Daniel Baker steps down as director of LASP

LASP News

Daniel Baker steps down as director of LASP

LASP Director and CU Boulder Distinguished Professor Daniel N. Baker is the recipient of the 2024 CAS/COSPAR Jeoujang Jaw Award. Photo by Patrick Campbell/University of Colorado
At the end of 2024, University of Colorado Boulder Distinguished Professor Daniel N. Baker stepped down as the director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), a position he held since 1994, to found and lead a new CU space policy center. Photo by Patrick Campbell/University of Colorado

Dan Baker has developed an international reputation as one of the leading space physicists of our time and for his leadership of the University of Colorado Boulder’s (CU) Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). He stepped down at the end of 2024 after 30 years as director of LASP but will continue as a researcher and professor at CU. Prior to coming to CU, Dan spent almost 30 years at other institutions, including the University of Iowa, where he earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees and worked as a post-doctoral researcher, and Caltech where, as a research fellow, he worked closely with Edward Stone, a major formative element of his career. Baker later moved into leadership positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. We can talk about his scientific research, his leadership of LASP, and his role in the national and international space research programs; any one of these by itself would make for a compelling career.

Even while director of LASP, Dan was able to focus on his scientific research. He said that the first 40 hours of his work week belonged to LASP, but the next 40 were his to do with as he chose. He has made significant contributions to the understanding of Earth’s magnetosphere and its interactions with solar wind.

Research and Exploration

One of his most notable achievements is his research on the dynamics of Earth’s radiation belts, which are regions of high-energy particles trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. Working on the Van Allen Probes—which were originally called the Radiation Belt and Storm Probes but later renamed after James Van Allen, Dan’s thesis adviser at the University of Iowa—he was able to gather key data that have greatly enhanced our understanding of the processes that govern the behavior of the Earth’s radiation belts, including the acceleration and loss of energetic particles. His work helped to reshape our understanding of these radiation belts, particularly regarding their variability and response to solar activity.

In addition to his work on the radiation belts, Dan’s research extends to the broader field of space weather and its effects on both near-Earth space and interplanetary environments. His studies have helped to identify the complex interactions between solar wind, Earth’s magnetic field, and the ionosphere, improving models that predict space weather events such as geomagnetic storms. This has important implications for space weather forecasting, satellite safety, and understanding how solar activity can affect communications, navigation, and power systems on Earth.

Through this work, Dan has not only contributed to fundamental science but also to the development of tools and techniques that have practical applications for mitigating the societal risks posed by space weather.

In July 2024, LASP Director Daniel Baker received the Jeoujang Jaw Award from the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) in recognition of his contributions to promoting space research, establishing new space science research branches, and founding new exploration programs. Credit: LASP

In addition to working on the Earth’s magnetosphere, Dan has been involved in exploring planetary magnetospheres, marking him as a leader in both research and space exploration. His doctoral thesis, “Energetic particle fluxes and spectra in the Jovian magnetosphere,” which involved analysis of data from the Pioneer spacecraft, helped define the characteristics of energetic electrons and ions in the Jupiter magnetosphere. Using data from the MESSENGER mission, he played a significant role in defining the plasma environment, magnetic field, magnetosphere, and solar-wind interactions at Mercury. And, as an investigator on the MAVEN mission, he explored the behavior of energetic particles in the Martian magnetosphere.

A theme running through all these analyses is the development of observational approaches using spacecraft, combining the results with quantitative numerical models to constrain and understand the physical processes operating in planetary magnetospheres.

Over the course of his career, Dan authored more than 1,000 research papers, which have been cited more than 55,000 times, producing an astounding h-index—a measure of researcher’s productivity and scholarly impact—of 129. And he has given several thousand scientific talks, many of them invited by scientific institutions and societies around the world, further enhancing LASP’s global reputation.

Three Decades at LASP

Dan was director of LASP for 30 years. During that time, he oversaw the expansion of the research interests and capabilities of LASP and the development of a strong international research program. When he came to LASP, Dan brought with him the scientific interest in space plasma physics and planetary magnetospheres. Once here, he developed the engineering capability to supply hardware instruments capable of making cutting-edge measurements in these areas. This helped LASP to transition from a research lab focused largely on ultraviolet spectroscopy to the multi-disciplinary lab that it is today.

Through Dan’s efforts, LASP became involved in international programs that enhance the overall efforts in space science. LASP collaborated with the United Arab Emirates in developing the Hope spacecraft that is orbiting Mars and collecting key data on the Martian atmosphere and upper atmosphere. That collaboration is continuing through the ongoing efforts on the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, being developed for launch in 2028. Working with Amal Chandran and Mike McGrath, he also initiated the INSPIRE program that involves collaborations with multiple institutions in Asia and the Pacific Islands to develop small spacecraft missions to train the next generation of students in spacecraft engineering and science.

A photo of University of Colorado officials holding shovels of dirt at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new building.
During Dan Baker's tenure as director of LASP, he oversaw the expansion of the lab's physical footprint by nearly 140,000 square feet, including the building of an annex to the LASP Space Technology Building, for which a groundbreaking ceremony was held in May 2004. Credit: LASP

Overall, Dan’s tenure as director of LASP was marked by a broadening of the laboratory’s research agenda, the establishment of LASP as a hub for space physics innovation, and its critical involvement in some of NASA’s most important space missions. His leadership helped position LASP as one of the preeminent space research institutions globally, particularly in the domains of magnetospheric physics, radiation belts, space weather, and planetary exploration. In 2010, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for “leadership in studies, measurements, and predictive tools for the Earth’s radiation environment and its impact on U.S. security.” In 2018, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) awarded Dan the William Bowie Medal, which is given for outstanding contributions for fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research, noting that his “contribution to our understanding of the Van Allen radiation belts through experiment, discovery, and interpretation of observations is without peer.”

Dan has provided major programmatic leadership in developing national and international space research policy and programs. He has served as a member or chair of key advisory committees, including ones under the aegis of NASA, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), and AGU. He chaired the 2013 decadal survey in heliophysics, “Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society.” Decadal surveys are community consensus documents that describe the current state of our understanding of the topic and define the directions to advance the field over the coming decade. They are the major planning tools used by NASA and Congress to put together the research program, and leading one is both a major effort and an incredibly valuable contribution to the field.

Looking to the future, Dan will continue in a new role with the university that will focus on space and science policy. This has been a major area of effort for him throughout his entire career, and will take advantage of the many contributions he’s made through his advisory committee roles. Despite this major new endeavor, we expect that Dan will continue as an active research scientist, and we hope to see him continuing his collaborations within LASP!

By Bruce Jakosky, LASP Senior Research Scientist; Fran Bagenal, LASP Senior Research Scientist; and Frank Eparvier, LASP Interim Director

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