Rate My Professor David Miles

David Miles is the F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Iowa, where his work centers on Space Science. As an experimental space physicist, he specializes in the development of next-generation spaceflight magnetic field instruments, particularly miniature fluxgate magnetometers suited for nanosatellites and multi-point measurement constellations. His research interests encompass space weather, solar-terrestrial physics, auroral dynamics, and magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. Miles directs the Miles Research Lab, which advances magnetic field measurements essential for space science and space weather applications, including restoring U.S. capability for high-fidelity fluxgate cores under NASA sponsorship. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in computer engineering from the University of Victoria, a Master of Science in physics from the University of Alberta, and a PhD in geophysics from the University of Alberta. Following a decade as a professional researcher at the University of Alberta, he joined The University of Iowa in 2017 as an assistant professor, advancing to associate professor and serving as Deputy Director of Research Operations.

Miles serves as principal investigator for NASA's Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission, featuring two satellites launched on July 23, 2025, to investigate solar energy, mass, and momentum transfer to near-Earth space. He leads the magnetic field instrument on the Cassiope/e-POP spacecraft, now extended as Swarm-Echo by the European Space Agency, and was instrument principal investigator for the digital fluxgate magnetometer on the Ex-Alta-1 CubeSat. His lab has supplied fluxgate magnetometers for sounding rockets including ICI-4, ICI-5, Maxidusty-1b, and ACES-II, alongside contributions to ICI-5bis and the student-led OCHRE mission. Miles' publications have garnered over 749 citations. Notable works include "Swarm in situ observations of F region polar cap patches created by cusp precipitation" (Geophysical Research Letters, 2015), "The CASSIOPE/e-POP magnetic field instrument (MGF)" (Space Science Reviews, 2015), "A miniature, low-power scientific fluxgate magnetometer: A stepping-stone to cube-satellite constellation missions" (Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2016), and "Alfvénic dynamics and fine structuring of discrete auroral arcs: Swarm and e-POP observations" (Geophysical Research Letters, 2018). His leadership in instrumentation and missions enhances understanding of magnetospheric processes and supports space weather prediction.