BOONE, N.C. — Cade Tischer, a junior applied physics major from Cary, is the recipient of a 2024-25 North Carolina Space Grant. The funding will support field campaigns at the Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research Program (AppalAIR)'s facilities over the summer and upcoming academic year.
Funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the North Carolina Space Grant promotes, develops and supports aeronautics and space-related science, engineering and technology education and training in North Carolina. The program collaborates with NASA, industry partners and nonprofit organizations and state government agencies to conduct programs designed to equip the current and future aerospace workforce of North Carolina.
Tischer's project, advised by Department of Physics and Astronomy Professor Dr. James Sherman, is titled "Humidified Aerosol Light Scattering Measurements for Use as Input to Machine Learning Model to Predict Aerosol Liquid Water Content."
"I will focus on measurements of the humidity dependence of aerosol light scattering coefficient f(RH). The data that is taken will be used by collaborators at Georgia Tech to train a machine learning model to predict aerosol liquid water content," explained Tischer.
Tischer's findings will contribute to Dr. Sherman's ongoing project, titled "Applying Measurements, Models, and Machine Learning to Improve Parameterization of Aerosol Water Uptake and Cloud Condensation Nuclei in the Background Southeastern U.S.," which is funded by a three-year, $473,741 grant from the National Science Foundation.
"App State will host two field campaigns (summer and fall of this year) involving collaborators from NOAA and Georgia Tech. The goal is to use the comprehensive aerosol data sets from the NOAA and NASA sites at App State to train a machine learning model to predict water uptake by aerosols and their ability to serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), two parameters that are critical to improving the representation of aerosol-cloud interactions in climate models," said Sherman. "The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report identified aerosol-cloud interactions as the largest forcing uncertainty in climate models. Cade's work will involve measurements and analysis of aerosol scattering hygroscopic growth factor, which is an important measure of the ability of aerosols to grow under humid conditions. This affects their ability to serve as CCN and to scatter sunlight."
The North Carolina Space Grant provides one year of funds to supplement and enhance research, culminating in a final report and poster presentation at the North Carolina Space Grant Symposium in Spring 2025.
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About the Department of Physics and Astronomy
The Department of Physics and Astronomy’s curriculum has an applied nature that includes a core of fundamental physics courses and laboratory experiences. The department prepares graduates for a variety of scientific, teaching or engineering professions, as well as future educational endeavors. Learn more at https://physics.appstate.edu.
By Lauren Gibbs
May 14, 2024
BOONE, N.C.
Cade Tischer, a junior applied physics major from Cary, is the recipient of a 2024-25 North Carolina Space Grant. Photo submitted
Cade Tischer, a junior applied physics major from Cary, is the recipient of a 2024-25 North Carolina Space Grant. Photo submitted