ALAN H. MCALLISTER, PH.D - VITA
Education:
| BS | Astronomy | 1981
| Haverford College, Haverford Pa. |
| PhD | Physics | 1991
| University of Texas at Austin, Austin Tx. |
Experience:
| 9/00 - 1/05:
| Helio Research, La Crescenta, Ca.
Research Scientist.
|
| 3/99 - 4/02:
| Construction Manangement, Boulder CO.
|
| 9/96 - 9/99:
| Helio Research, La Crescenta, Ca.
Research Scientist.
|
| 9/94 - 8/98:
| High Altitude Observatory (NCAR), Boulder, Co.
Visiting Scientist.
|
| 9/93 - 8/94:
| Space Environment Laboratory (NOAA), Boulder, Co. NRC Research Associate.
|
| 3/93 - 8/93:
| Mullard Space Sciences Lab, University College, London.
Yohkoh BCS Resident Scientist at ISAS.
|
| 3/91 - 2/93:
| The Department of Astronomy, The University of Tokyo.
JSPS Postdoctoral Research Fellow.
|
Honors and Grants:
| Studentship Grant, American Astronomical Society Solar
Division: June 1988. |
| Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral
Fellowship 1991-1993. |
| NRC Reasearch Associateship 1993-1994. |
| Japanese Ministry of Education Research Grant for JFY 1991. |
| Japanese Ministry of Education Research Grant for JFY 1992. |
| NASA SR & T Grant NAGW-5073 for FY 1996-1998. |
| NASA SOHO GI Grant NAG5-4572 for FY 1997. |
Research Interests:
I have worked for five years as a member of the Yohkoh SXT & BCS teams,
two years at Tokyo University, one at as an NRC Research Associate at SEL,
and two years as a visiting scientist at HAO.
In Tokyo I was involved in operations, software development and data
analysis. Along with several collaborators I began research on the dynamic
evolution of coronal arcade structures over magnetic inversion lines which
are often associated with DBs, CMEs, and coronal hole changes. Main discoveries
include indications that the filamentary magnetic fields may appear as a
`backbone' in x-ray arcades, that restructurings may be triggered by external
influences, and that filament eruption paths are sometimes defined by the
overlying coronal field. Other coronal field studies that I participated in
include, the discovery of the continual expansion of active region magnetic
fields and work on coronal x-ray jets.
During ten years in Boulder I have continued to work on analyzing
specific eruptive events, while starting a program to examine the statistical
properties of large numbers of arcade events, as they relate to CMEs and the
global evolution of the corona. I have collaborated to look also at the potential
geoeffectiveness of these events. In the process I have learned to work with
white light coronagraph data and am learning about the use of interplanetary
data. Key findings with various collaborators include an exact relation between
the magnetic fields in filaments and in the overlying coronal arcades,
demonstration of a close association of arcades with white light streamers,
and the finding of active regions in the corona, where clusters of events take
place.
On going collaborations use the Yohkoh SXT data and recently SOHO/EIT and
TRACE data, in combination with Ha, magnetograms, coronagraph data, and
interplanetary measurements, to focus on three areas: mapping the magnetic
structure of filament channels; studying the spatial and temporal patterns
in the occurance of arcades in order to better understand the evolution of
the global corona during the solar cycle; and examining the evolution and
mass sources of small scale Ha filaments.
Last updated December 14, 2004.
© Alan McAllister