Workshop on the Impacts of Space Weather on Economic Vitality and National Security; College Park, Maryland

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Workshop on the Impacts of Space Weather on Economic Vitality and National Security This project is to organize, and provide travel support for a two-day workshop to develop community input on an actionable plan for the comprehensive analysis of the economic, infrastructural, and military impacts of space weather. Understanding the vulnerability of critical societal infrastructures to space weather and the cascading effects, which are produced by damage or disruption of these infrastructures, is now a national priority. This workshop will provide a venue for discussing how to develop comprehensive assessments of vulnerabilities necessary for constructing an optimized architecture for future forecast (and warning) capabilities, and mitigation strategies, as well as how to identify and close the gaps in our scientific knowledge, modeling capability, and measurement ability that hinder this development. The workshop is highly interdisciplinary with the invited participants drawn from academia, industry and government - all the sectors critical to the development of an effective strategy. Attention will be given to diversity in the workshop participants by recruiting underrepresented minorities where possible. Student participation is planned in setting up and running the workshop, the collection of content and the construction of the associated report following the workshop, as well as its dissemination. The venue is the Samuel Riggs Alumni Center at the University of Maryland College Park during October 22-23, 2015. The workshop is a joint effort by the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The steering committee is comprised of knowledgeable experts from universities, federal centers, and agencies. The dates for the workshop were selected so that it directly follows the Space Weather Enterprise Forum in Washington, DC providing not only the latest information for consideration in the workshop but a rich source of experts who are traveling to attend the forum and thus are temporarily located in close proximity to the workshop venue. Participation is by invitation only to keep the size manageable, ensure that all important sectors are present, and maintain a true workshop environment. An important outcome of the workshop will be a report on the priorities and critical requirements identified for reducing vulnerability to space weather, which will be widely disseminated and available on the workshop website as well as from the organizers of the workshop. In addition, the workshop is intended to foster collaboration across academia, industry and government on space weather issues, and promote an active forum among science, technology, economic, policy and security communities.