Jim Spann

Space Science Department

Marshall Space Flight Center

Dr. Jim Spann is a member of the Space Plasma Physics group in the Space Science Department of the Marshall Space Flight Center Science Directorate, located at the National Space Science and Technology Center. The Space Plasma Physics group conducts experimental and theoretical research to support the scientific activities of the NASA Office of Space Science and Office of Space Flight. The principal objective of this group is to develop an understanding of the physical processes that control the geospace plasma environment and its interaction with both natural and man-made bodies in space.

Spann began his career at Marshall in 1986 and has primarily been involved with space flight hardware, laboratory experiments and associated science analysis of the data. He is responsible for the Space Science Department Ultraviolet Instrument Laboratory. The primary motivation for his efforts has been to understand the aurora and how it reveals the energetics and configuration of the magnetized region around the Earth called the magnetosphere. And how the magnetosphere responds to the constantly changing solar wind and to the inner boundary of the Earth’s ionosphere. Two important contributions are his work on the Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) of the Polar mission (launched 1996) initially as Instrument Scientist and currently as a Co-Investigator, and his work as a Participating Scientist on IMAGE (launched 2000) related to the Far Ultraviolet Wideband Imaging Camera (WIC).

In 1998, Spann established the Dusty Plasma Laboratory to study individual micron-sized dust grains in simulated space environments. In 2000-2001 he participated in the Professional Development Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington DC as a Discipline Scientist for the Sun-Earth Connection Division in the Office of Space Science. He continued his work in that capacity during 2001-2002, returning to MSFC in August of 2002.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Spann moved to Recife, Brazil at the young age of five where his parents served as career missionaries. After graduating high school from the American School in Recife in 1975, he returned to the US and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Math from Ouachita Baptist University and a PhD in Physics from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (1984). He spent two years (1984-1986) as a post-doctoral fellow with the U.S. Department of Energy in Morgantown, West Virginia prior to coming to MSFC. During that time he investigated at what temperature would coal slurry droplets explosively boil in a combustor by zapping droplets with a high power lasers and capturing their response using high speed movies (5000 frames/sec).

Spann is actively involved in the lives of youth through Willowbrook, enjoys photography, following his soccer team, and is a Hog fan.