Enhancing Science Courses and Laboratories at a Women's College Using LIDAR

Agnes Scott College, Decatur GA

Investigators

Abstract

Physics(13) With previous support from NSF's Major Research Instrumentation award program, Agnes Scott College, in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, developed and built an eye-safe atmospheric laser radar (LIDAR) instrument that has been used by ASC undergraduates and faculty for research. Boundary layer aerosols, man-made plumes and contrails, tropospheric transport of smoke and dust, cloud physics and climatology, and stratospheric aerosol layer composition before and after a volcanic eruption are being studied by ASC students and faculty. With the present CCLI award, these individuals are making the device more "user friendly" and developing web-based curricular modules that enable its use across a broad spectrum of undergraduate physics and astronomy classes. The project is also developing an operator's manual for the instrument, refining MatLab-based software tools for data analysis, and developing an atmospheric measurements handbook. The assessment component of the project is focusing on best practices in attracting and retaining women in physics.