NASA S ONGOING MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTISCALE (MMS) MISSION IS DESIGNED TO RESOLVE THE DIFFUSION SCALE PHYSICS OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE WHICH CONTROLS THE TRANSPORT OF PLASMAS AND THE RELEASE OF MAGNETIC ENERGY. PARTICLE-IN-CELL (PIC) SIMULATIONS NOWADAYS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE CAPABILITY OF CAPTURING THE FULLY KINETIC NATURE OF RECONNECTION AND HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMPARED WITH THE OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURES OF RECONNECTION IN THE MAGNETOPAUSE MAGNETOTAIL AND THE SOLAR WINDS. THESE SIMULATIONS NOT ONLY HELP INTERPRET THE IN-SITU OBSERVATION BUT ALSO HELP STEER THE MISSION BY IDENTIFYING AND REFINING THE SCIENCE QUESTIONS. MY RESEARCH GROUP AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE WILL CARRY OUT A SERIES OF PIC SIMULATIONS TO EXPLORE THE PHYSICS OF MAGNETIC RECONNECTION IN COLLISIONLESS PLASMAS. TO PROVIDE TIMELY SUPPORT AND INPUT TO THE MMS MISSION MY RESEARCH GROUP AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE WILL HAVE A WEEKLY TELECOM WITH THE LEADER OF THE THEORY AND MODELING TEAM OF MMS AS WELL AS REGULARLY JOIN THE FAST PARTICLE INSTRUMENT (FPI) AND MMS SCIENCE TELECOMS. THE AWARDED FUND IS INTENDED TO COVER MY SUMMER SALARY SUPPORT A POSTDOC (TBD) ONE GRADUATE STUDENT (TBD) AND ONE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT (TBD). PART OF THE FUND WILL ALSO BE USED TO SUPPORT THE TRAVELS OF MY GROUP TO CONFERENCES AND MMS WORKSHOPS TO DISSEMINATE OUR RESEARCH RESULT AND TO PURCHASE THE COMPUTER SUPPLIES.