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Many moons before Harlan Spence became the director for the UNH , his father, an amateur astronomer, instilled in Spence a curiosity and excitement about the universe. This was the era of the Space Race between the U.S.听and the Soviet Union, and space exploration was on everyone鈥檚 minds, televisions and airwaves; it was especially captivating for Spence during his youth.听

And to top it all off, his high school mascot was 鈥� drumroll, please 鈥� a rocket, 鈥渟o you could say rockets have been in my blood for a very long time,鈥澨齋pence says.听

Now, with 11 NASA space missions under his belt, more than 450 publications and 10 Ph.D. 鈥渙ffspring,鈥澨齋pence is quite pleased that he switched from being a trumpet major in college to an astronomy and physics major instead.听

鈥淪pace exploration has such an appeal to it, because you can build a novel instrument, send it into space, take measurements that no one has ever taken before, and then conduct science and make discoveries about the cosmos with the data,鈥� Spence explains. 鈥淯ltimately, I find that very satisfying.鈥澨�

Spence arrived on the UNH scene in 2010 to serve as both a physics faculty member and the director of EOS. As he steps down from his role as director, Spence reflects on the cycles of research funding 鈥� growth and contractions alike 鈥� he鈥檚 witnessed, noting that the institute鈥檚 researchers have been resilient through it all, always looking forward and pushing ahead, driven by passion for science and how it helps improve the world.听

Spence led EOS with 鈥渁 steady, guiding hand without any pressure on the institute,鈥� recalls longtime colleague Eberhard Moebius, professor emeritus of physics. Moebius notes that UNH attained its Carnegie Classification R1 status in 2019 largely due to the enormous research portfolio of EOS with Spence at the helm. Also under Spence鈥檚 leadership, UNH engaged in a joint venture with the Southwest Research Institute, which added stability and continuity for UNH鈥檚 space science efforts. Spence was instrumental in helping to increase the reach and expand the portfolio of UNH space science 鈥� particularly in heliophysics, which is the study of the sun and its influence on our solar system.听

As Spence now transitions away from his role as EOS director, he reflects on what makes the institute truly unique: It is interdisciplinary to its very core.听

Many of the problems faced by humanity 鈥� the 鈥済rand challenges of our time,鈥� as Spence puts it 鈥� require scientists from multiple disciplines to come together to achieve progress. Some of the most interesting science can languish in the gaps between, say,听space science and Earth science. EOS deliberately combines researchers across silos to tackle those grand challenges.听

And although research is baked into the ethos of EOS, Spence says that training students is really a true joy for the institute鈥檚 researchers 鈥� a pole star that guides them. 鈥淲e take student education very seriously, not only through classroom learning, but also with lab and field work experience, plus real-world training,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e tried to make sure EOS is doing its job to serve students through experiential learning as much as to achieve research excellence here.鈥澨�

Spence is now turning his attention to leading , a NASA-funded endeavor he calls 鈥渁n audacious and awesome mission concept鈥� to study space plasma turbulence from the sun. It鈥檚 UNH鈥檚 largest research award to date, clocking in at over $250 million, but the real story is the science behind the mission.听

Like a murmuration of starlings moving in a synchronized, shape-shifting pattern in the sky, HelioSwarm鈥檚 eight small spacecraft (the 鈥渘odes鈥�) and one larger spacecraft (the 鈥渉ub鈥�) will co-orbit听in slightly different locations with ever-changing separations between one another (鈥渢he swarm鈥�). As they move around, they鈥檒l monitor space plasma turbulence to reveal for the first time how these variations look inthree dimensions and how听they evolve.听

This mission leverages UNH鈥檚 legacy in scientific instrument development for its sounding rocket program and orbital science missions.听

Spence frequently refers to EOS researchers as embodying 鈥渞esearch excellence,鈥� but his colleagues are quick to point out he leads by example.听

鈥淗arlan has been a remarkable director of EOS,鈥� says Larry Mayer, director for the . 鈥淗e has led EOS with boldness, gentleness and good cheer. He consistently fought to see the value of research and researchers better recognized by the university and led by example,听as despite his many administrative responsibilities, he continued (and will continue) to do world-class research.鈥澨�