The Solar MURI Project: Understanding Magnetic Eruptions on the Sun and their Interplanetary Consequences

The MURI-funded project, ``Understanding Magnetic Eruptions on the Sun and their Interplantary Consequences'', is a program of basic research into how the Sun's magnetic field can evolve in such a way as to result in coronal mass ejections and eruptive solar flares. The project involves roughly 25 scientists at 9 Universities. Activities funded through our MURI effort include: bhasic theoretical research on eruption mechanisms, the development of numerical MHD models, data analysis, the incorporation of real vector magnetic field measurements into solar MHD models, and the development of new instrumentation to measure magnetic fields in the solar corona. I will describe these activities in more detail, and show how efforts such as this MURI can be used to conduct focused, basic research in Solar Physics in such a way that the research is made clearly relevant to societal needs.