Amoré Elsje Nel

Applied Geomagnetic Researcher, South African National Space Agency
Amoré Nel attained her BSc in applied mathematics at the University of Stellenbosch and her BSc (Hons) in astrophysics at the University of the Free State. She was awarded the South African National Space Agency Masters Scholarship and attained her MSc at the North-West University studying near-Earth solar turbulence. She then attained her PhD in space physics in 2019, reporting on the discovery and analysis of a new type of aurora while on field work in Norway. She was also part of the 2018/2019 Antarctic take-over team doing routine maintenance on the scientific instrumentation at the South African Antarctic base.

Her postdoctoral work was at the Helmholtz GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (Potsdam, Germany) where the focus was on recording and analysing magnetometer observatory data, Southern African regional geomagnetic field models, and external geomagnetic field studies using joint satellite and ground based observatory data.

Her areas of interest have been studying near-Earth solar turbulence and the solar-cycle dependences of solar turbulence quantities, upper atmosphere studies using incoherent scatter radar and optical methods to investigate small scale auroras in Norway, and abrupt secular variation changes in Earth's geomagnetic field. She was nominated for the 2024 TWAS Award in Physics, Astronomy & Space Sciences and became co-investigator in the NASA-IMAP mission to study the interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium.

Currently she is the applied geomagnetic researcher at SANSA Space Science and aims to further pan-African geomagnetic research and innovation by deploying magnetometer stations near and adjacent to the magnetic equator in Kenya and Ethiopia respectively. She is passionate about promoting international cooperation in the field of space science and her aim is to create a strong link between the South African National Space Agency and the African space science community, enabling cross-training and knowledge sharing.