Upcoming HamSCI workshop

[Dr. Rich Russel]

HAMSci is a great group!

Rich

Ed Efchak (pressre...@hamsci.org) sent a message using the contact form 

at https://www.radio-astronomy.org/contact/Newsletter-Editor.

The Ninth Annual HamSCI Workshop

“Discovering Science Through Amateur Radio”

March 14-15 -- Register Now!!

HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, is holding its ninth 

annual HamSCI Workshop beginning Saturday, March 14, 2026, and concluding the 

next day. The venue will be the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) 

in New Britain, CT.  HamSCI is partnering with ARRL, The National Association 

for Amateur Radio, with its nearby headquarters providing an exclusive 

opportunity to tour facilities, get behind-the-scenes access to the ARRL 

Laboratory, the W1HQ Radio Laboratory and the W1AW Hiram P. Maxim Memorial 

Station, which licensed hams may operate.

Join leading experts as they unveil cutting-edge advances in ionospheric 

physics, space weather impacts, meteor scatter, plasma dynamics, and global 

modeling — essential for amateur radio communications, GPS accuracy, 

auroral studies, and protecting technology from solar storms.

Event and Registration details can be found here: www.hamsci.org/hamsci2026.

Featuring Three Keynote Speakers:

1. Dr. Rob Suggs NN4NT, "Meteor Scatter Tutorial".  Dr. Suggs recently 

retired from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He 

worked for 20 years as Space Environments Team Lead responsible for 

specifying the meteoroid, orbital debris, plasma, ionizing radiation, thermal 

and lunar surface environments for various NASA programs including Artemis 

and International Space Station. He also worked at Johnson Space Center in 

Houston in the Space Station Program Office responsible for space 

environments and effects and external payloads. His PhD research was on 

Saturn’s atmosphere during the Voyager missions. His work on meteoroids 

includes supporting NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office and instituting the 

Lunar Meteoroid Impact Monitoring Program. Rob is an active member of the 

Marshall Space Flight Center ARC NN4SA.

2. Dr. Kuldeep Pandey, "Solar Eclipse Through Ham Radio: What the Bands 

Revealed".  Dr. Kuldeep Pandey obtained his PhD in 2019 from the Physical 

Research Laboratory in India. His doctoral and early postdoctoral work 

focused on electric fields, currents, and plasma distributions in the 

low-latitude ionosphere. In November 2020, Kuldeep joined the University of 

Saskatchewan–Canada as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where his research focused on 

HF radio polarization using ePOP satellite datasets and modeling. Since April 

2024, Kuldeep has been a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the New Jersey 

Institute of Technology (NJIT). His current work focuses on understanding the 

effects of the April 2024 solar eclipse on the ionosphere and HF radio 

propagation using observations from ham radio, ground- and satellite-based 

instruments, and ray-trace modeling.

3. Jonathan Rizzo KC3EEY Memorial Talk: "Remembering and Honoring Paul 

Nicholson G8LMD: Passionate VLF Enthusiast and Master". Paul Nicholson was a 

talented radio enthusiast.  He authored the vlfrx-tools software package, a 

collection of utilities including data acquisition, timing, and signal 

processing of VLF natural radio emissions. He also wrote lcnetgen, a 

distributed capacitances and inductances calculator useful when setting up 

VLF receivers, and he developed EbNaut, the very first digital amateur radio 

mode for the 8290 and 5170 Hz bands. Paul's academic contributions include 

many natural radio emission and man-made VLF signal observations, 

collaboration with researchers on various topics including Q bursts. Paul is 

well known in India for his most ambitious project:  The Indian Lightning 

Detection Network (ILDN), India's first domestic lightning location network. 

To this day, the ILDN provides live lightning stroke data that saves 

countless lives.  Paul was selflessly involved in humanitarian endeavors, 

including historical preservation and serving as a dog’s body (hiding 

yourself in inconspicuous places outdoors, to train the search and rescue 

dogs) for the Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team.

Speaker's Biography: Jonathan Rizzo KC3EEY is an electrical engineer and a 

graduate of the University of Scranton and Luzerne County Community College. 

Jonathan became extremely interested in very low frequency (VLF) phenomena in 

2013, both in the technical aspect of observation techniques, but also the 

physics. He has been an advocate of VLF study ever since.

The program can be found at https://hamsci.org/hamsci-2026-program

Why Attend?

•    Observations and findings from HamSCI's Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric 

Science

•    Personal Space Weather Station project updates

•    Data management and visualization techniques

•    Radio wave propagation modeling

•    Meteor Scatter research including details on HamSCI’s Meteor Scatter 

QSO Party

•    The applicability of HamSCI's research into amateur radio operations

•    Gain insights from real-time data and next-generation models

•    Network with professionals in heliophysics, space weather and renowned 

amateurs

Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear directly from those at the forefront 

of ionospheric science!  A full two-day agenda packed with learning!

Don’t Delay -- Register Today!!

For registration details, program specifics, and updates, visit 

www.hamsci.org/hamsci2026. The 2026 HamSCI workshop is supported by grants 

from the National Science Foundation and Amateur Radio Digital Communications 

(ARDC), and the organizing committee including representatives from CCSU 

partner institutions such as the University of Scranton, New Jersey Institute 

of Technology and ARRL.  For those unable to attend in-person, a virtual 

attendance option will be announced closer to the workshop.

About HamSCI

HamSCI serves as a means for fostering collaboration between professional 

researchers and amateur radio operators. It assists in developing and 

maintaining standards and agreements between all people and organizations 

involved. Its goals are to advance scientific research and understanding 

through amateur radio activities, encourage the development of modern 

technologies to support this research and provide educational opportunities 

for the amateur community and the public.

For more information about HamSCI, and to join our mailing list and receive 

our newsletter, please visit our website at www.hamsci.org.

    www.hamsci.org