This session answers the most frequently asked questions about foundation funding- What is a private foundation? What do foundations do and how do they do it? Which one is right for me? Who can help me get a grant? And more…

This session is intended for anyone interested in seeking funding from a foundation.

The talk will cover the development of the Center out at the Prince William Campus, what the new Center will look like and what research we will be doing there.

The Geography Seminar Series is organized by the Geographical Honors Society Gamma Theta Upsilon Eta Omicron Chapter.

Various regions of the geospace environment have been named and are
often studied as if they exist in isolation. Yet emerging high quality
multidisciplinary global datasets clearly demonstrate the complex and
highly variable synergy among traditional space physics regimes. As a
result, interdisciplinary endeavors, such as for example,
magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling studies, are growing rapidly but
face difficult challenges in understanding just how the various
geospace regions interact. The recent progression of global imaging
missions and the encouraging efforts to interface models of the
various geospace regions give hope that one day we may actually be
able to literally see “the big picture” that is crucial for
understanding the space environment as a whole system. Ultimately we
may be able to trace the paths of radiation and plasma eruptions from
their origins at the Sun through to the responsive interactions among
the magnetosphere, plasmasphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. This
lecture will trace the evolution of global imaging, from the initial
measurements, to what we are learning now, to innovative prospects for
developing new understanding from big pictures of the neutral and
ionized components of geospace.

A Satellite View of Global Water and Energy Cycling

Paul R. Houser
George Mason University
Department of Climate Dynamics
Center for Research on Environment and Water
Calverton, MD

Abstract

With their unprecedented new observation capacity combined with revolutions in modeling capability, satellite observations have great potential to make huge advances in water and energy cycle prediction. To realize this goal, we must develop a discipline of prediction and verification through the integration of water and energy cycle observations and models, and to verify model predictions against observed phenomena to ensure that research delivers reliable improvements in prediction skill. Accomplishing these goals will require, in part, an accurate accounting of the key reservoirs and fluxes associated with the global water and energy cycle, including their spatial and temporal variability, through integration of all necessary observations and research tools. This challenge is essentially to document and enable improved, observationally-based, predictions of water and energy cycle consequences of Earth system variability and change. This presentation will feature an overview of recent progress towards this challenge, and lay out the plan for coordination with complementary international efforts.

Dr. Paul Houser’ CV & Bio can be found at http://mason.gmu.edu/~phouser