Dr. Timothy E. Eastman, senior scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (retired) has more than 40 years of experience in research and consulting in space physics, space science data systems, space weather, plasma applications, public outreach and education, and philosophy of science. This work included serving as a research scientist at Los Alamos National Lab, Branch Chief for the Magnetospheric Physics at NASA Headquarters, senior research scientist and faculty at both the University of Iowa and the University of Maryland, and Program Director for Magnetospheric Physics at the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Eastman discovered the Low-Latitude Boundary Layer (LLBL) of Earth’s magnetosphere (1976), and discovered gyro-phase bunched ions in space plasmas by analyzing energetic ion distribution functions near Earth’s bow shock (1981). The LLBL work, in particular, was further explored by two major multi-spacecraft missions – the Cluster spacecraft mission of the European Space Agency and NASA’s current Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. He has published over 100 research papers in space physics, philosophy, and related fields.

In addition to an extensive research career, Dr. Eastman provided key leadership of the nation’s research programs in space plasma physics while program manager at NASA Headquarters (1985-1988) and NSF (1991-1994). For such program leadership, he was co-developer of key foundations for major international and interagency projects, including the International Solar Terrestrial Physics program, the Interagency Space Weather Program, and the Basic Plasma Science and Engineering program. He created and maintains major Web sites for plasma science and applications at plasmas.org and plasmas.com, and is lead editor of a book in philosophy of physics entitled Physics and Whitehead, published in 2004 by SUNY Press. Dr. Eastman’s interest in philosophy and philosophy of science extends over three decades with several journal publications in philosophy in addition to the SUNY volume; further, he is on International Advisory Boards for Process Studies and Studia Whiteheadiana (Poland), was lead editor of Physics and Speculative Philosophy (2016, DeGruyter Press). His latest book is Untying the Gordian Knot: Process, Reality, and Context (Lexington Books, 2020).