Jan Merka, Assistant Research Scientist

GEST Research Group:

Heliophysics and Solar System Divisions

GSFC Code:

674.0

Mailing Address:

Heliophysics Division
Building 21, Room
NASA GSFC, Code 674.0
Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA

Phone:

(301) 286-8751

Fax:

(301) 286-xxxx

Email:

Jan.Merka@nasa.gov

Most Recent Publication

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Research Interests:

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Biography:

Dr. Jan Merka received a Ph.D. in Plasma Physics (2000) from the Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, and a MS in Astrophysics (1996) from the same university. His Ph.D. thesis is on the properties of the high-altitude magnetospheric cusp regions. In 2001, he was awarded the National Research Council Research Associateship Award and worked for three years as Resident Research Associate at the Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where he studied solar wind interaction with the Earth magnetosphere. From 2004 to 2006 he worked as Senior Research Scientist for the L-3 Communications Government Services, Inc., in the Laboratory for Solar and Space Physics at NASA/GSFC. In March 2006, he joined the Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as an Associate Research Scientist. His main research interests are the formation and properties of magnetospheric boundaries, application of data assimilation methods in space physics, and distributed data systems. He is the Principal Investigator of the Virtual Magnetospheric Observatory development at NASA/GSFC. His publications include papers on magnetospheric cusps, bow shock models, and solar wind data assimilation.