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Susan Lepri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Susan Lepri is an American space scientist and is currently Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan.[1] She led development of portions of the Heavy Ion Sensor (HIS) which was launched onboard the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter mission in February 2020.[2] She has been director of the University of Michigan Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL) since 2021.

Background and scientific career

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Lepri was born and raised in Michigan and studied for her undergraduate in Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Michigan. She subsequently pursued her PhD in Atmospheric and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan.[1] After 7.5 years as a research scientist, she was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013. In 2021 she became Director of the Space Physics Research Laboratory at University of Michigan,[3][4][5] and was promoted to Full Professor later that same year.

In 2018, Lepri was awarded the Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer award for innovation in STEM curricula.[6]

Research interests

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Lepri's primary scientific interest is in the measurement and study of heavy ions in the solar wind to reveal the physics of the solar wind and coronal mass ejections.[7][8] To this end, she has developed space-based ion mass spectrometers, most recently portions of the Heavy Ion Sensor (HIS) onboard the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter mission.[2]  HIS has made the first ever measurements of the chemical composition of the solar wind in the inner heliosphere. She has also developed instrumentation as part of the technology development opportunity for NASA's upcoming Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).[1]

Lepri has also used models and observations of heavy ions in the solar wind to infer conditions in the local interstellar medium.[9][10][11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Susan Lepri | U-M LSA Applied Physics Program". lsa.umich.edu. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  2. ^ a b Lepri, Susan T.; Livi, Stefano A.; Raines, Jim M.; Galvin, Antoinette B.; Kistler, Lynn M.; Dewey, Ryan M.; Alterman, Benjamin L.; Allegrini, Frederic; Collier, Michael R.; Owen, Christopher J. (2021-03-03). "Updates and Early Results from the Heavy Ion Sensor on Solar Orbiter". EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts. Bibcode:2021EGUGA..2312435L. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12435. S2CID 238001220.
  3. ^ "Team – XTRM Labs/Space Physics Research Laboratory". xtrm-sprl.engin.umich.edu. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  4. ^ "Answers Inc. - A brief history of U-M's Space Physics Research Laboratory". Engineering Research News. 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  5. ^ Jesse, David. "From Ann Arbor to space, U-M lab celebrating 75 years of missions". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  6. ^ "Willie Hobbs Moore Awards – U-M Women in Science and Engineering". Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  7. ^ "Susan T. Lepri". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  8. ^ Lepri, S. T.; Zurbuchen, T. H.; Fisk, L. A.; Richardson, I. G.; Cane, H. V.; Gloeckler, G. (2001-12-01). "Iron charge distribution as an identifier of interplanetary coronal mass ejections". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 106 (A12): 29231–29238. Bibcode:2001JGR...10629231L. doi:10.1029/2001JA000014. S2CID 122004851.
  9. ^ Galeazzi, M.; Chiao, M.; Collier, M. R.; Cravens, T.; Koutroumpa, D.; Kuntz, K. D.; Lallement, R.; Lepri, S. T.; McCammon, D.; Morgan, K.; Porter, F. S. (August 2014). "The origin of the local 1/4-keV X-ray flux in both charge exchange and a hot bubble". Nature. 512 (7513): 171–173. arXiv:1407.7539. Bibcode:2014Natur.512..171G. doi:10.1038/nature13525. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 25079321. S2CID 4446789.
  10. ^ "X-Ray Glow Evidence of Local Hot Bubble". Sky & Telescope. 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  11. ^ "Evidence for Supernovas Near Earth | Science Mission Directorate". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-11.