PlasmaPy as an educational resource

POSTER

Abstract

As a software ecosystem, the PlasmaPy Project aims to incorporate a multitude of educational resources for the plasma community in addition to developing an open source Python package for plasma physics research. Potential educational resources include: 1) extensive documentation for diagnostic analysis tools that go beyond code function and aim to clearly explain how such diagnostics operate, 2) a suite of Jupyter notebooks that introduce plasma concepts using functionality from PlasmaPy, and 3) development of PlasmaPy-based code and tools for incorporation into undergraduate laboratory curricula. Many of these educational elements will be designed with an eye toward expanding the pipeline of students into plasma physics careers, with resources aimed at introducing students to both plasma concepts and software best practices at graduate, undergraduate and even high school levels. In this poster, we will discuss current capabilities and future plans for using PlasmaPy as an educational resource.

Authors

  • David Schaffner

    Bryn Mawr College

  • Erik Everson

    UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles

  • Dominik Stańczak

    University of Warsaw, Institute of Plasma Physics and Laser Microfusion, Warsaw, Poland

  • Steve Vincena

    University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA

  • B. Maruca

    University of Delaware

  • Nicholas Murphy

    Harvard University, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, CfA, SAO, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory