When
Where
The Wyant College of Optical Sciences Student Journal club will be hosting its 1st meeting of the semester this Friday at 4:30pm MST in Meinel 307. There will be pizza (Vegan and Vegetarian Options Available) from Trident Pizza Pub and water/soda provided!
Presenter
Our presenter this week is a 4th year PhD Student, Clarissa DeLeon (She/Her). Clarissa began as a Ph.D. student at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences (UAWCOS) in Fall 2020, coming from Montana State University, where she majored in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Optics and Photonics. Now, she works with Professor Meredith Kupinski in the Polarization Lab with a research emphasis on environmental remote sensing. Specifically, she is researching the benefits of multiangle polarimetry in the ultraviolet for wildfire smoke detection. As a proud Latina, Clarissa hopes to become a professor and continue to advocate for Latinx representation in STEM. She is proud to be a part of the legacy of women in optics at UAWCOS. Clarissa plans to pay it forward as she establishes herself as a researcher and an optical engineer using polarization science and remote sensing for environmental and medical applications. Outside of school, she likes to crochet, cross-stitch, hike, and read. ¡Èchale ganas!
Title
"The Optics of Wildfire Smoke"
Abstract
Wildfires are not going away anytime soon. The National Interagency Fire Center has reported an annual increase in burned area of 800 km^2/yr. These wildfire events account for approximately one-third of the airborne particulate matter. This has a long-term impact on climate processes and human health. The subsequent damage to property and danger to human health have made wildfires a hot topic for research. This talk will provide an overview of how optics relates to the study of wildfire smoke ranging from instrumentation to retrievals of the smoke's optical properties.