Jonathan Friedman
Sr. Research Associate in Space and Atmospheric Sciences, AO
Dr. Jonathan Friedman is currently the Director of the Puerto Rico Photonics Institute as well as a Senior Research Associate in Space and Atmospheric Sciences at the Arecibo Observatory. He obtained his B.A. in Physics from Cornell University. He has a Ph.D. in Physics from Colorado State University. He has participated as a collaborative member of the CEDAR Rayleigh and Resonance Lidars Consortium Technology Center, developing high-resolution spectroscopic techniques and optical systems for lidar and has also done training and participation of Hispanic students, an underrepresented group in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.
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Abstract: The Puerto Rico Photonics Institute: Enhancing Remote Sensing Capabilities for Study of the Mesosphere and Thermosphere
The Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) has established the Puerto Rico Photonics Institute (PRPI) in their School of Environmental Studies graduate campus in Barceloneta, PR. Two focus areas of PRPI are remote sensing and aerospace photonics. These bring new possibilities to enhance the science capabilities of the Space and Atmospheric Sciences program at the Arecibo Observatory.
The primary area in Aerospace photonics is in laser gyroscopes. In addition to their uses in precision guidance systems, laser gyros are very sensitive sensors of rotation and acceleration. These characteristics lend themselves to the potential applications in atmospheric sensing and perhaps geodetics. PRPI will explore the design considerations for both, with the goals of specifying the size, weight, and power requirements for cubesat deployment, and the stability and sensitivity requirements for earth observations.
In remote sensing, PRPI will help Arecibo update its resonance lidar technology to extend metal observations into the thermosphere. There is fleeting, yet intriguing evidence of metal layer extensions as high as 150 km, and ionospheric measurements hint that these may be more common than previously believed, albeit at abundances well below current lidar sensitivity. PRPI will work with the CEDAR Lidar Consortium to develop and advance the technologies required to observe thermospheric Fe, and in so doing extend the science capabilities of resonance lidars.
PRPI is also leading a proposal to the NSF Partnerships for Innovation program to develop low-cost, mass-producible, ground-based Space Weather stations using optical and GPS sensors. The goal is to provide space weather models with continuous and broadly (globally) distributed data sources for information, validation, and prediction. Ultimately, it is hoped that the models can not only predict space weather events, but also give regional forecasts and with higher accuracy than can be done at this time.