CEDAR email: CEDAR News Item: Joint UTSA/SwRI Graduate Physics Program in San Antonio, TX

[Elliott, Heather]

Since 2004, a physics graduate program has been offered in partnership between the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).  UTSA is the second largest component university of The University of Texas System, with an enrollment of more than 28,000 students. SwRI's Space Science and Engineering Division is a leader in space physics and planetary science research with major involvement in numerous NASA missions. The participation by SwRI offers students a chance to be involved in many of the most exciting ongoing NASA missions (Juno, MMS, LRO, Van Allen Probes, New Horizons, TWINS, IBEX) and future missions (e.g., Europa Clipper, JUICE, Bepi Columbo, Solar Probe).  
 
UTSA/SwRI graduate students can engage in data analysis and instrument design & calibration, and even lead their own projects.  Some past or current projects include (for example):  analysis of Cassini observations of Enceladus’ water vapor plume, design of a new ion mass spectrometer, interpretation of the first New Horizons measurements from Pluto, and investigation of reconnection in Earth’s magnetosphere. During one year, the students in our laboratory class got to perform the calibration on one of the IBEX instruments now flying and obtaining phenomenal new observations of the interstellar boundary.  
 
Our areas of space physics include:
            Solar & Heliospheric physics           
            Planetary Science
            Magnetospheric physics
            Space Science instrumentation
            Astrophysics
Our website is http://www.utsa.edu/physics/, with the joint program details at http://grad.space.swri.edu.
 
The deadlines for application:  
1 February 2018 for entry in Fall 2018.  
1 October 2018 for entry in Spring 2019.  
Application procedures and additional information:
- Visit http://graduateschool.utsa.edu/admissions/graduate-application/ and  http://grad.space.swri.edu/application/how_to_apply.html
- Or contact Professor Mihir Desai at mdesai at swri.edu or +1 210 522 6754.
You are welcome to talk directly to current graduate students at utsaphysicsstudents at listsrv-svr.itc.swri.org.
 
Financial support is available to students through Research Assistantships while conducting research for SwRI's Space Science and Engineering Division (http://www.swri.edu).
_______________________
Heather A. Elliott
_______________________
Principal Research Scientist
Phone: (210) 522-6909
Fax: (210) 520 -9935
Address: Space Science & Engineering
P.O. Drawer 28510
San Antonio TX 78228-0510