Sierra Solter Email & Phone Number

Scientist with an interest in plasma physics, heliophysics, astrophysical plasmas, CMEs, space weather, satellite pollution, climate, aviation, astronavigation, and electric propulsion. Several years experience in leading diverse engineering projects. My MS focused on algorithm development with a strong background in research and data analysis. I am skilled in MATLAB, Python, SQL, data manipulation, and physical modeling. My PhD focused on MCNP, cluster computing, plasma double layers, and ionospheric physics.One of the most urgent issues today is space debris. The space industry is re-stratifying the planetary system by placing huge masses of the most conductive materials found on earth into the plasma system. I'm concerned how this may impact our plasma system and how space weather and geomagnetic activity may increase risk. Space debris can also hit aircraft and such an accident can happen with essentially no means to detect the root cause. A feature on this topic was discussed in AIAA: https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/dodging-debris/ It is becoming clear that the risks of this are highly underestimated. Pilots are starting to report receiving alarming warning messages regarding space debris.The aerospace community needs to work more on space debris and space pollution before it becomes unmanageable. Soon every hour a satellite will be reentering and creating debris and it is unknown how this may impact our atmosphere and plasma environment. If anyone is working on space pollution or knows of any opportunities, I’d be grateful to connect.Read my op-ed: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/16/dead-satellite-space-earth-magnetic-field