Wen Li (space physicist)

Wen Li is a space physicist at Boston University.[1] Her research interests include space plasma waves, Earth's radiation belt physics, solar-wind magnetosphere coupling, energetic particle precipitation, and Jovian magnetosphere and aurora:[2] She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

Wen Li
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Scientific career
InstitutionsBoston University
ThesisCharacteristics, generation, and role of chorus waves in the Earth's radiation belts : observations and simulations (2010)

Biography

In 2005, Wen Li received her B.Sc. in Geophysics from the University of Science and Technology of China.[3] In 2007 and 2010, she got her M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles. Following her Ph.D. she remained at the University of California, Los Angeles as an associate researcher until she moved to Boston University in 2016.[3]

Li's research centers on waves in Earth's magnetosphere, modeling Earth's radiation belts, and examining radiation belts on Jupiter. In 2019, she received funding to examine plasma waves called 'whistler mode waves', which are high energy electrons in Earth's radiation belts.[4]

Research

One of Li's research areas is "killer electrons," electrons that emit such a high level of radiation that they can damage the satellites in Earth's radiation belts. Li uses multi-satellite observations to study this process, benefiting national security and commercial interests.[1][3]

Her research and use of low-altitude satellite data has revealed that electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves during geomagnetic storms and recovery cause the loss of relativistic electrons that would typically be trapped in Earth's radiation belts. To understand the distribution of these plasma waves, Li used the low-satellite data to calculate the properties of plasma waves and create a much more detailed global distribution than available before. These developments have been incorporated into numerous other research projects and studies since then.[5][6][7][8]

Honors and awards

Selected publications

References
  1. "Meet BU's Six NSF CAREER Award Recipients". Boston University. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  2. "Wen Li BU Profile". BU Center for Space Physics. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. "Home". home. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  4. "NSF Award Search: Award # 1847818 - CAREER: Exploring Mysterious Whistler Mode Waves in Earth's Plasmaspheric Plumes". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  5. Home, Richard. "Wen Li". AGU. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. Thorne, R; Li, W; Ni, B (2013). "Rapid local acceleration of relativistic radiation-belt electrons by magnetospheric chorus". Nature. 504 (7480): 411–414. Bibcode:2013Natur.504..411T. doi:10.1038/nature12889. PMID 24352287. S2CID 4387148. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  7. Li, W; Shprits, R; Thorne, M (23 October 2007). "Dynamic evolution of energetic outer zone electrons due to wave-particle interactions during storms". Journal of Geophysical Research. 112 (A10). Bibcode:2007JGRA..11210220L. doi:10.1029/2007JA012368.
  8. Li, W; Thorne, R; Angelopoulos, V; Bortnik, J; Cully, C; Ni, B; LeContel, O; Roux, A; Auster, U; Magnes, W (May 2009). "Global distribution of whistler-mode chorus waves observed on the THEMIS spacecraft". Geophysical Research Letters. 36 (9). Bibcode:2009GeoRL..36.9104L. doi:10.1029/2009GL037595. S2CID 120391902. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  9. "AFOSR awards grants to 57 scientists and engineers through its Young Investigator Research Program". WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  10. "Young Scientists". International Union of Radio Science. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. "Boston University". Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  12. "Award Abstract # 1847818 CAREER: Exploring Mysterious Whistler Mode Waves in Earth's Plasmaspheric Plumes". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 28 July 2021.


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