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2026 NSF CEDAR Workshop Agenda

21-26 June, 2026
Des Moines, Iowa

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Sunday, June 21, 2026
Time Agenda Presenter / Convener Room
08:30-08:40 Introduction and Logistics Student Reps Ballroom A&B
08:40-08:45 Getting organized for icebreaker   Ballroom A&B
08:45-09:15 Icebreaker Student Reps Ballroom A&B
09:15-09:45 What is CEDAR? Lynn, Student Reps Ballroom A&B
09:45-10:00 Coffee Break    
10:00-10:20 Introduction to Total Electron Content (TEC) Measurements and Their Role in Geospace Coupling Studies Björn Bergsson Ballroom A&B
10:20-10:35 Mesoscale Structures in the Ionosphere Grace Kwon Ballroom A&B
10:35-10:50 Polar Ionosphere and Thermosphere Charles Acomb Ballroom A&B
10:50-11:15 Coffee Break    
11:15-11:30 Thermospheric Processes Waiting for Final Confirmation Ballroom A&B
11:30-11:45 Madrigal Data Access Katherine Cariglia Ballroom A&B
11:45-12:00 Magnetosphere-Ionosphere coupling Brenna Royer-Smith Ballroom A&B
12:00-14:00 Catered Student Lunch   Junior Ballroom B&C
14:00-14:45 Remote and In-Situ Instrumentation, Part 1 Charles Acomb,  101
Data Access and Analysis Katherine Cariglia, 102
TBD TBD 103
14:45-15:00 Coffee Break    
15:00-15:45 How to Make Pretty Plots Brenna Royer-Smith, 101
TBD TBD 102
FINESST/NDSEG Writing Sophie Phillips 103
15:45-16:00 Coffee Break    
16:00-17:00 Modeling Charles Acomb, 101
Remote and In-Situ Instrumentation, Part 2 Rick Marcusen, 102
Computational Tools TBD 103
17:00-19:00 Welcome Reception (Light Appetizers)   Junior Ballroom

 

Monday, June 22, 2026
Time Agenda Presenter / Convener Room
07:00-08:00 Registration/Checkin    
08:00-09:30 Plenary Session   Junior Ballroom
08:00-08:40 Openning Remarks
Student Institutions Introduced
Lynn Harvey (CSSC chair)
Shree Mishra (NSF AGS Section Head)
Aidan Thayer, Bryce Halter
Junior Ballroom
08:40-09:30 CEDAR Prize Lecture Shun-Rong Zhang Junior Ballroom
09:30-10:00 Break    
10:00-12:00 Plenary Session   Junior Ballroom
10:00-10:20 Science Highlight I: Forecast simulations of equatorial spread F using ICON David Hysell Junior Ballroom
10:20-10:40 Science Highlight II:  Aaron Bukowski  Junior Ballroom
10:40-10:55 JGR Editor's update on the journals’ current status, their new vision, and other information relevant to the community. Toshi Nishimura Junior Ballroom
10:55-11:40 New GC Introduction: Pathways to Improved Space Weather Predictability Soudeh Kamali, Jadwiga Richter Junior Ballroom
11:40-11:55 GC report: Impact of Terrestrial Weather on the Space Weather of the ITM Jens Oberheide Junior Ballroom
11:55-12:00 Gerrald Romick memorial and tribute Lynn Harvey Junior Ballroom
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch on own    
12:00-13:30 BE CEDAR Lunch (CEDAR's Pilot Mentor-Mentee Program)   Room 106
13:30-15:30 Breakout Workshops    
  Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs): Generation Mechanisms and Impacts on the IT system Dustin Hickey Junior Ballroom
  Multi-scale Dynamics in the M-I-T System Cheng Sheng Room 101
  Facilitating a Deeper Understanding of Career Options and Key Required Competencies with Representatives from Science Policy, Space Weather Operations, and Private Industry Aidan Thayer Room 102
15:30-16:00 Break    
16:00-18:00 Breakout Workshops    
  Frontiers in Equatorial Aeronomy David Hysell Junior Ballroom
  Whole-Atmosphere Coupling Across the Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Magnetosphere (ITM)  System in Response to Terrestrial and Space Weather Forcing Xian Lu Room 101
  Snakes on a Spaceship: Heroes and Pythons Angeline Burrell Room 102
18:30-20:00 CSSC dinner   Room 104
18:30-20:00 Student Dinner   Room 106

 

Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Time Agenda Presenter / Convener Room
8:00-9:30 Plenary Session   Junior Ballroom
8:00-8:20 NSF Update Shikha Raizada Junior Ballroom
8:20-9:05 NASA HPD update: NASA HPD update: Heliophysics Division Strategic Alignment, R&A Restructuring Jared Leisner Junior Ballroom
9:05-9:10 ONR Bruce Fritz Junior Ballroom
9:10-9:15 AFOSR Julie Moses Junior Ballroom
9:15-9:20 NOAA Irfan Azeem Junior Ballroom
9:20-9:40 Agency Q&A All Agencies Junior Ballroom
9:40-10:00 Break    
10:00-12:00 Breakout Workshops    
  GC1A: Impact of Terrestrial Weather on the Space Weather of the Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere Jens Oberheide Junior Ballroom
  Storm-Time Polar Upward Coupling: How Does the Ionosphere-Thermosphere System Regulate Magnetosphere Yu Hong Room 101
  Long-term variation in the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere (ITM) system  Chih-Ting Hsu Room 102
12:00-13:30 Lunch on own    
12:00 - 13:30 Judges lunch   Room 104
13:30-15:30 Breakout Workshops    
  GC1B: Impact of Terrestrial Weather on the Space Weather of the Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere Jens Oberheide Junior Ballroom
  Equatorial Aeronomy in Data Sparse Regions Dustin Hickey Room 101
  Community-Driven maintenance and enhancement of GLobal AirglOW Model for Ionosphere-Thermosphere Science Sunip Mukherjee Room 102
15:30-16:00 Break    
15:30 - 18:30 Poster session   Room 107 & 106
15:30-20:30 Poster judging Poster judges Room 104
17:00-18:00 NSF aeronomy programs office hour? TBD Junior Ballroom
17:00-18:00 CEDAR database hands-on training Larisa and Katherine  Room 101
18:30-21:00+ Excursion: Iowa Cubs baseball game   Principal Park

 

Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Time Agenda Presenter / Convener Room
8:00-9:30 Plenary Session   Junior Ballroom
8:00-8:30 Science Highlight III: Xinzhao Chu, Jackson Jandreau Junior Ballroom
8:30-9:00 CEDAR Early Career Prize Lecture: Wave-Driven Circulation in the Lower Thermosphere: A Dynamical Pathway for Whole-Atmosphere Coupling Jack Wang Junior Ballroom
9:00-9:20  Science Highlight IV:Collective Impacts of Atmospheric Waves and Geomagnetic Disturbances on Space Weather Xian Lu Junior Ballroom
9:20:9:40 Report and Assessment of the CEDAR Workshop Demographics Between 2021 and 2024 Angeline Burrell Junior Ballroom
9:40-10:00 Break    
10:00-12:00 Breakout Workshops    
  GC2A: Cross-Scale Coupling and Variability in the Upper Atmosphere and Ionosphere: Pathways to Improved Space Weather Predictability Soudeh Kamali Junior Ballroom
  CEDAR Maker's Club - Exchanging designs, code, operating procedures, and hacks useful for CEDAR experimental science Mark Conde Room 101
  Facility updates and coordinating the reservation of ‘World Day’ experiments between incoherent scatter radar operators and interested scientists for 2027 Lindsay Goodwin Room 102
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch on own    
12:00 - 13:30 Judges lunch   Room 104
13:30-15:30 Breakout Workshops    
  GC2B: Cross-Scale Coupling and Variability in the Upper Atmosphere and Ionosphere: Pathways to Improved Space Weather Predictability Soudeh Kamali Junior Ballroom
  Machine Learning Applications in Observing and Modeling the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere Zishun Qiao Room 101
  Auroral science and studies of coupled MIT dynamics using sounding rockets and hybrid heterogeneous data techniques Leslie Lamarche Room 102
15:30-16:00 Break    
15:30 - 18:30 Poster session   Room 107 & 108
15:30-20:30 Poster judging Poster Judges Room 104
17:00-18:00 NASA ROSES Programs office hour? TBD Junior Ballroom
17:30-20:00 Girl Scout Outreach Event Bryce Halter Room 105

 

Thursday, June 25, 2026
Time Agenda Presenter / Convener Room
8:00-9:30 Plenary Session   Junior Ballroom
8:00-8:10 Poster Prize Announcement TBD Junior Ballroom
8:10-8:30 NASA Carruthers Geocorona Observatory Mission Update Lara Waldrop Junior Ballroom
8:30-9:30 Distinguished Lecture:  Larry Paxton Junior Ballroom
9:30-10:00 Break    
10:00-12:00 Breakout Workshops    
  Advances in Equatorial, Low and Mid latitude Aeronomy and Ionospheric Irregularities Zihan Wang Junior Ballroom
  Meteoroids and Space Debris Julio Urbina Room 101
  From Database to Discovery in CEDAR Research: Interoperability, Metadata, and AI Enabled Workflows Across Geospace Repositories Enrique Rojas Room 102
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch on own    
12:00 - 13:30 CSSC lunch   Room 104
12:10 - 13:15 Student lunch Sponsored by CPAESS ("State of the Students” - your feedback on CEDAR experience)   Room 106
13:30-15:30 Breakout Workshops    
  GC3A: Redefining Polar Cap Patches: Understanding High-Latitude Irregularities, and their implications for the coupled MIT system Leslie Lamarche Junior Ballroom
  New frontiers in the integration of upper atmosphere wind observations with global general circulation models Fabrizio Sassi Room 101
  Turning Scientific Vision or Ideas into Funded Research McArthur Jone Jr Room 102
15:30-16:00 Break    
16:00-18:00 Breakout Workshops    
  GC3A: Redefining Polar Cap Patches: Understanding High-Latitude Irregularities, and their implications for the coupled MIT system Leslie Lamarche Room 101
  Multi-decadal Variation Susan Nossal Room 102
  Incoherent scatter radar science highlights and future applications Lindsay Goodwin Room 104
18:30 - 20:00 Banquet   Junior Ballroom

 

Friday, June 26, 2026
Time Agenda Presenter / Convener Room
8:00-9:30 Plenary Session   Junior Ballroom
8:00-8:20 Science Highlight V Richard Eastes Junior Ballroom
8:20-9:20 CEDAR Science Going Forward  Panel (TBD) Junior Ballroom
9:20-9:30 Announce new CSSC members, Closing remarks Lynne Harvey Junior Ballroom
9:30-10:00 Break    
10:00-12:00 Breakout Workshops    
  CEDAR Science Going Forward: Advances, Innovations, and Future Opportunities for Studying Coupled Systems guided by the Decadal Survey Kristina Lynch and
Doug Rowland
Room 101
  Impacts of Natural and Artificial Hazards on the Upper Atmosphere Sovit Khadka Room 102
  Adjourn