Doctor, University of Bath, Bath, UK

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

Associate topical editor on atmospheric electricity for Frontiers in Earth Science (2020-present); associate editor for Surveys in Geophysics (2019-present); founding member of the CTR Wilson Institute for Atmospheric Electricity (2013-present); chair of International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) Division II WGII-A on Electrodynamics of the Middle Atmosphere (2013-present); member of Advisory Board to the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) Bureau of the International Council for Science (2012-2019); representative of International Union of Radio Science (URSI) commission E in the U.K. (2011-2017).

The World Meteorological Organization recently declared lightning flashes to be an essential climate variable which propels the field of atmospheric electricity and near-Earth space science to the very forefront of curiosity-driven scientific discovery. Numerous space missions are now in operation or are planned in the years to come, e.g., GLM, LIS and ASIM on the International Space Station and FERMI, TARANIS and LIS on MTG, to name but a few. The space-based exploration of atmospheric electricity will be paralleled by novel ground-based field work campaigns, facilities, observatories and novel concepts for the theoretical modeling and simulation of the quickly accruing wealth of the collected data to capitalize on the massive investment by governments around the world into the field of atmospheric electricity. The Atmospheric Space Electricity (ASE) section of AGU is in a prime position to offer a truly global forum for the advancement of scientific excellence in this field, based on decades-long world-leading expertise matched by a scientific publication powerhouse and an outstanding public outreach capacity for the broadest possible dissemination of the latest scientific discoveries to the world. But it is not the right time to be complacent now. The recent societal trend to backtrack on globalization needs to be counteracted by the scientific community. A more globally inclusive research environment can be developed by promoting disruptive remote sensing technologies and the corresponding theoretical understanding of atmospheric electricity married with novel applications to tackle emerging safety critical societal challenges which will be the main focus of my tenure as president-elect of ASE.

Section affiliations:
Atmospheric Space Electricity; Space Physics and Aeronomy