Hi, my name is Tom Howson, and I am currently a PDRA in St Andrews. I am seeking election as a postdoctoral member on the UKSP Council. During my career, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you before, for example at UKMHD, or whilst chairing parallel sessions at NAM. As such, I am excited about the opportunity to represent you and our community as a member of our Council.
My research focuses on the energy and mass cycle in the Sun’s atmosphere, particularly in the context of coronal heating and MHD oscillations. I investigate current formation, energy release and plasma heating in response to a variety of imposed velocity drivers. My work involves the implementation of computationally expensive MHD codes, and I make regular use of the UK’s high performance computing infrastructure through the DiRAC facilities; an important resource for UK Solar Physics. I also have significant expertise in the generation and analysis of synthetic observables which I utilise as a tool to bridge the gap between numerical and observational results.
My motivation for standing for election to the UKSP council is simple; I enjoy working with hard-working and dedicated colleagues in our research field and I want to be a strong advocate for our community. Throughout my career, I have been committed to helping the progression, success and happiness of colleagues, for example as a PhD mentor and as a member of my department’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee. I see election to the Council as a great opportunity to continue this passion. Furthermore, as a postdoc with family commitments in one specific place, I have an acute understanding of the difficulties faced by early career researchers on fixed term contracts. As such, I will ensure that alleviating and minimising such challenges remains a top priority for the Council. Above all, if successful in this election, I will bring my enthusiasm and dedication to promoting and supporting the success of the solar physics community in the UK.