New space plasma measuring instrument is A result of Dr. Edmund Spencer’s research
A new type of space plasma measuring instrument called a Time Domain Impedance Probe, developed with funding from Future Technologies & enabling Plasma Processes (FTPP), is just one result of Dr. Edmund Spencer’s keen interest in plasma physics that traces back to 1999.
“I have flown this instrument on a sounding rocket as well as a CubeSat,” says Dr. Spencer, who is an FTPP lead investigator and an associate professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of South Alabama (USA), where he has been since 2013.
FTPP operates under a five-year, $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). FTPP’s nine Alabama universities, led by The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), aim to transition plasma research into commercial applications to establish Alabama as a Southeastern regional hub for plasma science expertise and create thousands of high-paying technical careers in the state and region.
“The most significant and memorable event in my plasma work was the launch and deployment of the CubeSat JAGSAT 1 in 2022 with my newly invented plasma instrument,” Dr. Spencer says.
“This work took six years to complete, with lots of obstacles and difficulties that I worked together with colleagues and students to overcome. It was very satisfying when the satellite became active and sent signals down to the ground successfully.”
space weather
Currently, Dr. Spencer is working on various machine learning techniques to assist physics-based models to predict substorm events in the Earth’s magnetosphere. That research, as well, is funded by FTPP.
“I am working on space plasma instrumentation, simulations of how these instruments interact with plasmas, and space weather, particularly geomagnetic storms and substorms,” he says.
A U.S. citizen since 2013, Dr. Spencer is of Indian origin. He was born and grew up in the Petaling Jaya-Kuala Lumpur metro area in Malaysia. He came to the United States to become a University of Texas at Austin graduate student in 1998. In 2006, he graduated with a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering.
Back in 1999, he started working with plasma physics by exploring a problem in which antenna radio frequency signals were being modified by the presence of a plasma plume exhaust from a Hall Thruster on a satellite.
“Some time after that, I worked on space plasma physics, specifically on geomagnetic storms and substorms,” he says. “I then worked on a specialized plasma instrument called a Plasma Impedance Probe. I have been involved in space plasma physics research now for about 20 years.”
satellite certification
With colleagues, Dr. Spencer is working to obtain approvals for a small satellite certification program at USA.
“We intend to open this program to students across the state, in order to create a small satellite design and manufacturing ecosystem in Alabama,” he says.
“I believe space plasma physics research has great potential in Alabama, in particular with regard to the space weather sector. With Huntsville being a hub, and with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center present, the state can make strong progress in this field,” Dr. Spencer says.
“In addition, my own home institution, the University of South Alabama, can make a significant contribution in design and manufacture of small satellites,” he says.
FTPP funding has been crucial to his plasma physics research, Dr. Spencer says. “FTPP support has allowed me to proceed with my substorm analysis and prediction work, and also to commercialize the plasma instrument as a means to provide space weather situational awareness for satellite operators and manufacturers.”