Margaret Ann ("Peggy") Shea is a space scientist known for research on the connections between cosmic radiation and Earth's magnetic field.

Education and career

Shea graduated from Portsmouth High School (New Hampshire) in 1954 and was the top student in her high school math and physics classes. In college, she monitored cosmic rays in New Hampshire and was one of three women who entered the College of Technology at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

. On the first day of an engineering class the instructor announced "Well, fellas, we've got two girls in here. How fast can we get 'em out?" She persisted and earned an undergraduate degree in 1958 and a masters in 1961, when she was the first women to earn an advanced degree in the physics department at the University of New Hampshire. She worked briefly at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and AVCO Corporation. In 1964 she joined the

Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. Shea earned a D.Sc. from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, Australia, in 2001; at the time she was 64 years old. Shea became an emeritus scientist at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories. In 2018, the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire honored her with the Distinguished Alumni Award and an honorary degree. As of 2021, she is co-editor for special issues of ''

Advances in Space Research ''Advances in Space Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published 24 times per year by Elsevier. It was established in 1981 and is the official journal of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). The editor-in-chief is Pasca ...

''.

Research

Shea is known for her research connecting cosmic rays, solar particles, and the Earth's magnetic field. Her research on vertical cutoff rigidities led to the development of a computer program, the Geomagnetic Cutoff Rigidity Computer Program, which set the standard for the amount of radiation that pilots and astronauts can encounter. Shea's research includes an investigation into the

Solar storm of August 1972 The solar storms of August 1972 were a historically powerful series of solar storms with intense to extreme solar flare, solar particle event, and geomagnetic storm components in early August 1972, during solar cycle 20. The storm caused widespre ...

which set off a

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 ...

, magnetized clouds of gas, which caused mines to detonate in Vietnam. Shea has also worked on solar cosmic ray events in ice and considered the changes in solar proton events over the time period from 1561 to 1950, which included comparisons to the

Carrington Event The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking from 1 to 2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in mult ...

, a solar flare that occurred in September 1859.

Selected publications

* * * * *

Awards and honors

* Soviet Union, Academy of Science Medal *

Guenter Loeser Memorial Award The Guenter Loeser Memorial Award was first established in 1955 at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory. It was named after Dr. Loeser, a meteorologist who lost his life while conducting a field experiment. Over time, AFCRL became the Air Fo ...

(1985) * Waldo E. Smith Medal,

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 ...

(1988) * Fellow, American Geophysical Union (1988) * Foreign Associate,

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

(1991) * Corresponding member,

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm ( Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

(1995) * Committee on Space Research, Distinguished Service Medal (2010) * Distinguished Alumni, University of New Hampshire (2018) * Eugene Parker Lecture, American Geophysical Union (2019)

Personal life

Shea is married to Don Smart, a fellow space scientist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Margaret University of New Hampshire alumni University of Tasmania alumni Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Living people Women space scientists Year of birth missing (living people)