Ronald P. LeppingNASA/GSFC, Code 696 Phone: (301) 286-5413 |
Born in Philadelphia on August 14, 1939 Ronald P. Lepping received his PhD in physics in 1969 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he did theoretical work in the study of spiral galaxies. He did research in geomagnetic micropulsations in the early 1960's in the Antisubmarine Warfare Division at the Naval Air Development Center, at Johnsville, PA. Presently an astrophysicist in the Electrodynamics Branch of the Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics (LEP) at NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center he is active in the International SolarTerrestrial Physics Program. His general areas of research are: solar wind, solar windplanetary interactions, magnetic field and particle environments of Earth, Mercury, the giant outer planets, with special interests in interplanetary magnetic clouds and shock waves, MHD discontinuities, including the heliographic current sheet, bow shocks, magnetopause boundaries, magnetosheath, and magnetotails. He has worked with data from numerous spacecraft (including Helios, Mariner 10, IMP's 7 and 8, and many early IMP spacecraft) since he started work at Goddard in August 1969 and is the recipient of 27 NASA awards, including the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1991 for IMP8 and Voyager studies. He is the principal investigator of the WIND magnetometer experiments, and Coinvestigator of the Voyager and IMP8 magnetometer experiments. For many years he managed the magnetic field data processing systems for Mariner 10, IMPs7,8 and Voyagers 1,2. He is the author or coauthor of over 375 scientific articles and reports, most of which appear in professional journals, and has been a member of the American Geophysical Union since 1961. Active in public outreach Dr. Lepping originated the LEP Education and Outreach Committee in late 1995 and is presently its chairperson.
PRESENT POSITION:
Astrophysicist, Electrodynamics Branch
Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
EDUCATION:
1961 - B.S. Villanova University
1964 - M.S. Drexel University
1969 - Ph.D. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:
Solar wind-planetary interactions, magnetic field and particle environment of earth, planets, satellites and comets.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS:
1961 - 1964 Scientist in Geomagnetic Research,
Johnsville, PA
1965 (summer)Research Scientist, study of geomagnetic micro-pulsations, NADC,
Johnsville, PA
1966 - 1967 Graduate Teaching Assistant (part time), Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
1967 - 1969 Graduate Research Assistant (full time), Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
HONORS:
1964 - 1967 NASA Fellowship, RPI
1968 NASA Grant, Second Summer, Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Stony
Brook, NY
1972 - 1973 NASA Project Recognition for IMP's H and J Contributions
1974 NASA Group Achievement Award, Mariner 10 Magnetometer Team
1976 NASA Special Achievement Award, Mariner 10 Data Processing
1979 NASA Special Achievement Award, Voyager-Jupiter
1981 NASA Certificate of Appreciation, Voyager
1981 NASA Special Achievement Award, Voyager-Saturn
1981 NASA Group Achievement Award, Voyager-Saturn
1983 NASA Certificate of Appreciation, IMP-8 Anniversary
1986 NASA Special Achievement Award, Voyager-Uranus
1986 NASA Group Achievement Award, Voyager-Uranus
1989 NASA Certificate of Outstanding Performance
1990 NASA Group Achievement Award, AMPTE Mission Operations
1990 NASA Group Achievement Award, Voyager-Neptune
1990 NASA Special Act or Service Award, Voyager-Neptune
1991 NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, IMP-8 and Voyager
Magnetotail Studies
1993 NASA Group Achievement Award, ISTP-CDHF Development/Ops Team
1993 NASA Group Achievement Award, GEOTAIL Team
1994 GSFC Certificate of Outstanding Performance
1994 GSFC Quality Increase Award
1995 GSFC Group Achievement Award, wind MFI Team
1995 GSFC Group Achievement Award, Global Geospace Science (GGS) Project Team
1995 Performance Award for Exceptional Service
1996 NASA Group Achievement Award, IMP-8 McMurdo Ground Station
1997 GSFC Quality Increase Award
1998 NASA Group Achievement Award, GGS Investigation Team/MFI
1999 NASA Special Service Award
2001 NASA GSFC Performance Award
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Principal Investigator of the WIND magnetometer
experiment
Co-Investigator of the Voyager and IMP-8 magnetometer experiments
Chairperson of Lab's Education/Outreach Committee
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP:
American Geophysical Union, since 1961
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
1. Lepping, R. P. and C.-C. Wu, Extreme interplanetary rotational discontinuities at 1 AU, J. Geophys. Res., submitted, 2004.
2. Lepping, R. P., C.-C. Wu, and D. B. Berdichevsky, A scheme for automated identification of interplanetary magnetic clouds and cloud-like regions at 1 AU, Annales Geophysicae, in preparation, 2004.
3. Lepping, R. P. C.-C. Wu, and K. McClernan, The 2-D Curvature of Large Angle Interplanetary MHD Discontinuity Surfaces: IMP-8 and WIND Observations, J. Geophys. Res., 108(A7), 1279, doi:10.1029/2002JA009640, 2003.
4. Lepping, R. P., D. Berdichevsky, and T. Ferguson, Estimated errors in magnetic cloud model fit-parameters with force free cylindrically symmetric assumptions, J. Geophys. Res., 108(A10), 1356, doi:10.1029/2002JA009657, 2003.
5. Lepping, R. P., D. B. Berdichevsky, and C.-C. Wu, Sun-Earth electodynamics: the solar wind connection, Recent Res. Devel. Astrophys., Research Signpost, 1, pp 139-171, ISBN: 81-271-0004-8, 2003.
6. Lepping, R. P., D. Berdichevsky, A. Szabo, A. J. Lazarus, and B. J. Thompson, Upstream shocks and interplanetary magnetic cloud speed and expansion: Sun, WIND, and Earth observations, Space Weather Study Using Multipoint Techniques, Proceedings of COSPAR Colloquium, ed. L.-H. Lyu, Pergamon Press, 87, 2002.
7. Lepping, R. P., D. Berdichevsky, Interplanetary magnetic clouds: Sources, properties, modeling, and geomagnetic relationship, in Recent Research Developments in Geophysical Research, issue 3, Research Signpost, Trivandrum, India, pg. 77, 2000.
8. Lepping, R. P., D. Berdichevsky, A. Szabo, C. Arqueros, and A. J. Lazarus, Profile of a generic magnetic cloud at 1 AU for the quiet solar phase: WIND observations, submitted, J. Geophys. Res., 2000.
9. Lepping, R. P., A. Szabo, C. E. DeForest, and B. J. Thompson, Magnetic Flux in Modeled Magnetic Clouds at 1 AU and Some Specific Comparisons to Associated Photospheric Flux, Proceedings of the 31st ESLAB Symposium on Correlated Phenomena at the Sun, in the Heliosphere, and in Geospace, ESA SP415, p. 163, Dec. 1997
10. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga, A. Szabo, K. W. Ogilvie, W. Mish, D. Vassiliadis, A. J. Lazarus, J. T. Steinberg, C. J. Farrugia, J. Janoo, and F. Mariani, The WIND Magnetic Cloud and Events of October 18 - 20, 1995: Interplanetary Properties and as Triggers for Geomagnetic Activity, J.Geophys. Res., 102, 14049, 1997.
11. Lepping, R. P., A. Szabo, K. W. Ogilvie, R. J. Fitzenreiter, L. F. Burlaga, A. Lazarus, and J. T. Steinberg, Magnetic Cloud - Bow Shock Interaction: WIND and IMP8 Observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 23, 1195, 1996.
12. Lepping, R. P., J. A. Slavin, M. Hesse, J. A. Jones, and A. Szabo, Analysis of Magnetotail Flux Ropes with Strong Core Fields: ISEE 3 Observations, IAGA proceedings Secession: Dynamics of the Magnetotail and High-Latitude Nightside Ionosphere, e.d., A. Nishida, J. Geomag. Geoelectr., 48,589, 1996.
13. Szabo, A., R. P. Lepping, and J. H. King, Magnetic Field Observations of the 1.3Year Solar Wind Oscillatio, Geophys. Res. Lett., 22, 1845, 1995.
14. Lepping, R. P., D. H. Fairfield, J. Jones, L. A. Frank, W. R. Paterson, S. Kokubun, and T. Yamomato, Crosstail Magnetic Flux Ropes as seen by GEOTAIL, Geophys. Res. Lett., 22,1193, 1995.
15. Lepping, R. P., Characteristics of the Magnetopauses of the Magnetized Planets, Chapter in AGU Monograph of a Chapman Conf. on Physics of the Magnetopause, (March '94), pp. 61 70, 1995.
16. Lepping, R. P., M. Acuna, L. Burlaga, W. Farrell, J. Slavin, K. Schatten, F. Mariani, N. Ness, F. Newbauer, Y. C. Whang, J. Byrnes, R. Kennon, P. Panetta, J. Scheifele, and E. Worley, The WIND Magnetic Field Investigation, Space Sci. Rev., 71,207, 1995.
17. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga, A. J. Lazarus, V. M. Vasyliunas, A. Szabo, J. Steinberg, N. F. Ness, and S. M. Krimigis, Neptune's Polar Cusp Region: Observations and Magnetic Field Analysis, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 8135, 1992.
18. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga, B. T. Tsurutani, K. W. Ogilvie, A. J. Lazarus, D. S. Evans and L. W. Klein, The Interaction of a Very Large Interplanetary Magnetic Cloud with the Magnetosphere and with Cosmic Rays, J. Geophys. Res., 96,9425, 1991.
19. Lepping, R. P., Magnetic Boundaries of the Outer Planets: A Review, Proceedings of XXVIII COSPAR, The Hague, The Netherlands.(Paper S.5.1.4), Adv. Space Res., 1990.
20. Lepping, R. P., J. A. Jones, and L. F. Burlaga, Magnetic Field Structure of Interplanetary Magnetic Clouds at 1 AU, J.Geophys. Res., 95, 11957, 1990.
21. Ness, N. F., M. H. Acuna, L. F. Burlaga, J. E. P.Connerney, R. P. Lepping, and F. M. Neubauer, Magnetic Fields at Neptune, Science, 246, 1473, 1989.
22. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga and L. W. Klein, Surface Waves on Uranus' Magnetopause, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 15347, 1987.
23. Lepping R. P., and K. W. Behannon, Magnetic Field Directional Discontin-uities: 2. Characteristics between 0.46 and 1.0 AU,J. Geophys. Res., 91, 8725, 1986.
24. N. F. Ness, N. F., M. H. Acuna, K. W. Behannon, L. F.Burlaga, J. E. P. Connerney, R. P. Lepping and F. M. Neubauer, Magnetic Fields at Uranus, Science, 233, 85, 1986.
25. Lepping, R. P., Bow Shock and Magnetopause Formation, Proceedings Yosemite 1984, Planetary Plasma Environments: A Comparative View, Jan. 30 Feb. 3, 1984.
26. Lepping, R. P., The Jovian Magnetotail, Adv. Space Res., 6, 269, 1986.
27. Lepping, R. P., M. D. Desch,L. W. Klein, E. C. Sittler, Jr., J. D. Sullivan, W. S. Kurth and K. W. Behannon, Structure and Other Properties of Jupiter's Distant Magnetotail, J.Geophys. Res.,88, 8801, 1983.
28. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Buralga, M. D. Desch and L. W. Klein, Evidence for a Distant (>8700 RJ) Jovian Magnetotail: Voyager 2 Observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 9, 885, 1982.
29. Ness, N. F., M. H. Acuna, K. W. Behannon, L. F. Burlaga, J. E. P. Connerney, R. P. Lepping and F. M. Neubauer, Magnetic Field Studies by Voyager 2: Pre-liminary Results at Saturn, Science, 215, 558, 1982.
30. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga and L. W. Klein, Surface Waves on Saturn's Magnetopause, Nature, 292, 750, 1981.
31. Ness, N. F., M. H. Acuna, R. P. Lepping, J. E. P. Connerney, K. W. Behannon, L. F. Burlaga and F. M. Neubauer, Magnetic Field Studies by Voyager 1: Pre-liminary Results at Saturn, Science, 212, 211, 1981.
32. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga, L. W. Klein, J. M. Jessen and C. C. Goodrich, Observations of the Magnetic Field and Plasma Flow in Jupiter's Magneto-sheath, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 8141, 1981.
33. Lepping, R. P., L. F. Burlaga and L. W. Klein, Jupiter's Magnetopause, Bow Shock, and 10Hour Modulated Magnetosheath: Voyagers 1 and 2, Geophys. Res. Lett., 8, 99, 1981.