John T. Gosling (July 10, 1938 – May 10, 2018) was an American physicist, whose research in

heliophysics Heliophysics (from the prefix " helio", from Attic Greek ''hḗlios'', meaning Sun, and the noun "physics": the science of matter and energy and their interactions) is the physics of the Sun and its connection with the Solar System. NASA define ...

focused on the large-scale structure and magnetic topology of the

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sola ...

coronal mass ejection A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accepted ...

s, solar wind and geomagnetic disturbances,

magnetic reconnection Magnetic reconnection is a physical process occurring in highly conducting plasmas in which the magnetic topology is rearranged and magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy, thermal energy, and particle acceleration. Magnetic reconnectio ...

, collisionless shocks, and particle acceleration in space. Gosling most recently performed research at

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and was an Elected Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. Gosling was awarded the

John Adam Fleming Medal John Adam Fleming, (January 28, 1877 – July 29, 1956) was an American geophysicist interested in the magnetosphere and the atmospheric electricity. Fleming worked first at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey with his superior Louis Agricola Baue ...

at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on June 2, 2000, in Washington, D.C. The medal recognizes original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, space physics, and related sciences. Gosling was a member of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

, and

American Association for Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. John T. Gosling died from cancer in

Louisville, Colorado The City of Louisville () is a home rule municipality located in southeastern Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 21,226 at the 2020 United States Census. Louisville began as a mining community in 1877, experienced a ...

on May 10, 2018, at the age of 79.

Awards and honors

* Technology Achievement Award - National Center for Atmospheric Research, 1974 * Distinguished Performance Award (Individual), Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1988 * Elected Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 1991 * Elected Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1992 * Distinguished Performance Award (Large Team), Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1994 * Editors' Citation for Excellence in Refereeing: ** Journal of Geophysical Research – 1992, 1994, 1997 ** Geophysical Research Letters – 1995, 2008 ** Reviews of Geophysics – 2000 * John Adam Fleming Medal, American Geophysical Union, 2000 * Institute for Scientific Information recognition as one of the most highly cited researchers in space sciences – 2002 * Parker/Bowie Lecture, American Geophysical Union, May, 2004. * Elected Fellow, American Association for Advancement of Science, 2007

Education

* 1956: Graduated from Buchtel High School, Akron, Ohio. * 1960: B. S. Physics (magna cum laude), Ohio University * 1965: Ph.D. Physics, University of California - Berkeley

Professional work history

* 1965–1967: Post-doctoral staff member, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, * 1967–1975: Scientific Staff Member, High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research * 1975–1992: Staff Member, Los Alamos National Laboratory * 1992–2005: Laboratory Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory * 1994–1998: Team Leader, Space Plasma Physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory * 2005–2018: Senior Research Associate, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder * 2005–2018: Consultant to Southwest Research Institute

References

American astronomers 1938 births 2018 deaths Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Colorado Boulder faculty {{US-astronomer-stub