Member Since 2004
Tamitha Mulligan Skov
Professor/ Research Scientist, Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Honors and Awards

Space Physics and Aeronomy Richard Carrington Education and Public Outreach (SPARC) Award
Received December 2023
Citation

Dr. Tamitha Mulligan Skov’s work demonstrates sustained, national, and international impact in both technical areas and outreach. Dr. Skov built a trusted and popular space weather forecasting brand, centered on preparedness and community engagement. Dr. Skov is an extraordinary scientist, educator, and communicator dedicated to space weather learners and enthusiasts. Her expertise ranges from solar activity to forecast models, to effects on Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere, including amateur radio and GPS transmission. As a scientist, she is a team leader, with technical contributions resulting in more than 60 publications. As an adjunct professor, Dr. Skov cofounded the first remote education space weather graduate program in the country. Her students receive a certificate in Space Weather Broadcast Meteorology, an emerging, interdisciplinary need identified by the American Meteorological Society. She also mentors many students.

As a science communicator, Dr. Skov is unparalleled in her ability to interpret space weather forecasts. She primarily uses broadcast-quality video, but her outreach also spans social media, her website, newsletters, and podcasts. She even offers live video minicourses on space weather: effective outreach for her large audience of nearly 50,000 YouTube subscribers. Since 2013, Dr. Skov has consistently shared weekly in-depth views of space weather, garnering thousands of views—during larger events tens of thousands. All told, she has approximately 2.5 million YouTube views. No other single Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA) scientist approaches that global reach so regularly. Importantly, this growth has been entirely grassroots; this type of education and public outreach is not usually supported by typical research grants. Driven by her passion for the field, she stepped up to serve the public using the latest communication technologies and maintaining her extraordinary vision for nearly a decade. She is also regularly featured prominently in traditional media.

In summary, Dr. Skov is a truly remarkable member of the SPA community. Her observations are insightful and scientifically grounded, both critical in today’s world. She consistently and effectively delivers and scaffolds her message to many audiences, including the public, university students, the amateur radio community, and professionals. Most scientists do not grasp that there are many different levels between the public and the professional scientist, let alone stand up to serve these needs for the long term. The space physics community owes her a tremendous debt of gratitude for this service.

—Elizabeth MacDonald, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.



Response
Being honored with an award tied to the legacy of Richard Carrington holds profound significance. His name is instantly recognizable and synonymous with a pioneering spirit, adding depth to this recognition. I thank the nominating team and awards committee for selecting me. My journey in this field, though unconventional, has been enriched by the unwavering support of colleagues within AGU and the American Meteorological Society (AMS). My passion for public outreach began while collaborating with pioneers in space radiation effects at the Aerospace Corporation—Dr. Michael Meshishnek, founder of the Space Environmental Effects Laboratory, and Dr. Joe Fennell of the Space Science Applications Laboratory. Working alongside them revealed the challenge of communicating the complexities of space environmental hazards to industry stakeholders. In fact, it was during a conversation with Joe, fresh from his role in the 2003 National Research Council Decadal Survey, that a lighthearted discussion of space weather forecasting on The Weather Channel sparked something in me, leaving a lasting impact on my trajectory. Collaboration with groundbreaking citizen science initiatives like Aurorasaurus and HamSCI.org, led by Dr. Liz MacDonald at NASA and Dr. Nathaniel Frissell at the University of Scranton, respectively, has been a privilege. Alongside my esteemed colleagues, Dr. Nariaki Nitta at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory and Dr. Erika Palmerio at Predictive Science, their collective dedication in bridging the gap between scientists and the broader online community of nearly 200,000 people we now serve, is immeasurable. I owe immense gratitude to the Space Weather and Environment Science (SWEN) team—Dr. Rich Clark and Dr. Sepi Yalda, both at Millersville University; Dr. Jinni Meehan at the National Weather Service/NOAA; and Mr. Michael Cook at MITRE. Their patience, perseverance, and sacrifice made the remote-learning SWEN graduate program a resounding success. Over 40 meteorology students have been trained in space weather forecasting, policy, and communication since 2020. This achievement has led Millersville University to cosponsor the Operational Space Weather Fundamentals course at the International Space Science School in 2024, expanding opportunities for student training internationally. I reserve my deepest appreciation for the late Dr. Matt Parker, former AMS president, whose belief in integrating space weather expertise into meteorology and broadcast TV news media was instrumental in fueling my vision. His early support played a pivotal role in reshaping the narrative of heliophysics as the weather of the 21st century. —Tamitha Mulligan Skov, Millersville University, Millersville, Pa.
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