Candidate Statement: Karel Schrijver

c.schrijver.jpg

Nominated Office: Councilor

Affiliation: Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory

Position/title: Senior fellow

PhD institution: University of Utrecht, the Netherlands (1986)

Areas of scientific interest:

  • solar and heliospheric activity
  • space weather impacts
  • cool-star magnetic activity

AAS positions:

  • Member (1984-present)

Other relevant positions and experience:

  • Chair COSPAR RoadMap panel on space weather (2013-2014)
  • President (2012-2014) of and Vice-President (2009-2012) of IAU Commission 10: Solar Physics
  • Member NSF AST Portfolio Review Committee (2012)
  • Member NASA’s Heliophysics Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (2010-2013)
  • Member of the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board (2002-2005)
  • Member NASA Solar-Heliospheric Mission Working Group (2006-2009)
  • Member of the NASA LWS Targeted Research and Technology Steering Group (2009, 2010, 2012)
  • Lead on Heliophysics Summer School (2007-2010, 2013-2016)
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Solar Physics (1994-present; chair 2009-2010)
  • Founding member of the Editorial Board of Living Reviews in Solar Physics (2002-present)

Candidate Statement: Astrophysicists reveal the wonders of the universe, test the extremes of our understanding of physics, and quantify the impacts of the local cosmos on society’s expanding technological foundation. The AAS fulfils many important functions in support of all that, among them enabling communication between the many branches within astrophysics, providing outreach to the public and supporting education of new generations of students, and focusing and strengthening the community’s voice to articulate the needs for a diverse research portfolio using state-of-the-art facilities.

My professional activities, starting in stellar astrophysics with a current focus on the Sun as its nearest subject, brings me in touch with the night and day sides of astrophysics, rests on experiments on the ground, in space, and in the computer, and requires national and international networking. These experiences, and my involvement in committees for NASA, NSF, IAU, and COSPAR, have given me a deep appreciation of the value of astrophysics for society and of the challenges of formulating that well in times of strong fiscal constraints. As a member of the AAS council, it would be my privilege to bring my expertise to support the vibrant AAS community in articulating the excitement and relevance of its activities.