Ian Richardson's Astronomy Department Home Page


Ian Richardson Name:Ian Richardson
Title:Research Scientist
Room:NASA GSFC
Phone:(301) 286-3079
E-mail:irichard@umd.edu

Ian Richardson's research focuses on studying the interplanetary environment between the Sun and the Earth including the structure of the solar wind, the energetic particle populations that are present, and the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth and comets. Such studies are relevant to understanding the processes that lead to intense geomagnetic storms that can result in disruptions to power grids, assessing radiation hazards to unmanned and manned spacecraft outside the Earth's magnetosphere and how energetic particles are transported in the heliosphere. They are performed by the analysis of data returned from sensors on board various spacecraft such as IMP 8, ISEE-3, Helios 1 and 2, SOHO, WIND, ACE and STEREO.

Dr. Richardson obtained his B.Sc. in physics and his Ph.D. in cosmic ray and space physics from Imperial College, London. He has been working at the Goddard Space Flight Center under UMd-GSFC cooperative agreements since 1988. He is the American Geophysical Union Secretary for solar/heliospheric physics for 2010-2012.


ADS Listing for Ian Richardson
Astro-PH Listing for Ian Richardson