Howard University NASA URC BCCSO

03/18/2014

Dear Students:

Please review the attached flyer for an informal presentation on Friday, March 21, 2014, at 12:10 pm (in Room 104) by Mr. Bill Corso of USRA/GESTAR regarding exciting research internship opportunities at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Bill wants this to be an informal interactive information session with students, rather than a formal presentation. Talk to Bill directly regarding some opportunities that may be available also for permanent residents and non-U.S. citizens.

This is your opportunity to get engaged in cutting-edge research at NASA Goddard and get paid handsomely for it! Spread the word and show up!

Best wishes,

Prabhakar Misra
Professor & Interim Chair
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Howard University, Washington, DC 20059

02/25/2014

CONGRATULATIONS CHURCHILL!

BCCSO scholar, Churchill Okonkwo, successfully proposed his dissertation today, Tuesday, February 25, 2014. His dissertation is titled, " Characterization of the Relationship between West African Jet Streams and ENSO: Implications on Lake Chad level Variability.”

HU NASA URC PI Dr. Belay Demoz, as well as Howard University faculty members, Dr. Gregory Jenkins and Dr. Vernon Morris were among the committee members. We are extremely proud of Mr. Okonkwo’s research. He now holds all but dissertation status.

Abstract

The frequent severe drought in the Sahel region and the attendant socioeconomic consequences such as famine has led to a series of studies exploring the dynamics of the atmospheric variables that control precipitation in this region. Recently, the revised picture of West African monsoon is pointing to a diminished importance of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in controlling precipitation while emphasizing the role of African easterly jet (AEJ), tropical easterly jet (TEJ) and low-level westerlies. Despite these advances, there are still fundamental gaps in our understanding of the impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on West African jet streams. Also, the atmospheric circulation anomalies under combined warm phase of Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and ENSO have received little or no attention. At the basin scale, the droughts and rainfall fluctuations in this region have contributed to the decrease in the size and water levels of Lake Chad (LC). The problem is compounded by anthropogenic pressure on water resources. It is thus imperative to examine these climatic-anthropogenic drivers of LC level variability.

The proposed methodologies for addressing this environmental concern are therefore interdisciplinary. A combination of space-based data products (e.g. eMODIS-NDVI, GPCP, TRMM and RFE), ERA-Interim and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis outputs and footprint from biomass burning will be used in the study. Geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis tool will be used to characterize the spatial distribution of rainfall and drought indices at basin scale. A multi-scale wavelet covariance analysis of the stochastic association between the time series of ENSO-wind and ENSO-LC hydrologic variables will be conducted using IDL and MATLAB tools. The underlying physical mechanisms will be diagnosed by characterizing the atmospheric conditions anomalies under 2 strong ENSO events - 1982/83 vs. 1997/98 - (but different drought impact) and strong 1974/76 La Nina events. Finally, practical policy options will be presented based on the knowledge of the driving forces of LC variability.

02/12/2014

The Research Day 2014 abstract submission deadline has been extended to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16. Research Day is open to all faculty and students. COAS students should complete and submit their signed mentorship form by Feb. 14, to their respective Dean's office. For more information, please visit the Research Day website:http://huresearchday.com/.

Howard University Research Day celebrates the breadth of research being conducted across the University. In this spirit, our students and faculty will be exhibiting poster and oral presentations in the following categories: Biological & Biomedical Sciences Business Computation & Modeling Creative Ar...

02/04/2014

How Air Pollution Destroys Floral Scents Necessary for Pollination

Please join Dr. Jose Fuentes, BCCSO collaborator and sub award recipient, for a discussion on the changing environment this Thursday, February 6, 2014 at American Geophysical Union. The event is being sponsored by The Rotaract Club of Washington, DC. Details are below:

Location: American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue NW WDC

Date: February 6, 2014

Time: 6:30 PM-7:30 PM

RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/rotaractdc/events/144928802/

01/15/2014

Black Colleges Leading Climate Change Advocacy

"Howard University’s Weather and Climate Group is a key support system for the National Weather Service, providing research and data gathering to assist in improving forecast accuracy and storm tracking for the nation. The group is a part of a partnership between Howard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, community development and professional networking in environmental science areas."

To read the entire article by Jarrett Carter, please visit
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/hbcus-climate-change_n_4591695.html

Weather monitoring satellites, hurricane tracking, atmospheric assessment, climate advocacy. Many Americans would normally associate these terms with federal research from NASA or the National Science Foundation.

01/14/2014

2014 NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP)
June 15 - August 8, 2014

The NASA Airborne Science Program invites highly motivated advanced undergraduates to apply for participation in the NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP 2014). SARP provides students with hands-on research experience in all aspects of a major scientific campaign, from detailed planning on how to achieve mission objectives to formal presentation of results and conclusions to peers and others.

Participants will fly onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft where they will assist in the operation of instruments to sample and measure atmospheric gases and to image land and water surfaces in multiple spectral bands. Along with airborne data collection, students will participate in taking measurements at field sites. Students will work in multi-disciplinary teams to study surface, atmospheric, and oceanographic processes. Each student will develop his/her own individual research project. Many students have gone on to present their results at conferences such as AGU, AMS, and ASLO.

Instrument and flight preparations, and the research flights themselves, will take place at NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, in Palmdale, CA. Post-flight data analysis and interpretation will take place at the University of California, Irvine. Applicants must have a strong academic background in any of the physical, chemical, or biological sciences, or engineering and an interest in applying their background to the study of the Earth system. We especially encourage applications from students majoring in Earth, environmental or atmospheric sciences and related disciplines.

SARP participants will receive round-trip travel to California, housing and transportation during the 8-week program, a $3000 stipend and a $2500 meals allowance.

The deadline for all applications is Feb. 7, 2014.
Applicants must be US citizens currently enrolled in a four-year college or university. Preference in admission will be given to current undergraduate juniors (rising seniors in summer 2014).

For more information and to download the program application, visit:
http://www.nserc.und.edu/sarp/sarp-2014/

To watch a video about the program, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjRYmVKbqSw

The NASA Airborne Science Program invites highly motivated advanced undergraduates to apply for participation in the NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP 2014). The purpose of the Student Airborne Research Program is to provide students with hands-on research experience in all aspects of a…

12/16/2013

BCCSO scholar Megan Payne attended the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting which took place 9-13 December in San Francisco, California.

Ms. Payne (pictured here) successfully presented her research this past Friday, December 13th entitled: “Meterological influences on particle growth events in Beltsville, MD during July 2011.”

12/16/2013

Cassie Stearns is a PhD student in candidacy and BCCSO scholar who attended the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting which took place 9-13 December in San Francisco, California.

This past Friday, Ms. Stearns (pictured here) gave a research presentation entitled: “Locations of Warm Season High Precipitation Relative to Urban Areas in the Baltimore, MD-Washington, DC Region, 2006-2010.”

12/09/2013

BCCSO Scholars Attend 2013 AGU Conference

Three BCCSO scholars, Churchill Okonkwo, Megan Payne, and Cassie Stearns, are currently attending and presenting research at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting taking place 9-13 December in San Francisco, California.

Mr. Okonkwo (pictured here) is presenting his research today entitled: “On the relationships between Sahel precipitation, SST teleconnections and jet streams: a wavelet analysis.”

12/03/2013

Howard University students, including NASA Student Ambassador Raul Garcia-Sanchez and former BCCSO intern Ajamu Abdullah, were at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston to conduct experiments aboard the reduced gravity aircraft Nov. 12-13.

HU Press reports, “The Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program (RGEFP) gives undergraduate students the opportunity to design, build and fly experiments in reduced gravity. The teams have been working with NASA scientists and engineers to develop experiments based on current NASA research. Students and their NASA mentors performed these experiments aboard a microgravity aircraft. The aircraft produces periods of weightlessness for up to 25 seconds at a time by executing a series of approximately 30 roller coaster-like parabolas over the Gulf of Mexico. During the free falls, students gathered data in the unique environment that mimics space.”

http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/2013122HowardUniversityStudentsPrepareforFlightAboardNASAsReducedGravityAircraft.html

11/20/2013

NCAR's -ACD Diversity Fund Proposal is delighted to sponsor Dr. Gabriele Pfister's visit to Howard University.

Dr. Pfister's research interest is studying the atmospheric composition of the troposphere using satellite and in situ observations with regional and global atmospheric models. For more information about Dr. Pfister's research please go to: http://acd.ucar.edu/~pfister/

Events:

Thursday -- November 21, 2013 -- Howard University Beltsville Campus, Beltsville, Maryland

•10:30 am - 1:00 pm: Dr. Pfister meets with students and talks about their interests and research. A small tour is scheduled and refreshments will be served.

Please make an appointment to meet individually with Dr. Pfister at the HU- Beltsville Campus on Thursday November 21, 2013 with Megan Payne.

Friday -- November 22, 2013 -- Howard University Main Campus, Physics Department, Thirkield Hall, Room 103

•11:30 am - 12:30 pm: SEMINAR -- Dr. Pfister will give a presentation titled: Predication of future North American Air Quality

•12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: WORKSHOP -- Dr. Pfister will give a workshop and be able to meet one-on-one with students.

** Light refreshments will be served

All events are open to the general public.

For more information, please contact Coordinator Tamil Maldonado-Vega:
[email protected] / (787) 914-9554

Howard University Faculty Collaborators:
Dr. Belay Demoz / Dr. William Stockwell

Student Collaborators:
Megan Payne, Mayra Oyola, Karretta Venable

My general research is in studying the composition of the troposphere using satellite and in-situ observations (e.g. aircraft and ground-based measurements taken during field campaigns) in conjunction with regional and global atmospheric models. I am addressing the link between local pollution proce...

11/18/2013

HUPAS Director, Dr. Everette Joseph and PhD Candidate Mayra Oyola, set up instrumentation on top of the mobile lab as the AEROSE IX campaign goes underway.