Home CV Research Publications Teaching Theses Outreach

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Gábor FACSKÓ, PhD
Wigner Research Centre for Physics
H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33.
Building 2, Room 116, Hungary
E-mail: facsko dot gabor at wigner dot hu
Phone: +36 (1) 392-2222 Ext 1185


Who Am I?

Gabor FACSKO is an experienced scientist, scientific software developer and project manager. His main research interest is global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and the dayside transient magnetospheric events. He also has experience in managing and coordinating EU and ESA projects; furthermore writing and reviewing project documentation. He is a good team worker however he could work independently with minimal supervision. Dr. FACSKO worked in Hungary, France, Finland, the USA and Germany. He coordinated the Solar and Heliosphere Weather activity of the ESA's Space Weather network. Hence, his professional network extends from Japan to California and from Alaska to Brasil. Dr. FACSKO has 34 refereed publications (seven first-author publications in international journals).

Professional Skills

Technical competencies Space Weather. Magnetospheric and heliospheric physics. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. Experience in instrument and mission operation. Data analysis and instrument calibration using magnetometers, plasma instruments, energized particles, electric field, and electrostatic wave instruments.

Computer skills UNIX/Linux, GNU toolset, UNIX scripting, awk, Emacs, vi. Microsoft Windows. Java/Netbeans, C/C++, Matlab/octave, Interactive Data Language (IDL)/IDLDE development environment, SQL/MySQL/Oracle. Design, development, and management object oriented programs. Scientific programming. Software development on UNIX/Linux. TeX/LaTeX, Good command of Microsoft Office tools, Microsoft SharePoint, Atlassian JIRA. Version control systems: git, CVS. Collaboration tools: GitHub, Microsoft SharePoint Team Collaboration Software Tool.

Management skills Coordination of the Solar and the Heliospheric Weather Expert Service Centres of the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Space Weather (SWE) Network. Coordination of six ESA SSA projects. Collaboration in multinational projects. Liaison to the European Research Council (ERC). Supervising 11 students. Chair, organizer, and convener of conferences and workshops.

Project administration Compiled two EU and ten ESA funded scientific projects from one year to four years duration. Documentation and reporting processes. Led definition and monitoring requirements for quality. Continuous monitoring of eight ESA-funded projects.

Behavioural competencies Scientific communication and experience in public outreach. Good and quick problem solving abilities. Network building and relationship management. Fostering cooperation and effective team-working. Representation and ambassadorship of the recent employee, the mission, or the project. Self-organization, prioritization. Good communication and presentation skills. Analytical thinking. Good negotiation skills.

Languages

Hungarian (native), English (fluent), Finnish (basic), German (basic).

EXPERIENCE

02/2022 -Assistant Professor/Contractor, Milton Friedman University, Budapest, Hungary
Teaching BSc IT students for UNIX/Linux operating systems, C#, SQL, Python, algorithms and data structures. Writting lecture notes. Part time position.
Teaching, Linux/UNIX, Oracle VM VirtualBox, SQL, C#, Python.
11/2020 -Senior Research Fellow/Research Fellow/Wigner Postdoctoral Fellow, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary
Validation and verification of global MHD simulations. Comparison of the 1-year run of Grand Unified Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling Simulation (GUMICS-4) in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Numerical simulations of the Solar-Terrestrial interactions using GUMICS-4 magnetohydrodynamic code. Study of the windsock effect of the terrestrial magnetosphere at lunar orbit. Public outreach.
Space Plasma Physics, Global MHD simulations, Report Writting, Linux/UNIX, Matlab
02/2018 - 03/2020Space Weather Applications Scientist, Rhea System GmbH for ESA, Darmstadt, Germany
Coordination of the progress of the Solar and Heliospheric Weather Expert Service Centres of the European Space Agency. Review of progress reports and project documentation. Providing scientific expertise and support to the development of ESA Space Situational Awareness (SSA). Preparation studies for the ESA SSA Lagrange Mission. ''Dayside Transient Phenomena and Their Impact on the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere'' International Space Science Institute-Beijing International Team member led by Hui Zhang and Qiugang Zong (2018-2020). Study of the quasi-parallel bow shock and the dayside magnetospheric transient events. Validation of the GUMICS$-$4 code. Monitoring the progress of the ESA SSA projects and campaigns. Test and validation of ESA SSA SWE forecast products.
Project Management, MS Windows 10, MS Office, JIRA
01/2014 - 01/2018Research Fellow/Honorary Associate, Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science, Sopron, Hungary
Validation and verification of global MHD simulations. Comparison of the 1-year run of GUMICS-4 simulation in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Study of the lunar-solar wind conditions in the terrestrial magnetotail based on the 1--year run. Forced reconnection and windsock motion of the magnetotail at lunar distance. Turbulence analysis of transient events and their identification in the far terrestrial magnetotail. Preparing fund applications and progress reports. Lecturing Space Borne Instrumentation for Astronomer MSc students at Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest. Lecturing basic and advanced Java and PHP software development, SQL, LaTeX, WordPress for IT Engineer BSc and MSc students at the University of Sopron, Sopron. Refereed publications in first-class journals, oral, poster presentations, and invited talks at international conferences. Television and radio reports, publication of public outreach papers. Three visits/nine months at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (host: David SIBECK) and GFZ-Potsdam (host: Yuri SHPRITS).
Space Physics, Matlab, Grant Writting, Administration
11/2010 - 12/2013ECLAT Project Scientist, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Global magnetohydrodynamic simulations for the European Cluster Assimilation Technology (ECLAT) project funded by the European Union 7th Framework Programme. Producing deliverables, simulation data and graphical products for the ESA Cluster Active Archive (CAA). Data mining tool development in the Boundary Layer Identification Code project of the ESA Cluster Active Archive (CAA). Automatic detection of the bow shock, magnetopause, neutral sheet and radiation belt edge crossings in Cluster measurements. Project documentation and reporting.
Global MHD simulations, Matlab, Project Management, Space Physics
09/2008 - 08/2010Research Engineer, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace, CNRS, Orleans, France
Generation of Cluster WHISPER instrument data for the ESA CAA. Development of image processing tools to derive the electron density of the plasma. Validation of data products. Calibration of Cluster CIS HIA and COmposition DIstribution Function (CODIF) ion and Plasma Electron and Current Experiment (PEACE) electron plasma instruments. Providing high quality electron density data for radiation belt and plasma sphere studies. Preparation of User Guides, Calibration Reports, Instrument Control Documents, progress reports and software documentations.
Instrumentation, UNIX/Linux, Scripting, IDL, C/C++
09/2002 - 08/2008Research Fellow/Research Assistant, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary
Small-Scale Fluctuations of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field. Turbulence in the solar wind. Energized particle events at the L1 Lagrange point. Classification of energized particle events. Statistical study of transient dayside magnetospheric events. Lecturing Space Plasma Physics for Astronomer MSc students and Space Plasma Laboratory for Astrophysics MSc students at Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest. Refereed publications in professional journals, oral, poster presentations and invited talks at international conferences. Publication of public outreach papers. Astronomy demonstrations in public observatories.
Space Physics, Linux/UNIX, IDL, C/C++

EDUCATION

09/2002 - 08/2008PhD in Space Physics, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
Space Plasma Physics. Solar Physics.
09/1998 - 01/2004BSc in Computer Science, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
Algorithms. Data structures. Software development and design.
09/1994 - 06/2000MSc in Physics and Astronomy, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary
Theoretical Physics. Astronomy. Astrophysics.

TRAINING COURSES

2021Alfa Kapos Kepzo Kozpont Ltd, Forklift Operations, Pecs, Hungary
2021Alfa Kapos Kepzo Kozpont Ltd, Excavator Operations, Pecs, Hungary
2021Alfa Kapos Kepzo Kozpont Ltd, Cranes Operations, Pecs, Hungary
2020 Project Management Institute, Introduction to Project Management, Darmstadt, Germany
2016NASA GSFC Space Weather REDI Bootcamp, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
2013 CSC Scientific Software Development, Espoo, Finland
2012 MathWorks Object Oriented Programming in MATLAB, Helsinki, Finland
2010 CSC Introduction to parallel programming and MPI, Helsinki, Finland

RELATED EXPERIENCE, SERVICE

2019Opponent of PhD defence, Name: Mrs. Melinda Dósa, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary, topic: ”Long-term longitudinal recurrences of the open magnetic flux density in the heliosphere”
2018 - 2020Team member, ISSI-BJ ”Dayside Transient Phenomena and Their Impact on the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere” (international team), PI: Hui Zhang, Co-I: Quigang Zong
2018Chair, ESA Space Situational Awareness Space Weather Service Network Thematic Workshop, Frankfurt, Germany, October 15-17, 2018
2018Co-Convener, Section ST3.2/2.12, Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling: New Phenomenological Insights from Data, Models and Theory, EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, April 8-13, 2018
2017Co-Convener, Section ST4.1, Geomagnetic Physics, Model Validation, and European Commission Funded Projects for Space Sciences, EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, April 23-28, 2017
2017Co-Convener, Section ST2.4, Magnetospheric Response to Transient Solar Wind Phenomena, EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, April 23-28, 2017
2012Chair, 1rst ECLAT Scientific Workshop, Helsinki, Finland, October 22-24, 2012
2021 -Curator, Hello Cosmos Foundation, Budapest, Hungary
2016 - Editorial Board Member, SCIREA Journal of Geosciences, International Journal of Aeronautical and Astronautical Science and Technology, International Journal of Fluid Mechanics - Thermal Sciences
2010 -Reviewer for Science, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Geophysical Research, Space Weather, Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, Central European Journal of Physics and National Science Foundation (USA)

RESEARCH GRANTS, AWARDS

2017AGU Travel Grant for the AGU Chapman Conference, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, PI
2017EUHUNPKT Grant of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for establishing International Space Science Institute Team and collaboration with the Aalto University, Espoo, Finland, PI
2014Postdoctoral Fellowship of the Postdoctoral Research Programme of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, as supervisor of Dr. Chandrasekhar Reddy Anekallu
2008 - 2013OTKA Grant K75640 of the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund: “Study of non-linear and pulsation magnetohydrodynamical processes in the near-Earth region by the aid of geomagnetic and in-situ satellite magnetic records”, Co-Investigator/Senior Scientist, PI: P. Kovacs (MFGI, Budapest, Hungary)
2002 - 2005Young Researcher Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
2005Certificate, by: European Space Agency, Achievement: ”In recognition of your outstanding contribution made to Cluster's exploration of Geospace”

TEACHING, SUPERVISION, OUTREACH

2017 - 2018MSc lecture (Introduction to LaTeX), University of Sopron, Institute of Informatics and Economics, Sopron, Hungary (Fall Semester)
2017 - 2018MSc lecture (Data process and analysis methods of spacecraft measurements), Eotvos Lorand University, Faculty of Science, Budapest, Hungary (Spring Semester)
2002 - 2008Laboratory exercise (Cluster data analysis), Nuclear-, Particle- and Astrophysics Advanced Laboratory, Eotvos Lorand University, Faculty of Science, Budapest, Hungary (Fall Semester)
2002 - 2008Space Plasma Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, Budapest, Hungary (Spring Semester)
2018 - 2020Supervision of Young Graduate Trainee, Name: Ms. Sophie Burley, European Space Agency Darmstadt, Germany, topic: Validation of Space Weather forecast methods
2017Supervision of Summer MSc trainee, Name: Ms. Krisztina Varga, University of Sopron, Sopron, Hungary, topic: Spacecraft data analysis, Java programming
2017Supervision of Summer MSc trainee, Name: Mr. F. Ferdinand Weisz, University of Sopron, Sopron, Hungary, topic: Spacecraft orbit visualization tools, PhP, Java programming
2017Supervision of MSc thesis, Name: Mr. F. Ferdinand Weisz, University of Sopron, Sopron, Hungary, topic: homepage development, PhP and SQL programming (Spring Semester)
2016Supervision of MSc thesis, Name: Mr. F. Ferdinand Weisz, University of Western Hungary, Sopron, Hungary, topic: homepage development, PhP and SQL programming (Fall Semester)
2016Supervision of MSc thesis, Name: Mr. Tamas B. Balogh, University of Western Hungary, Sopron, Hungary, topic: Spacecraft data analysis, Java programming (Fall Semester)
2016Supervision of Summer MSc trainee, Name: Mr. Tamas B. Balogh, University of Western Hungary, Sopron, Hungary, topic: Spacecraft data analysis, Java programming
2007Supervision of Summer MSc trainee, Name: Mr. Ray Fitzgerald, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland, Supervisor: Prof. Susan McKenna-Lawlor, topic: IDL programming
2007 - 2008Demonstrator, Urania Public Observatory, Budapest, Hungary
1990 - 1998Demonstrator, Public Observatory, Baja, Hungary

MEMBERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATIONS

2016 -Public Body of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, XI. Section of Physical Sciences Committee of Astronomy and Space Science
2013 - 2018American Geophysical Union
2006 - 2018European Geophysical Union
1993 - 2019Hungarian Astronomical Association
1994 - Hungarian Astronautical Association

Last modified by Gabor FACSKO on September 1, 2022