reaches
of the heliosphere, as well as its interaction with, and influence on,
planetary environments. As a member of the Mars Global Surveyor Magnetometer
team, I am particularly interested in how the solar wind interacts with
Mars, as well as in Mars' internal magnetic field.
I am a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
and served on the Education Committee. I was also an associate editor
for the AGU's "Journal of Geophysics."
In my role as a science experiment representative,
I represent the Mars Global Surveyor Magnetometer team by serving as the
interface between the project and the science team members. I perform
a similar function as the investigation scientist for the Cassini Radio
Science Team (mission to Saturn).
As a member of several spaceflight teams over the
years, I have been deeply involved with the planning, launching and operating
of complex spacecraft and space science missions. I have received NASA
Achievement Awards for my participation on the Voyagers 1 & 2, Pioneer
11 and Mars Observer interplanetary probes. I have also received a NASA
Special Recognition Certificate for my work on Mars Observer.
In order to realize faster and better science returns
from space missions, I have been involved as an instrument designer with
the development and application of novel technologies to space science
instrumentation and space missions (e.g., Solar Sail Mission to Mercury).
My Education
I have more or less gone the traditional route for
a college education by first going to a community college and getting
an Associate of Arts degree in 1971. From there I went on to the California
State University in Fullerton and received my Bachelor of Arts degree
in Physics in 1974 and then my M.A. degree in Physics from the University
of California, Irvine in 1978.
My fascination with physics, and science in general,
drove me to pursue a higher education. I earned an M.S. degree in Geophysics
and Space Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1982
and finally my Ph.D. from UCLA in the same subject in 1987.
Personal
I am married and my wife Muriel and I have a nine-year-old
son Tristan. Soccer is the biggest thing in Tristan's life right now,
so as a family, we spend a lot of time on the soccer field!
Some of my other favorite activities are sailing
off the coast of Southern California, running marathons, working on our
house, cooking and anything that involves Tristan!
Learn More From My Chats
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