Atmospheric and Space Science
The USU Department of Physics hosts an internationally recognized Atmospheric and Space Science program with national and international research collaborations. Instruments run by faculty span the globe, including locations in Utah, Antarctica, and the International Space Station. Our interdisciplinary approach brings together physics with engineering, chemistry, meteorology, and statistics to explore Earth’s atmosphere and near-space environment.
Research Activities
The USU-led NASA Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) provides an unprecedented look at atmospheric gravity waves (AGW) within the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system at altitudes from 50 to 500 km above Earth’s surface. AGW’s influence Earth’s atmospheric dynamics and affect critical global positioning systems. USU’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) built an Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper which, as of 2023, is now onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and actively acquiring data. A large team of research led by faculty in the Department of Physics lead efforts to process, analyze, and understand the massive amounts of data collected by this instrument. In addition to instruments on the ISS, the AWE team also leads the Antarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network (ANGWIN) which uses ground-based measurement capabilities at Earth’s south pole to better understand AGWs. Furthermore, Department of Physics hosts a state-of-the-art LIDAR system in-house along instruments at the nearby Bear Lake Observatory to study thermosphere dynamics.
Research Opportunities
Students participate in both experimental and theoretical projects. Experimental work includes instrument development and data analysis for rocket and satellite missions, as well as radar, lidar, optical, and magnetometer observations. Theoretical projects focus on modeling key processes in the mesosphere, thermosphere, and near-Earth plasma environment.
Faculty
Bela Fejer, Ludger Scherliess, Jan Sojka, Titus Yuan, Dominique Pautet, Yucheng Zhao
