The group has received some new funding to do exciting work with NASA – two projects were funded recently:

In “Sonic Anemometry on Stratospheric Balloons” we will design, manufacture, and test 3 revisions of a three axis sonic anemometer for operation on stratospheric balloons at altitudes up to 130,000 feet. This grant runs for 3 years.

In “Ultrasonic Measurement of Helium Abundance” we will work with our collaborators to demonstrate laboratory operation of an ultrasonic Helium abundance measurement in conditions relevant to the outer atmosphere of Saturn. The goal is to use ultrasonic measurements to determine He abundance in a H2 atmosphere using speed of sound and absorption spectroscopy. This is an exploratory project that runs for 1 year.