Thomsen received an undergraduate degree from Colorado College in 1971.[1] She then earned an M.S. (1974)[2] and a Ph.D. (1977) in physics from the University of Iowa.[3] Her doctoral advisor, James Van Allen, recruited her right from her entrance exam to work on the data from Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 on the radiation belts of Jupiter and Saturn.[4][5] From 1977 until 1980 she remained at the University of Iowa as a postdoctoral scientist, and then left for the Max-Planck-Institut fur Aeronomie in Lindau, West Germany. In 1981 she joined Los Alamos National Laboratory.[2] As of 2019, she is a guest scientist at Los Alamos and a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute.[5]
Thomsen's early research was on the magnetospheres of Jupiter[6][7][8][9] and Saturn.[10][11] Her research on Earth's bow shock used the ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 satellites to track the behavior of high energy particles from the magnetosphere.[12][13] She has also studied the cavities upstream of Earth's bow shock,[14] the comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner,[15][16] and the physics of collisionless shocks.[17][18] As a co-investigator of the co-investigator of Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) program,[19] she used the Cassini–Huygens mission to research Saturn and its moons.[20][21]
Young, D. T.; Berthelier, J. J.; Blanc, M.; Burch, J. L.; Coates, A. J.; Goldstein, R.; Grande, M.; Hill, T. W.; Johnson, R. E.; Kelha, V.; Mccomas, D. J.; Sittler, E. C.; Svenes, K. R.; Szegö, K.; Tanskanen, P.; Ahola, K.; Anderson, D.; Bakshi, S.; Baragiola, R. A.; Barraclough, B. L.; Black, R. K.; Bolton, S.; Booker, T.; Bowman, R.; Casey, P.; Crary, F. J.; Delapp, D.; Dirks, G.; Eaker, N.; Funsten, H.; Furman, J. D.; Gosling, J. T.; Hannula, H.; Holmlund, C.; Huomo, H.; Illiano, J. M.; Jensen, P.; Johnson, M. A.; Linder, D. R.; Luntama, T.; Maurice, S.; Mccabe, K. P.; Mursula, K.; Narheim, B. T.; Nordholt, J. E.; Preece, A.; Rudzki, J.; Ruitberg, A.; Smith, K.; Szalai, S.; Thomsen, M. F.; Viherkanto, K.; Vilppola, J.; Vollmer, T.; Wahl, T. E.; Wüest, M.; Ylikorpi, T.; Zinsmeyer, C. (September 2004). "Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Investigation". Space Science Reviews. 114 (1–4): 1–112. Bibcode:2004SSRv..114....1Y. doi:10.1007/s11214-004-1406-4. S2CID125352558.
Feldman, W. C.; Anderson, R. C.; Bame, S. J.; Gary, S. P.; Gosling, J. T.; McComas, D. J.; Thomsen, M. F.; Paschmann, G.; Hoppe, M. M. (1983). "Electron velocity distributions near the Earth's bow shock". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 88 (A1): 96–110. Bibcode:1983JGR....88...96F. doi:10.1029/JA088iA01p00096.
Thomsen, M. F.; Reisenfeld, D. B.; Delapp, D. M.; Tokar, R. L.; Young, D. T.; Crary, F. J.; Sittler, E. C.; McGraw, M. A.; Williams, J. D. (2010). "Survey of ion plasma parameters in Saturn's magnetosphere". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 115 (A10): n/a. Bibcode:2010JGRA..11510220T. doi:10.1029/2010JA015267.
^Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the U. S. Department of. "Fellows Biographies". www.lanl.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-08.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)