Congratulations to Daniel Miller (613/UMBC) and Colten Peterson (613/UMBC), who both were promoted from Postdoctoral Research Associate to Assistant Research Scientist! 

Drs. Miller and Peterson work in NASA Goddard's Climate and Radiation Laboratory (Code 613) with a focus on remote sensing of clouds. We asked each of them to discuss their research, what inspires them, and how they spend their free time.

Daniel Miller:

"I work on both spectral and polarimetric remote sensing of liquid cloud droplet microphysics using NASA instruments like MODIS/VIIRS and, more recently, now the PACE mission. The shape of the cloud top droplet size distribution largely determines the radiative impact of clouds as well as their ability to grow large enough to transition to droplet sizes large enough to precipitate and modulate the water cycle.

I’m very excited about the ability of the PACE mission and specifically UMBC’s contributed instrument HARP2 to constrain the full droplet size distribution shape – something we haven’t been able to do until now at a satellite pixel level. (See image below.)

In my free time, I host a lot of community events (trivia, board game night, etc.) in my small Baltimore neighborhood of Union Square."

Photo: This is the PACE HARP2 “first-light” image showing cloudbows. The original caption reads: “Early images from PACE’s HARP2 polarimeter captured data on clouds over the west coast of South America on Mar. 11, 2024. The polarimetry data can be used to determine information about the cloud droplets that make up the cloudbow – a rainbow produced by sunlight reflected by cloud droplets instead of rain droplets. Scientists can learn how the clouds respond to man-made pollution and other aerosols and can measure the size of the cloud droplets with this polarimetry data. Credit: UMBC.”

Colten Peterson:

"My research involves spaceborne and airborne remote sensing of clouds, using a variety of techniques, and how cloud-radiation interactions influence Earth’s energy budget. I am involved in the development of cloud and radiation products for the NASA MODIS and VIIRS satellite instruments, and for the upcoming NASA decadal satellite mission, the Atmospheric Observing System (AOS). I am particularly interested in polar regions due to the challenges associated with characterizing polar clouds with remote sensing and determining the impacts of clouds on the polar surface energy balance. I recently participated in the 2024 NASA ARCSIX airborne campaign in Greenland, where I was responsible for planning science flights and developing cloud and radiation science products from airborne remote sensing imagery taken during the campaign.

Overall, my work interests me because I am passionate about understanding and safeguarding Earth. I find a deep meaning in supporting NASA satellite and airborne missions that aim to better understand the Earth, which is a major reason why I chose my career path.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time in nature, hanging out with my dog, rock climbing, and playing music."