Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

AGU embraces the global community and welcomes diverse leaders from around the world, representing various identities, voices, and perspectives. List any identities, voices, and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and any other identity you feel comfortable sharing.

I grew up in a very poor suburb of Lima, Peru, but was fortunate enough to study and complete my undergraduate degree in engineering. I was also fortunate to have great mentors in Peru, who guided and encouraged me to go an extra mile and pushed me to pursue an advanced degree in the U.S. I believe strongly in advising and mentorship and in direct actions. I strongly believe that helping people succeed in science is as important as doing the science itself. Therefore, I believe that we need to create a more welcoming and supportive environment to increase the number of participants from gender and racial/ethnic groups which have been marginalized so they can also make a positive impact in society. I hope it is clear that in describing my approach to advising and mentorship, a key element I try to convey is that developing a constructive rapport with students/colleagues is critical to foster trust while engaging in meaningful discussion and activities to demonstrate how to grow professionally and academically. My personal belief is that education can transform a person’s humble starting point in life and create unique opportunities to succeed.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

Member, National Science Foundation Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Science Steering Committee; Co-Chair, National Science Foundation CEDAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force; Co-Chair, Solar and Space Physics National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey White Papers Workshops, Workshop #3: “The Future of Ground-Based Research for Magnetospheric and ITM Physics”; Lead Organizer, Solar and Space Physics National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey White Papers on ITM Coupling: A systems approach; Chair, IEEE Central PA Section (Elected, October 2017 – present)

As one of the elected leaders of your section, how will you partner with your president and president-elect to communicate with and engage your members to help implement AGU’s strategic plan including its mission and vision?

I envision the role of the Aeronomy (SA) secretary to provide a pro-active and effective community forum within larger AGU to promote the scientific contributions made by our members and to facilitate collaboration and awareness of new multidisciplinary research opportunities. This in turn will raise the profile of SA within AGU. I believe that the next several years should be directed toward creating a more welcoming and supportive environment to increase the number of participants from gender and racial/ethnic groups which have been marginalized so they can also make a positive impact in society. For example, I would like to capitalize on the strengths and expertise of our Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA) section by developing a long-term mentorship program to retain our students and young scientists in our field. These efforts will create a more inclusive atmosphere and strengthen the Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA) section by providing a balance participation of students, early career, mid-career, and senior scientists in sharing their research. I will work with our leadership to recognize the contributions of our members by nominating them to AGU awards and leadership positions. These activities directly support AGU’s deep commitment to scientific discovery for 21st century societal challenges for this and the next generation.

Section affiliations:

Space Physics and Aeronomy