Aaron Ridley

Associate Professor
Undergraduate Advisor, Space Weather Concentration

Education:

Ph.D., M.S.,Atmospheric & Space Sciences, University of Michigan

B.S., Physics, Eastern Michigan University

Research:

Magnetosphere - Ionosphere Coupling
Thermospheric and Ionosphere Dynamics
Modeling of the near-Earth space environment
Data assimilation
Geospace data analysis

Doctoral Students:

Dave Pawlowski
Yiqun Yu
Aron Dodger

Specializations and Research Interests

• Created a Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (GITM)
• Created a model of the ionospheric electrodynamics
• Magnetosphere - Solar wind coupling
• Magnetosphere - Ionosphere coupling

Honors, Awards and Accomplishments

• First to undertake global ionospheric convection statistical study using assimilative mapping of ionospheric electrodynamics (AMIE) technique, thereby verifying and challenging many aspects the nonsteady-state ionospheric convection
• Developed automated data processing codes allowing faster and more consistent data ingestion into the AMIE technique allowing for the use of AMIE in real-time, providing the community with nowcasts and forecasts of the ionospheric potential pattern
• Quantified errors associated with different propagation methods used for determining how interplanetary magnetic field travels from measuring satellite to magnetosphere.
• First to couple the TIME-GCM with a global MHD model with coupling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research's thermosphere, ionosphere, mesosphere, electrodynamics general circulation model to the University of Michigan's BATS-R-US global magnetospheric MHD code
• Principal investigator/Co-Investigator, several research grants, NSF, NASA, NOAA and Department of Defense
• Author or co-author, 20+ publications in refereed journals
• Speaker, 20+ scientific lectures/seminars
• Recipient, Newkirk fellowship, NCAR/HAO

Professional Service

• NASA Data and Modeling Working Group
• NOAA DAAR Working Group
• Member, American Geophysical Union