Margaret Ann Shea
Alma materUniversity of New Hampshire
University of Tasmania, Australia
Scientific career
InstitutionsAir Force Research Laboratory
ThesisCosmic ray cutoff rigidities and associated solar-terrestrial phenomena (2001)

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[1] and was the top student in her high school math and physics classes.[2] In college, she monitored cosmic rays in New Hampshire[3] and was one of three women who entered the College of Technology at the University of New Hampshire. 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?"[2] She persisted and earned an undergraduate degree in 1958 and a masters in 1961,[4] when she was the first women to earn an advanced degree in the physics department at the University of New Hampshire.[5][6] She worked briefly at the University of Hawaii and AVCO Corporation.[5] In 1964[7] she joined the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories.[5] Shea earned a D.Sc. from the University of Tasmania, Australia, in 2001;[8][9] at the time she was 64 years old.[3] Shea became an emeritus scientist at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories.[5] 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.[8]

As of 2021, she is co-editor for special issues of Advances in Space Research.[10]

Research

Shea is known for her research connecting cosmic rays, solar particles, and the Earth's magnetic field.[11][12] Her research on vertical cutoff rigidities[13] led to the development of a computer program, the Geomagnetic Cutoff Rigidity Computer Program,[14][15] which set the standard for the amount of radiation that pilots and astronauts can encounter.[16] Shea's research includes an investigation into the Solar storm of August 1972 which set off a Coronal mass ejection, magnetized clouds of gas, which caused mines to detonate in Vietnam.[17][18] Shea has also worked on solar cosmic ray events in ice[19] and considered the changes in solar proton events over the time period from 1561 to 1950, which included comparisons to the Carrington Event, a solar flare that occurred in September 1859.[20]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

Personal life

Shea is married to Don Smart, a fellow space scientist.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  2. 1 2 3 Stuart, Virginia. "UNH Magazine: The Road Taken". unhmagazine.unh.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  3. 1 2 "From UNH to Adventures in Solar-Terrestrial Physics". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  4. ↑ Shea, Margaret Ann (1961). "Solar cosmic-ray production in November, 1960". unh.primo.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Margaret A. Shea". Honors Program. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Read "Readiness for the Upcoming Solar Maximum" at NAP.edu. 1998. doi:10.17226/9518. ISBN 978-0-309-58379-4.
  7. 1 2 3 Radiation and the International Space Station: Recommendations to Reduce Risk. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. 2000-02-25. doi:10.17226/9725. ISBN 978-0-309-06885-7.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Payette, Brooks (2018-10-11). "Blazing the Trail". UNH Today. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  9. ↑ Shea, M. A. (2001). Cosmic ray cutoff rigidities and associated solar-terrestrial phenomena (dsc thesis). University of Tasmania.
  10. ↑ "Editorial Board - Advances in Space Research - Journal - Elsevier". journals.elsevier.com. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  11. ↑ Shea, M. A.; Smart, D. F. (1990). "A summary of major solar proton events". Solar Physics. 127 (2): 297–320. Bibcode:1990SoPh..127..297S. doi:10.1007/BF00152170. ISSN 0038-0938. S2CID 120707293.
  12. ↑ Shea, M.A. (2000). "Fifty years of cosmic radiation data". Space Science Reviews. 93 (1/2): 229–262. Bibcode:2000SSRv...93..229S. doi:10.1023/A:1026500713452. S2CID 189770159.
  13. ↑ Shea, M. A.; Smart, D. F.; McCracken, K. G. (1965-09-01). "A study of vertical cutoff rigidities using sixth degree simulations of the geomagnetic field". Journal of Geophysical Research. 70 (17): 4117–4130. Bibcode:1965JGR....70.4117S. doi:10.1029/JZ070i017p04117. hdl:2027/mdp.39015095127786.
  14. ↑ Smart, D. F.; Shea, M. A. (2001-01-18). "Geomagnetic Cutoff Rigidity Computer Program: Theory, Software Description and Example". NASA Sti/Recon Technical Report N. 01: 71976. Bibcode:2001STIN...0171976S.
  15. ↑ Shea, M. A.; Smart, D. F.; McCracken, K. G. (1965). "A study of vertical cutoff rigidities using sixth degree simulations of the geomagnetic field". Journal of Geophysical Research. 70 (17): 4117–4130. Bibcode:1965JGR....70.4117S. doi:10.1029/JZ070i017p04117. hdl:2027/mdp.39015095127786. ISSN 2156-2202.
  16. ↑ Smart, D.F.; Shea, M.A. (2009). "Fifty years of progress in geomagnetic cutoff rigidity determinations". Advances in Space Research. 44 (10): 1107–1123. Bibcode:2009AdSpR..44.1107S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2009.07.005.
  17. ↑ Knipp, Delores J.; Fraser, Brian J.; Shea, M. A.; Smart, D. F. (2018). "On the Little-Known Consequences of the 4 August 1972 Ultra-Fast Coronal Mass Ejecta: Facts, Commentary, and Call to Action". Space Weather. 16 (11): 1635–1643. Bibcode:2018SpWea..16.1635K. doi:10.1029/2018SW002024. ISSN 1542-7390.
  18. ↑ Strain, Daniel (2018-11-12). "A 1972 solar storm triggered a Vietnam War mystery". CU Boulder Today. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  19. ↑ McCracken, K. G.; Dreschhoff, G. A. M.; Zeller, E. J.; Smart, D. F.; Shea, M. A. (2001-10-01). "Solar cosmic ray events for the period 1561-1994: 1. Identification in polar ice, 1561-1950". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 106 (A10): 21585–21598. Bibcode:2001JGR...10621585M. doi:10.1029/2000JA000237.
  20. ↑ Shea, M.A.; Smart, D.F.; McCracken, K.G.; Dreschhoff, G.A.M.; Spence, H.E. (2006). "Solar proton events for 450 years: The Carrington event in perspective". Advances in Space Research. 38 (2): 232–238. Bibcode:2006AdSpR..38..232S. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.02.100.
  21. ↑ Liebowitz, Ruth P.; Kindler, Evelyn M. (September 26, 1995). "Chronology: from the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory to the Geophysics Directorate, Phillips Laboratory, 1985-1995" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Shea Receives Waldo E. Smith Medal". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 80 (8): 91, 95. 1999. doi:10.1029/99EO00062. ISSN 0096-3941.
  23. ↑ "Fellows Search". honors.agu.org. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) » COSPAR Distinguished Service Medal". cosparhq.cnes.fr. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  25. ↑ "2019 AGU Section Awardees and Named Lecturers". Eos. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
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