Rate My Professor Murray Sciffer

Dr. Murray Sciffer holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Newcastle, awarded in August 1998 for his thesis on magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere, and a Bachelor of Mathematics with Honours from the same university. Since 1991, he has been engaged in teaching at the University of Newcastle, starting as a casual tutor for undergraduate mathematics courses, covering most first- and second-year subjects during his PhD studies. From 1993 to 2002, Sciffer lectured in the 'science mathematics' open foundation enabling programs course. He then transitioned to lecturing in physics courses within the Open and International Foundation enabling programs from 2002 to 2008, with a brief interruption. Between 2007 and 2015, he was a full-time member of the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, where he taught and coordinated undergraduate mathematics and physics courses at the Callaghan and Ourimbah campuses for diverse student cohorts including teachers, medical radiation science, and nursing students. Currently, as Associate Lecturer in Pathways and Academic Learning Support within the Education and Innovation portfolio, he coordinates on-campus foundation-level introductory mathematics courses for the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre since July 2016. Additionally, Sciffer maintains a Postdoctoral Research Associate position with the Centre for Space Physics, funded by various ARC grants post-PhD, and co-supervises PhD students in physics and chemical engineering.

Sciffer's research specializes in mesospheric, thermospheric, ionospheric, and magnetospheric physics, developing mathematical models and computational simulations of the ionosphere's response to ultra-low frequency (ULF) Alfvén waves, their coupling with magnetospheric regions, and influences of magnetic field geometry and boundaries on wave propagation and space weather events like particle energization. His work integrates observational data from satellites, radars, and magnetometers for model validation. Key publications encompass "On the Estimation of Resonance Widths of Field Line Resonances Using Ground Magnetometer Data" (2022, with Warden et al.), "Numerical Investigations of Interhemispheric Asymmetry due to Ionospheric Conductance" (2020, Lysak et al.), "SuperDARN backscatter during intense geomagnetic storms" (2016, Currie et al.), "Remote sensing the plasmasphere, plasmapause, plumes and other features using ground-based magnetometers" (2014, Menk et al.), "Propagation of ULF waves through the ionosphere: Analytic solutions for oblique magnetic fields" (2002, with Waters), and early works such as "Quasi-static evolution in multiple arcades" (1996) and "Magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere" (1999). He has produced 79 conference outputs and collaborates on international projects modeling solar activity impacts.