Maura E. Hagan is a Professor Emeritus of Physics and a former Dean of the College of Science at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

. She is a Fellow of both the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

and the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

, and was elected a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2019.

Early life and education

Hagan studied physics at Emmanuel College, Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1975, before joining

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

as a graduate student. She earned a master's degree in 1980 and a doctorate in 1986. Hagan worked on exospheric temperature with William L. Oliver, using measurements made at Millstone Hill between 1970 and 1980. Hagan joined the

Haystack Observatory Haystack Observatory is a multidisciplinary radio science center, ionospheric observatory, and astronomical microwave observatory owned by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is in Westford, Massachusetts, in the United States, abo ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

as a staff member in 1986.

Research and career

In 1992 Hagan was made a Senior Scientist at the

National Center for Atmospheric Research The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) is a US federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and funded by the National Science Foundat ...

(NCAR)

High Altitude Observatory The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) is a laboratory of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). HAO operates the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory on Hawaii (island), Hawaii and a research institute in Boulder, Colorado. Its staff condu ...

. She held various roles at NCAR, including acting as Director of the Advanced Study Program, Deputy Director and Interim Director. She developed the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM), which describes the

Rossby wave Rossby waves, also known as planetary waves, are a type of inertial wave naturally occurring in rotating fluids. They were first identified by Sweden-born American meteorologist Carl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby in the Earth's atmosphere in 1939. They ...

s and solar tides within the Earth's atmosphere. Her model incorporated a

gravity wave In fluid dynamics, gravity waves are waves in a fluid medium or at the interface between two media when the force of gravity or buoyancy tries to restore equilibrium. An example of such an interface is that between the atmosphere and the oc ...

stress parametrisation and adaptions to the atmospheric background using

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shu ...

(UARS) climatologies. She studies several layers of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, including the

mesosphere The mesosphere (; ) is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases. This characteristic is used to define limits: it be ...

Ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

and

thermosphere The thermosphere is the layer in the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Within this layer of the atmosphere, ultraviolet radiation causes photoionization/photodissociation of molecules, creating ions; the ...

. She is interested in how these atmospheric layers couple together, as well as how they influence tides and Rossby waves. She also studies the downward effect of

space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind, especially on the Earth's magnetosphere, ion ...

. In 2006 she was part of the team who identified the first global connection between space weather and weather on Earth. The collaboration used the IMAGE spacecraft to study plasma bands in the upper atmosphere, finding ultra bright areas that were located above

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...

s in tropical rainforests.

Atmospheric tide An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmospher ...

s are global-scale waves that are excited by the heating of the lower and middle atmosphere due to the absorption of

solar radiation Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...

and the latent heating of evaporation when raindrops form in tropical clouds. Hagan used her GSWM to simulate the atmospheric tides produced by thunderstorms in tropical rainforests, finding that some of these tides would deposit their energy in the

Kennelly–Heaviside layer The Heaviside layer, sometimes called the Kennelly–Heaviside layer, named after Arthur E. Kennelly and Oliver Heaviside, is a layer of ionised gas occurring roughly between above the ground — one of several layers in the Earth's ion ...

. This results in a disruption of the Kennelly–Heaviside layer plasma currents and creates bright, dense zones. Hagan was also a member of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite team, studying the dynamic chemical signatures of the middle atmosphere. Hagan joined the Utah State University in September 2015.

Academic service

In 1993 Hagan was made Associate Editor of ''

Geophysical Research Letters ''Geophysical Research Letters'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal of geoscience published by the American Geophysical Union that was established in 1974. The editor-in-chief iKristopher Karnauskas Aims and scope The journal aims for ...

''. She is a member of the

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

Global Change Institute. She was appointed to the Committee on Solar Terrestrial Research in 1996. She has also served on the CEDAR Science Steering Committee. Since 2008 Hagan has worked as a Guest Lecturer at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

. She was appointed to the

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate in 2014. She is Co-Chair of the

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the Uni ...

Committee on Solar and Space Physics. Hagan was elected Dean of the College of Science at Utah State University in 2016.

Awards and honors

* 2006

NASA Group Achievement Award The NASA Group Achievement Award (GAA) is an award given by NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the U ...

* 2008

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

Michael J. Buonsanto Memorial Lecturer * 2008

* 2011Fellow of the

* 2011 Fellow of the

* 2012

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

Robert A. Jenkins Memorial Lecturer * 2013

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is a US nonprofit consortium of more than 100 colleges and universities providing research and training in the atmospheric and related sciences. UCAR manages the National Center for Atmosph ...

Outstanding Accomplishment Award for Mentoring * 2014 Space Physics and Aeronomy Marcel Nicolet Lecturer * 2016 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Science Advancement Winner * 2018 Elected member of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagan, Maura American women physicists American physicists Utah State University faculty Atmospheric physicists Fellows of the American Meteorological Society Emmanuel College (Massachusetts) alumni Boston College alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women academics