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University of California San Diego (UCSD)
San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)
phone: (858) 822-3674
email: pphick @ caida.org
P. Hick started his research career in solar physics working with data from two spacecraft instruments: the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (HXIS) on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite, and the DFH Low-energy Proton Detector on ISEE3/ICE, resulting in a thesis in 1988. Over the next two decades the research focus gradually became more oriented to heliospheric topics using IPS radio observations, Thomson scattering observations from the Zodiacal Light Photometers on board the twin spacecraft Helios 1 and Helios 2, and after 2003, the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) onboard the Coriolis satellite. For the SMEI mission he was largely responsible for design and implementation of the processing pipeline for SMEI data at the Solar and Heliospheric Group at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD) and wrote most of the data reduction and visualization software. In 2009 he started working at CAIDA as the data admistrator. His tasks include collection, maintenance and distribution of internet data.
Education
| B.S. | 1977 | University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands | Physics/Astronomy |
| M.S. | 1982 | University of Utrecht, the Netherlands | Astronomy |
| Ph.D. | 1988 | University of Utrecht, the Netherlands | Astronomy/Space Sciences |
|
Thesis: Interpretations of energetic phenomena in the solar corona
Advisors: Prof. C. de Jager and Dr. Z. Svestka Research done at the Laboratory for Space Research Utrecht, Space Research Organization Netherlands (SRON) |
Work Experience
| 2009 - present | Data Administrator | CAIDA, San Diego Supercomputer Center (UCSD/SDSC) |
| 2007 - 2009 | Project Scientist | Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD/CASS> |
| 2000 - 2007 | Associate Project Scientist | Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD/CASS) |
| 1998 - 2000 | Assistant Research Scientist | Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD/CASS) |
| 1994 - 1998 | Assistant Project Scientist | Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD/CASS) |
| 1991 - 1994 | Visiting Assistant Research Physicist | Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD/CASS) |
| 1990 - 1991 | Assistant Scientist | Applied Research Corporation, Landover, MD |
| 1989 - 1990 | PostGraduate Research Physicist | Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences (UCSD/CASS) |
| 1988 - 1989 | PostGraduate Research Physicist | Max Planck Institut fur Aeronomie, Germany |
| 1983 - 1988 | Research Assistant | Space Research Organization Netherlands, the Netherlands |
Published Work
For a complete list of publications see http://supercat.ucsd.edu/publications/index.php
A few of the papers on this list are IT-related (data-processing, visualization, numerical modeling):
- D. Odstrcil, V.J. Pizzo, C.N. Arge, M.M. Bisi, P.P. Hick, B.V. Jackson, S.A. Ledvina, J.G. Luhmann, J.A. Linker, Z. Mikic and P. Riley, "Numerical simulations of solar wind disturbances by coupled models", in: N.V. Pogorelov, A. Edouard and G.P. Zank (eds.), Numerical modeling of space plasma flows: Astronum-2007, ASP Conf. Series 385, 167, 2008
- P.P. Hick, A. Buffington and B.V. Jackson, "A procedure for fitting point sources in SMEI white-light full-sky maps", in: S. Fineschi and R.A. Viereck (eds.), Solar physics and space weather instrumentation II, Proc. SPIE 6689, 66890C, September 2007
- P.P. Hick, A. Buffington and B.V. Jackson, "The SMEI real-time data pipeline: From raw CCD frames to photometrically accurate full-sky maps in: S. Fineschi and R.A. Viereck (eds.), Solar physics and space weather instrumentation", Proc. SPIE 5901, 59011b, 1-7, September 2005
- Y. Yu, P.P. Hick and B.V. Jackson, "Interactive Visualization of Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) Volumetric Data", in: S. Fineschi and R.A. Viereck (eds.), Solar physics and space weather instrumentation, Proc. SPIE 5901, 59011a, 1−5, September 2005
- X. Wang, P.P. Hick, B.V. Jackson, A. Buffington and M. Bailey, "Visualization of remotely-sensed heliospheric plasmas for space weather applications" in: S. Fineschi and M.A. Gummin (eds.), Telescopes and instrumentation for solar astrophysics, Proc. SPIE 5171, 280-286, February 2004
- P.P. Hick and B.V. Jackson, "Heliospheric tomography: an algorithm for the reconstruction of the 3D solar wind from remote sensing observations", in: S. Fineschi and M.A. Gummin (eds.), Telescopes and instrumentation for solar astrophysics, Proc. SPIE 5171, 287-297, February 2004