Aaron Ridley

Related links

• Curriculum vitae

Education

• Ph.D., M.S., Atmospheric & Space Sciences, University of Michigan
• B.S., Physics, Eastern Michigan University

Teaching

I teach a variety of classes including two sections of Engineering 100: Rocket Science and High-altitude Balloons, The Upper Atmosphere and Ionosphere, Satellite Mission Design, and Space Instrumentation. I have a Coursera MOOC on Rocket Science.

Professional Service

Major committee assignments in the Department, College, and/or University

• Chair of Faculty Hiring Committee (CLaSP, 2021-2022)
• College of Engineering Community of Practice Committee for Engineering 100 (2020)
• College of Engineering Math Curriculum Review Committee (2018-2019)
• CLaSP Curriculum Committee (2014-2023)
• CLaSP Strategic Planning Committee (2016- 2017)
• CLaSP Awards Committee (2015-2016)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Qualification Exam Co-Chair(2012- 2013)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Executive Committee (2011-2013)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Nominations Committee (2012)
• College of Engineering Commission on Undergraduate Engineering Education (2008-2009)
• Organization of student labs for the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences
  (2007-2008)
• Assisted in the creation of a College of Engineering Multidisciplinary Design Minor (2007)
• College of Engineering Research Strategy Committee (2007)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Information Technology Committee
  (2006-2018)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Core Curriculum Committee (2006-
  2008)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Awards Committee (2004-2005)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Graduate Committee (2004-2005)
• Assisted in the restructuring of the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences
  graduate program (2003)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Executive Committee (2002-2004)

Administrative duties at U of M

• Department of Climate and Space Associate Chair of Education (2018 – 2023)
• Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Undergraduate Advisor (2006-2015)
• Faculty advisor for the College of Engineering Honors Program (2012-2019)

Service to government or professional organizations, and service on review board/study panels

• Advisory Board for the High Altitude Observatory (2021 – 2023; Chair 2024 – )
• Co-Chair of NASA’s Geospace Dynamics Constellation Science and Technology Definition Team (2018 – 2019)
• Committee on Best Practices for a Future Open Code Policy for NASA Space Studies, National Academy of Sciences (2017-2018)
• Assessment of National Science Foundation Geospace Portfolio Review, National Academy of
  Sciences (2016)
• Committee on Solar and Space Physics (2012-2016)
• CEDAR Science Steering Committee (2012-2015)
• Secretary for the American Geophysical Union Space Physics and Aeronomy, Magnetospheric Physics section (2010-2012)
• National Science Foundation Review Board for the High Altitude Observatory (2011)
• Member of the Steering Group for the European CubeSat mission QB50 (2011)
• Working group co-chair for the NCAR Community Climate Model (2008-2010)
• Organization of the ionosphere-thermosphere community to support space-based and ground- based research (2007-2010)
• NOAA Data Archive Access Requirements Working Group (2006-2007)
• NASA Sun Solar System Connections Science Data and Computing Working Group (2003-)
• Geospace Environment Modeling Steering Committee (2002-2006)
• Co-leader of the international organization ICESTAR (2004)
• “Geophysics the Future” Working Group for International Union of Geodicy and Geophysics (2002-2003)

Research Interests

• Modeling of the near-Earth space environment. I have worked with and have developed many different models of the upper atmosphere and magnetosphere. I am the creator of the Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model, which is a large model that allows us to simulate the near-Earth space environment.  This is basically the region of space in which low-Earth orbiting satellites traverse.  Models such as GITM are used to explore how this environment reacts to energy into from the sun and the aurora.
• Satellite missions: I have been funded to fly four CubeSats: CADRE, Atlantis, Columbia, and DSM-BARC, was the Constellation Scientist on the NASA CYGNSS mission, have led several explorer-class proposals, and was the co-chair of the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) Science and Technology Definition Team. CADRE, Atlantis and Columbia were designed to measure aspects of the thermosphere and ionosphere and were funded by the National Science Foundation. CADRE was deployed from the International Space Station in May of 2016, while Atlantis and Columbia were part of the QB50 mission and were deployed from the ISS in May of 2017. DSM-BARC was part of the University of Michigan’s bicentennial celebration. These CubeSats have all had significant involvement by undergraduate and masters-level students. CYGNSS is an 8-satellite constellation mission, launched in December 2016, to measure the surface winds in hurricanes using reflected GPS signals. I was involved with the CYGNSS proposal development, mission design, planning, and implementation, and helped to determine many of the critical aspects of the mission. I have led and been on the leadership team for several NASA Explorer proposals. The MAAX mission was selected for a competitive Phase-A study. MAAX is composed of two satellites measuring the aurora in both hemispheres. GDC is the next Heliophysics Living with a Star mission and has an anticipated budget more than $1.2B.
• Ground-based Wind Measurements: As part of a collaborative team, I have helped to deploy and operate a network of ground-based Fabry Perot Interferometers. These measure the neutral winds at 250 km altitude during the night. We have deployed one station near Ann Arbor, MI, and have been funded to build three more and deploy these in Finland and Sweden.
• How the thermosphere and ionosphere respond to energy input: Using GITM, we have explored a wide variety of aspects on how the upper atmosphere responds to different types of energy input, such as the aurora, high-latitude Joule heating, and solar flares. We have explored how the thermosphere can have non-hydrostatic responses to the input, and how the system can respond to the same inputs differently depending on things such as the season and the time of day. We explored hemispheric asymmetries in the system, and how the Earth’s magnetic field can control the response.

Awards

• 2018 – UM’s College of Engineering Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award (Center for Space Environment Modeling)
• 2017 – Mission of the Year at Small Satellite Conference for CYGNSS
• 2016 – UM’s College of Engineering Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award
  (CYGNSS satellite mission team)
• University of Michigan’s College of Engineering Monroe-Brown Foundation Education Excellence Award, 2012.
• Journal of Atmospheric and Solar Terrestrial Research, Most Cited Paper 2005-2010.
• NASA Group Achievement Award, 2006.
• University of Michigan’s College of Engineering Outstanding Research Scientist Award, 2004.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research High Altitude Observatory’s Newkirk Fellowship, 1996.

Accomplishments:

• Principal investigator/Co-Investigator, several research grants, NSF, NASA, NOAA and Department of Defense
• Author or co-author, 220+ publications in refereed journals
• H-index of 62 (2024, Google Scholar)
• Speaker, 200+ scientific lectures/seminars

Publications

• Professor Ridley’s blog:  http://aaronridley.wordpress.com/
• Another blog (Rocket Science): http://therocketscienceblog.wordpress.com/