Dr. Zhien Wang

Atmospheric Science Professor Receives
National Science Foundation CAREER Award

May 7, 2007 - Dr. Zhien Wang, Assistant Professor in the University of Wyoming College of Engineering Department of Atmospheric Science was recently awarded $587,206 over a five year period to develop new cloud and aerosol observation capabilities by combining multiple-sensor measurements from the University of Wyoming King Air. The CAREER Award, offered to Wang by the National Science Foundation, will include Perry Wechsler, Senior Research Scientist with the Department of Atmospheric Science as collaborator.

As the investigator of the project, Wang's research goal of this project is to advance the capabilities of UW King Air for cloud, aerosol, and water vapor observations through the development of two new airborne lidar systems coupled with the development of algorithms that combine multiple remote sensor measurements and in situ measurements. The main intellectual merit of this project lies in developing an advanced airborne observation platform, which will be capable of providing better measurements to study the aerosol direct and indirect effects, cloud microphysical processes, and even the land-atmosphere and air-sea interactions.

A similar airborne cloud observing package, combining lidar, radar, and radiometer measurements, may be available on the NASA ER-2 aircraft. However, this sensor package combined with the Wyoming King Air's in-situ probes makes it a very attractive and unique instrumentation suite for cloud microphysics observations. According to Wang, "this project will demonstrate expanded cloud observing capabilities of the King Air facility. This capability will prove vital for obtaining data relevant for improving our understanding of cloud characteristics and processes of our climate system."