Beyond the Flare–SWF/AAS Briefing on Space Weather, November 2014

On November 20, 2014, the Secure World Foundation (SWF) and the American Astronautical Society (AAS) sponsored a seminar on Capitol Hill to explain what space weather is and why it is important to be able to forecast extreme space weather events.   Speakers from NASA, NOAA, the Air Force, the State Department and a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the electric utility industry explained the science behind space weather, forecasting efforts by the NOAA and the Air Force, practical effects on the electric power grid, and international efforts to better understand and mitigate it.

The seminar was entitled “Beyond the Flare:  An AAS/SWF Briefing on Space Weather.”  SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the event on November 23, 2014.

Speakers at the event were:

• Ms. Laura Delgado López, SWF project manager and AAS Board member (moderator)
• Dr. Madhulika (“Lika”) Guhathakurta, Living with a Star & STEREO Program Scientist, NASA Heliophysics Division
• Dr. Thomas Berger, Director, Space Weather Prediction Center, NOAA/National Weather Service
• Mr. Frank Koza, Executive Director, Infrastructure Planning, PJM Interconnection, LLC
• Col. Robert Swanson, Chief, Weather Strategic Plans and Interagency Integration Division, Directorate of Weather, HQ U.S. Air Force
• Dr. Chris Cannizzaro, Physical Science Officer, Office of Space & Advanced Technology, Department of State