Past Science Seminars
October 7, 2026
Life at the fringes of habitability: Implications for early Earth and Mars
Brian Hynek
(LASP)
Abstract: I will discuss our ongoing work to understand the limits of life on our planet and what that means for Earth’s earliest life and the potential for past life on Mars. Microbes are extremely hardy,...
August 13, 2026
Polarimetry: From SmallSats to Next-Generation 30-Meter Class Telescopes
Dr. Ramya Anche
(University of Arizona)
Polarization observations provide a unique window into some of the most compelling problems in modern astrophysics — tracing magnetic fields and jet composition in AGN, assessing the degree of asymmetry in supernova explosions and characterizing their...
July 30, 2026
Lunar silicon cavity
Jun Ye
(JILA NIST, CU boulder)
Frequency-stabilized lasers are critical tools for fundamental physics and quantum technology. Achieving performance at the highest level requires detailed implementation and characterization of optical interferometry. Physical conditions at the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions are ideal for...
May 28, 2026
A Real-life Eye of SAURON? Prospects for Frequency Comb Sensing in Space
Prof. Greg Rieker
(CU Boulder)
Our laboratory has spent a decade adapting Nobel prize winning frequency comb laser technology to address emerging challenges at the forefront of climate, energy, and the environment. Frequency combs emit hundreds of thousands of distinct wavelengths...
May 14, 2026
Satellite Perspectives on Marine Clouds: Microphysics, Regimes, and Feedbacks
Ivy Tan
(CU Boulder)
Marine clouds represent the largest uncertainty in climate projections. Their complex microphysical properties and dynamical coupling with turbulence and the large-scale circulation make them particularly difficult to model. In this talk, I show how the accumulating record of...
May 7, 2026
Linking Formation and Composition of the Galilean Moons in the JUICE–Europa Clipper Era
Olivier Mousis
(SwRI, Boulder)
The exploration of the Jovian system is entering a transformative era. Since 2016, NASA’s Juno mission has revolutionized our view of Jupiter’s atmosphere, magnetosphere, and deep interior, and is now extending its reach through close flybys...
April 30, 2026
Transforming atmospheric and interior characterization of exoplanets in the JWST era and beyond
Matthew Nixon
(Arizona State University)
The study of exoplanetary systems holds the promise of helping humanity better understand its place in the universe. Measuring the chemical composition of exoplanets allows us to test formation and evolutionary hypotheses and to search for...
April 23, 2026
Mapping atmospheric chemistry using space-based and in-situ data
Dylan Millet
(University of Minnesota)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted into Earth’s atmosphere from ecosystems, wildfires, and human activity drive secondary pollutant formation, affect global biogeochemical cycling, and alter the atmosphere’s oxidizing capacity. Quantifying these effects lies at the heart of...
April 16, 2026
From Stratospheric Ozone to the Ocean: Signals Behind the Patterns
Peidong Wang
(Stanford University)
The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in the 1980s marked a major environmental concern and prompted global regulation of man-made ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) under the Montreal Protocol. Although Antarctic ozone has shown signs of recovery...
April 14, 2026
Bridging Scales in Cloud Microphysics from Observation to Simulation
Emily de Jong
(Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
Cloud microphysics—the processes governing droplets, ice, and aerosols at microscopic scales—remains a leading source of uncertainty in weather and climate predictions. These processes shape cloud structure, precipitation, and radiative feedbacks, yet they are neither resolvable in...
April 9, 2026
Take it from the Top: Atmospheric Escape, UV Remote Sensing, and the Evolution of Venus and Mars
Mike Chaffin
(LASP)
Our planetary neighbors hold important clues about the universal limits planetary evolution and atmospheric escape place on habitability. In my work, I take a whole-atmosphere approach to understanding how these objects have evolved, combining ab initio...
April 2, 2026
The Unexplored Dimensions of Earth’s Radiation Budget
Jake Gristey
(NOAA/CIRES)
Satellite measurements of Earth’s radiation budget (ERB) have uncovered profound mysteries within the Earth system, including a doubling of Earth’s energy imbalance over the last two decades and a sustained hemispheric albedo symmetry. In this seminar,...
March 26, 2026
The Thermospheric Gap and Inner-Geocorona Revealed through EUV Occultations
Ed Thiemann
(LASP)
In this seminar, I present recent results on the structure, variability and energetics of the far upper atmosphere found by the method of solar occultation, where atmospheric properties are inferred using sunlight as it passes through...
March 24, 2026
From Regional to Global: The Far-Reaching Impacts of Wildfires on the Atmosphere and Climate
Yaowei Li
( NOAA Postdoctoral Fellow, CalTech, MIT)
Wildfires are becoming increasingly frequent and intense in a warming climate, reversing decades of air quality improvements, as seen in the 2025 Los Angeles Fires and many other record-breaking events worldwide. Crucially, what burns locally doesn’t...
April 7, 2026
Bridging Observations and Hindcasts: Coordinated Approaches to Understanding and Predicting the Radiation Belts
Frances Staples
(LASP)
The dynamics of Earth’s radiation belts remain one of the central challenges in space weather research. Despite decades of satellite observations, predicting when and how the belts will intensify or decay remains difficult. This seminar will...
March 12, 2026
Clouds Across Worlds: Atmospheric Physics in the JWST Era
Caroline Morley
(University of Texas at Austin)
We have entered a new era of studying the physics of planetary atmospheres. Powered by new facilities like the James Webb Space Telescope and upcoming 30-meter class telescopes, we can observe exoplanet atmospheres in exquisite detail...
March 12, 2026
VIOLA: Vipa Instrument for Oxygen-Loaded Atmospheres
Dr. Surangkhana Rukdee
(Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)
Understanding the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres is key to identifying habitable worlds and potential biosignatures. Current instruments face challenges in detecting weak atmospheric signals from small-sized exoplanets due to telluric and stellar contamination, spectral overlap,...
February 5, 2026
The Critical Role of Observations in Advancing the Development and Validation of Solar Irradiance Models
Odele Coddington
(LASP)
Solar irradiance variability models supplement the measurement record by extrapolating the observations to broader spectral range and longer time periods than directly observed. Version 1 of the NASA-NOAA-LASP (NNL) solar irradiance variability models are observation-based models...
January 28, 2026
Physical processes in a space plasma-solid boundary layer: a numerical research approach and its application to 'Lunar Electrostatics'
Yohei Miyake
(Kobe University)
The vicinity of small bodies such as the Moon and asteroids, as well as artificial satellites, forms a “plasma-solid boundary layer” where space plasma and solid surfaces come into direct contact without the mediation of a...