David P. Stern

David P. Stern

Code 695, Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics,
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.
Tel 301-286-8292, fax 301-286-1683.
E-mail: u5dps@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov, or audavstern@erols.com

Born in Czechoslovakia, grew up in Israel; studied physics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, with doctoral thesis on an underground experiment on cosmic rays. In 1959 joined Fred Singer's space group at the University of Maryland, then in 1961 came to Goddard Space Flight Center.

Main interests are mapping and physics of the global magnetosphere, also history of science (headed AGU Committee on the History of Geophysics 1981-88). Likes to write, keeps extensive notes, also travelogues of trips abroad.

Some recent accomplishments:

  • "Developing a Stategy for Magnetospheric Research", Eos, 4.23.1996.
  • "A Brief History of Magnetospheric Physics during the Space Age", Rev. Geophysics, 34, 1-31, 1996. Part 1 ("...before the spaceflight era"), Rev. Geophysics, 27, 104-114, 1989.
  • "The Art of Mapping the Magnetosphere", JGR 99, 17,169-98, '94 (solutions to the problems mailed upon request).
  • "A Simple Model of Birkeland Currents", JGR 98, 5691-5706, '93 (a solution for Region 2 currents, now being extended to Region 1).
  • Four GSFC workshops on "Physics and Modeling of the Global Magnetosphere", most recent held 5/31-6/3, 1994.

Less recent:

  • "Math Squared", a math-enrichment book for middle school students, published 1980 by Teachers' College Press of Columbia University.

More dubious:

  • License plate PHY6.
  • Poems in Eos (63, 588, ;82; 70, 130,'89)
  • "All I Really Need to Know...", Physics Today, May 1993, p. 63.


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Last updated: October 15, 1997