A Personal Voyage Among Earth and Space Physics Disciplines

Abstract I have organized my thoughts in an autobiographical way in relation to the several distinct phases of my career encompassing Earth and space physics. I discuss atmospheric and space physics topics of interest to me in an international context, and I emphasize the value of community activities and international conferences for the interchange of ideas between colleagues. The uniting theme is solar‐terrestrial physics, which includes both observational and theoretical studies of the Earth's atmosphere, geospace, the ionosphere, magnetosphere and interplanetary space. This theme is a part of two broader topics, namely geophysics and Earth system science. To be in a position to make observations at a station which has a unique identifying feature and/or at a special time is especially advantageous. A major aspect of a career in Earth and space science is the requirement to publish papers describing the results of one's research in the refereed literature, to organize national and international conferences, to carry out committee work and organizational activities, and to write books and edit journals; here I discuss some highlights of my experiences. My main overall experience is that serendipity—and variety—play a large part in an interesting career in Earth and space science.