2025 Space Weather Workshop

March 17, 2025 marked the beginning of the annual Space Weather Workshop (SWW) event in Boulder, Colorado, of which CPAESS has the honor of managing. This workshop brings together industry, academia, and government agencies for a dynamic exchange on space weather. What began in 1996 as a forum for the space weather user community has grown into the nation's premier event dedicated to all aspects of space weather. The theme for 2025 was "Guiding the Future: Integrating Heliophysics Insights and User Needs."

This forum leads collaboration and knowledge-sharing among space weather users, forecasters, and researchers across commercial, academic, international, and government sectors. Enthusiasm for this year’s event is reflected in strong registrations and a robust agenda.

This conference has been continually gaining traction since its inception and the 534 registered attendees: 396 in person and 138 virtual was no exception. There were 112 oral prsentations including 23 poster lightning talks, as well as 132 research poster of which 41 were online. The Space Weather Workshop attracts a wonderful international crowd, as what the Sun is up to is of concern to the whole planet. This year 27 nations were represented. Additionally, this workshop is an important educational experience for students. This year there were 66 students in attendance, 23 were virtual; and 86 early career scientists attended. These students were provided with both speed mentoring and workforce development sessions. There were 35 session co-chairs. The conference also included a tour of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, CO.

Attendees listened to expert talks from around the world, student programs, international discussions, side meetings, a banquet with a distinguished speaker, and a record number of posters. The agenda was robust and included from diverse speakers such as Clinton Wallace and Howard Singer, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC); Sara Housseal, USAF 557th Weather Wing, 2nd Weather Squadron; Robyn Millan, Dartmouth College; Stephen Fuselier, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI); Christina Cohen, California Institute of Technology; and Mark Moldwin, University of Michigan to name a handful. Talks were presented on issues like “Building Resilience: Agency and Industry Approaches to Space Weather Policy Implementation,” the “Decadal Survey: Panel on Space Weather Science and Applications,” “Space Weather Storms and Their Impact on LEO Satellites: Protection, Preparedness, and Response,” “Importance of Solar Cycle Prediction During Spacecraft Design” and much more. The discussions were lively and collaboration ongoing.

This event explored the wide-ranging impacts of space weather on modern technology, with a program that highlights effects on communications, navigation, spacecraft operations, human space exploration, aviation, space traffic coordination, and electric power systems. Discussions focused on the most pressing needs for operational services, guiding future research, and the development of new high-value capabilities for real-world applications. The workshop served as a vital platform for fostering collaboration among researchers, space weather service providers, and end users.