
Weijie Sun
Assistant Research Scientist
Location
Climate & Space Research Building 1414
2455 Hayward Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143
Education
- 2012.9 – 2016.7, Ph.D. in Space Physics, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
- 2014.9 – 2015.8, Visiting Ph.D. Student, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic & Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States.
- 2005.9 – 2012.6, B. S. in Applied Physics, M. S. in Theoretical Physics, Shandong University, Weihai, China.
Professional Service
- Manuscript Reviewer
- Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)
- Astrophysics and Space Science
- Chinese Journal of Geophysics
- Chinese Journal of Space Science
- Earth and Planetary Physics
- Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
- Geophysical Research Letters (GRL)
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics (JGR-Space Physics)
- Physical Review Letter (PRL)
- Planetary and Space Science
- Space: Science & Technology
- The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)
- The Astrophysical Journal Letter (ApJL)
- Proposal Reviewer
- NASA-Heliophysics Supporting Research (HSR)
- NASA-Heliophysics Guest Investigator Open (HGIO)
- NASA-Participating Scientist Programs
- The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG/ANR)
- Scientist-In-The-Loop (SITL) of the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission (2018 – Present)
- Co-Investigator, Mercury Plasma/Particle Experiment (MPPE) of Mercury Magnetosphere Orbiter (Mio), ESA-JAXA BepiColombo Mission
- Invited Speakers
- American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting
- BepiColombo-Hermean Environment Working Group (HEWG)
- International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA)
- International Conference on Substorms (ICS)
- Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission Community Workshop
- University of New Hampshire (UNH) Space Science Seminar, etc.
Research Interests
- Planetary Magnetospheres
- Magnetic Reconnection and Magnetic Structures
- Analysis Methods for Single-Spacecraft and Multi-Spacecraft Data
Biography
2021.6 – Now, Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering (CLaSP), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
2018.4 – 2021.5, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering (CLaSP), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
2016.7 – 2018.3, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Awards
- 2016.5: Top-Ten Students with Academic Research Honor, Peking University
- 2012.9-2016.7: Presidential Scholarship, Peking University
Publications
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8E047TYAAAAJ&hl=en
Selected Publications:
(* corresponding author)
- Sun, W. J.*, J. A. Slavin, A. Milillo, R. M. Dewey, S. Orsini, X. Jia, J. M. Raines, S. Livi, J. M. Jasinski, S. Fu, J. Zhao, Q. G. Zong, Y. Saito, and C. Li (2022). MESSENGER observations of planetary ion enhancements at Mercury’s northern magnetospheric cusp during Flux Transfer Event Showers. J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 127. e2022JA030280. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JA030280
- This study was highlighted by AGU publications in EOS as Rehnberg, M. (2022), Solar wind a major driver of atmospheric sodium at Mercury, Eos, 103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EO220258.
- Sun, W. *, J. A. Slavin, R. Nakamura, D. Heyner, K. J. Trattner, J. Z. D. Mieth, J. Zhao, Q. G. Zong, S. Aizawa, N. Andre, and Y. Saito (2022). Dayside magnetopause reconnection and flux transfer events under radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF): BepiColombo Earth-flyby observations, Ann. Geophys., 40, 217–229. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-40-217-2022
- Sun, W. *, R. M. Dewey, S. Aizawa, J. Huang, J. A. Slavin, S. Fu, Y. Wei, and C. Bowers (2022). Review of Mercury’s Dynamic Magnetosphere: Post-MESSENGER Era and Comparative Magnetospheres, Science China Earth Sciences, 65, 25–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-021-9828-0
- Sun, W. J.*, J. A. Slavin, A. W. Smith, R. M. Dewey, G. K. Poh, X. Jia, J. M. Raines, S. Livi, Y. Saito, D. J. Gershman, G. A. DiBraccio, S. M. Imber, J. P. Guo, S. Y. Fu, Q. G. Zong, and J. T. Zhao (2020). Flux Transfer Event Showers at Mercury: Dependence on Plasma β and Magnetic Shear and their Contribution to the Dungey Cycle. Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2020GL089784. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089784
- Sun, W. J.*, J. A. Slavin, R. Dewey, Y. Chen, G. DiBraccio, J. Raines, J. Jasinski, X. Jia, and M. Akhavan-Tafti (2020). MESSENGER observations of Mercury’s nightside magnetosphere under extreme solar wind conditions: reconnection-generated structures and steady convection, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 125,e2019JA027490. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JA027490
- Sun, W. J.*, J. A. Slavin, A. M. Tian, S. C. Bai, G. K. Poh, M. Akhavan-Tafti, S. Lu, S. T. Yao, G. Le, R. Nakamura, B. L. Giles, and J. L. Burch (2019). MMS study of the structure of ion-scale flux ropes in the Earth’s cross-tail current sheet. Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 6168– 6177. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083301
- Sun, W. J.*, J. A. Slavin, R. M. Dewey, J. M. Raines, S. Y. Fu, Y. Wei, T. Karlsson, G. K. Poh, X. Jia, D. J. Gershman, Q. G. Zong, W. X. Wan, Q. Q. Shi, Z. Y. Pu, and D. Zhao (2018). A comparative study of the proton properties of magnetospheric substorms at Earth and Mercury in the near magnetotail. Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 7933–7941. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079181
- Sun, W. J.*, S. Y. Fu, Y. Wei, Z. H. Yao, Z. J. Rong, X. Z. Zhou, J. A. Slavin, W. X. Wan, Q. G. Zong, Z. Y. Pu, Q. Q. Shi, and X. C. Shen (2017). Plasma sheet pressure variations in the near-Earth magnetotail during substorm growth phase: THEMIS observations. J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 122, 12,212–12,228. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA024603
- Sun, W. J.*, J. M. Raines, S. Y. Fu, J. A. Slavin, Y. Wei, G. K. Poh, Z. Y. Pu, Z. H. Yao, Q. G. Zong, and W. X. Wan (2017), MESSENGER observations of the energization and heating of protons in the near Mercury magnetotail, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 8149–8158, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074276
- Sun, W. J.*, S. Y. Fu, J. A. Slavin, J. M. Raines, Q. G. Zong, G. K. Poh, and T. H. Zurbuchen (2016), Spatial distribution of Mercury’s flux ropes and reconnection fronts: MESSENGER observations, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 121, 7590–7607. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA022787
- Sun, W.-J.*, J. A. Slavin, S. Fu, J. M. Raines, T. Sundberg, Q.-G. Zong, X. Jia, Q. Shi, X. Shen, G. Poh, and Z. Pu (2015), MESSENGER observations of Alfvénic and compressional waves during Mercury’s substorms, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 6189–6198. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065452
- Sun, W.-J.*, J. A. Slavin, S. Fu, J. M. Raines, Q.-G. Zong, S. M. Imber, Q. Shi, Z. Yao, G. Poh, D. J. Gershman, Z. Pu, T. Sundberg, B. J. Anderson, H. Korth, and D. N. Baker (2015), MESSENGER observations of magnetospheric substorm activity in Mercury’s near magnetotail. Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 3692–3699. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064052
- Sun, W.-J., S. Fu*, Z. Pu, G. K. Parks, J. A. Slavin, Z. Yao, Q.-G. Zong, Q. Shi, D. Zhao, and Y. Cui (2014), The current system associated with the boundary of plasma bubbles, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 8169–8175. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062171
- Sun, W.-J., S. Fu*, G. K. Parks, Z. Pu, Q.-G. Zong, J. Liu, Z. Yao, H. Fu, and Q. Shi (2014), Electric fields associated with dipolarization fronts, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 119, 5272–5278. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JA020045
- This study was highlighted by AGU publications in EOS as “Balcerak, E. (2014), Studying electric fields in dipolarization fronts, Eos Trans. AGU, 95(45), 416. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014EO450010 ”
- Sun, W., S. Fu*, Q. Shi, Q. Zong, Z. Yao, T. Xiao, and G. K. Parks (2014), THEMIS observation of a magnetotail current sheet flapping wave, Chin. Sci. Bull., 59(2), 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-0056-x
- Sun, W. J., S. Y. Fu*, G. K. Parks, J. Liu, Z. H. Yao, Q. Q. Shi, Q.-G. Zong, S. Y. Huang, Z. Y. Pu, and T. Xiao (2013), Field-aligned currents associated with dipolarization fronts, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 4503–4508. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50902
- Sun, W. J., Q. Q. Shi*, S. Y. Fu, Z. Y. Pu, M. W. Dunlop, A. P. Walsh, Q. G. Zong, T. Xiao, C. L. Tang, H. Reme, C. Carr, E. Lucek, and A. Fazakerley (2012), Cluster and TC-1 observation of magnetic holes in the plasma sheet, Ann. Geophys., 30, 583-595. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-583-2012
- Sun, W. J., Q. Q. Shi*, S.Y. Fu, Q. G. Zong, Z. Y. Pu, L. Xie, T. Xiao, L. Li, Z. X. Liu, H. Reme, E. Lucek (2010), Statistical research on the motion properties of the magnetotail current sheet: Cluster observations. Sci China Tech Sci, 53: 1732-1738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-010-3153-y