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George Mason University

Faculty & Staff Directory

Robert Meier

  • Professor Emeritus

    Contact Info

    Headshot Dr. meier
    Name
    Dr. Robert Meier
    Job Title
    Professor Emeritus
    Phone Number
    703-973-5482
    Office Number
    Planetary Hall, Room 255, MSN 3F3

    Affiliations

    Departments

    Education

    Duquesne University, B.S., 1962

    University of Pittsburgh, Ph.D., 1966

    About

    After receiving his PhD in 1966 at the University of Pittsburgh under Prof. Thomas M. Donahue, Robert R. Meier began his career as an E. O. Hulburt Fellow in the Space Science Division at the Naval Research Lab. Meier remained at NRL for the next 38 years. His research covered many disciplines of space science, including groundbreaking work on the upper atmosphere, radiative transport theory, interstellar medium interactions with the heliosphere, solar irradiance, rocket and shuttle interactions with the atmosphere, and comets. Following retirement from NRL in 2004, Meier joined the GMU faculty where he was one of the co-founders of the Space Weather Program in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. There, he continued research in space physics and mentored many students. He taught a number of courses in space weather and gave regular lectures in remote sensing and radiation transport theory. Meier retired from GMU in 2025 and became Professor Emeritus. 

    Teaching Focus

    Prof. Meier has taught graduate-level courses in space science and space weather. He has also presented a lecture series on Radiation Transport Theory to provide students with tools to interpret spectroscopic remote sensing measurements of the upper atmosphere and other solar system bodies. 

    Selected Publications

    Meier, R. R. (1991)Ultraviolet Spectroscopy and Remote Sensing of the Upper Atmosphere, Space Science Reviews, 58, 1.

    Richards, P. G., R. R. Meier, and P. J. Wilkinson (2010), On the consistency of satellite measurements of thermospheric composition and solar EUV irradiance with Australian ionosonde electron density data, J. Geophys. Res., 115, A10309, doi:10.1029/2010JA015368.

    Meier, R. R., J. M. C. Plane, M. H. Stevens, L. J. Paxton, A. B. Christensen, and G. Crowley (2010), Can molecular diffusion explain Space Shuttle plume spreading? Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L08101, doi:10.1029/2010GL042868.

    Lean, J. L., T. N. Woods, F. G. Eparvier, R. R. Meier, D. J. Strickland, J. T. Correira, and J. S. Evans (2011), Solar extreme ultraviolet irradiance: Present, past, and future, J. Geophys. Res., 116, A01102, doi:10.1029/2010JA015901.

    Meier, R. R., M. H. Stevens, J. M. C. Plane, J. T. Emmert, G. Crowley, I. Azeem, L. J. Paxton, and A. B. Christensen (2011), A study of space shuttle plumes in the lower thermosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 116, A12322, doi:10.1029/2011JA016987

    England, Scott L., R. R. Meier, et al. (2021). First results from the retrieved column O/N2 ratio from the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON): Evidence of the impacts of nonmigrating tides, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126, e2021JA029575. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JA029575

    Meier, R. R. (2021). The thermospheric column O/N2 ratio. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126, e2020JA029059. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA029059

    Meier, R. R., Soto, Emmaris, Evans, J. Scott, Stephan, Andrew W., Tashiro, Motomichi (2023), New O partial photoionization cross sections resolve ionospheric EUV remote sensing issues, J. Geophys. Res., 2023JA031533R. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031533

    Soto, E., J. S. Evans, R. R. Meier, M. Tashiro, M. N. Sakib, E. Yi˘git (2023), A Missing Piece of the E Region Puzzle: The Need for High-Resolution Photoionization Cross Sections and Solar Irradiance in Models, J. Geophys. Res., In Production, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031870

    Sakib, MD Nazmus, Emmaris Soto, Erdal Yi˘git, J. Scott Evans, R. R Meier (2023), Validation of E-region Model Electron Density Profiles using High-Resolution Cross Sections, J. Geophys. Res., 128, e2023JA031512, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031512

    Awards

    • E.O. Hulburt Annual Science and Engineering Award for 1991 (NRL's highest civilian award)
    • NRL Alan Berman Publication Award, seven times
    • USAF Special Recognition Award as PI on STP 83-1, first DoD Get-Away-Special on Shuttle mission STS-7
    • Journal of Geophysical Research Editor's Citation for Excellence in Refereeing, 1993
    • Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1997
    • NRL 75th Anniversary Innovation Award, 1998
    • Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, 1999
    • Academician, International Academy of Astronautics 1999
    • NRL Technology Transfer Award, 2000
    • Aeronomy Secretary, American Geophysical Union, 2000-2002
    • NRL Distinguished Contribution Award, 2000
    • Nicolet Lecture, Fall AGU Meeting, 2007
    • NASA Group Achievement Award, TIME/GUVI, 2008
    • NASA Group Achievement Award, TIMED/SEE, 2011

    Contact Info

    Headshot Dr. meier
    Name
    Dr. Robert Meier
    Job Title
    Professor Emeritus
    Phone Number
    703-973-5482
    Office Number
    Planetary Hall, Room 255, MSN 3F3

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