A West Virginia University doctoral student from the Department of Physics is spending the summer working alongside researchers who are internationally recognized for their work in areas that include plasma physics, solar wind physics and spacecraft charging.

Justin Elfritz, of Cumberland, Md., is one of six graduate students nationwide chosen to participate in the first Los Alamos Space Weather Summer School.

Hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory, a national security research institution, the program chose the top space science students to participate in the program that runs June 6 through Aug. 15.

“When I realized that only six students were selected, and that I was one, I was quite speechless,” Elfritz said.

“Like any well-oiled machine, my experiences and successes at (the Los Alamos National Laboratory) this summer will provide positive feedback on our research groups and faculty at WVU and on WVU as a whole.”

Participants receive a fellowship, technical training, attend professional development seminars and gain laboratory experience by working on research projects with some of the organization’s scientists.

In the program’s first year, organizers said they hope participants will establish long-lasting collaborations with scientists. At the end of the program, students will present their research to the lab’s community to build more connections with different researchers and complement their doctoral research at their own universities.

While at the summer program, Elfritz will work with Python computer language, which is quickly become the new standard for data processing in the space sciences.

He said he is particularly excited about the potential collaborative opportunities this fellowship will establish for WVU.

“First and foremost, this experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory will provide an excellent collaborative opportunity, from both an individual and an institutional standpoint,” he said.

“The WVU plasma physics groups collaborate worldwide, and for good reason— our faculty is world class. Building on existing collaborations is important in our various groups, and being pioneers in plasma research continues to be extremely important to our groups.

“Since our research group is quite new, having an opportunity to expand our knowledge base this early is a great thing.”

Elfritz earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Frostburg State University in 2007. After working as a physicist for two years, he enrolled in the physics doctoral program at WVU. He will begin his third year in the program this fall.

The Los Alamos Space Weather Summer School is sponsored by the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

For more information, contact Justin Elfritz, at jelfritz@mix.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

cs/6/14/11

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