NSF Grant Awarded to Scranton Physics Professor
Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., (far right) associate professor of physics and engineering at The University of Scranton, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $119,927 to investigate “Effects of Ionospheric Density Irregularities on High-Frequency Radio Wave Propagation.” He will work with Kornyanat Kukkai Hozumi, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research associate with The University of Scranton (third from left), and Eun-Hwa Kim, Ph.D., principal research physicist at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and physics research professor at Andrews University (second from left). Pictured on the far left is Mary Lou West, Ph.D., Columbia University and Professor Emerita of Mathematical Sciences at Montclair State University.Relatively recent advances in computational computer analysis have made possible sophisticated modeling concepts related to the Earth’s atmosphere and its interactions with electromagnetic waves. At the same time, worldwide data on the Earth’s ionosphere collected by a network of amateur ham radio operators developed by a University of Scranton physics and engineering professor provides a unique opportunity to test some of these advanced modeling theories.
A research project to validate space plasma models and effects on ground high frequency (HF) communication developed through the studies of Eun-Hwa Kim, Ph.D., principal research physicist at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and physics research professor at Andrews University, will do just that.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a nearly $120,000 collaborative grant to Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., associate professor physics and engineering at Scranton, to be part of a research project led by Dr. Kim. The project encompasses data collected on the ionosphere by the HamSCI network of ham amateur radio citizen scientists organized by Dr. Frissell to validate the effects of space plasma irregularities on ground HF communications developed through Dr. Kim’s research.
Kornyanat Kukkai Hozumi, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research associate with The University of Scranton whose area of specialty is the Earth’s Equatorial Plasma Bubbles (EPB) and radio wave propagation, will work with Dr. Frissell and Dr. Kim and her team on this project.
“The EPB is an irregularity in the magnetic lower latitude region of the ionosphere. The nighttime phenomenon often occurs in the ionospheric region over both land and ocean” said Dr. Hozumi, who noted this project will also look at the effect on ground HF communications related to polar cap patches, which are irregularities in the ionosphere in the polar region.
“The research project will compare simulation results of the way high-frequency waves react to these irregularities from the EPB and polar cap models with the real-world data collected by the HamSCI network in these hard-to-reach areas of the world,” said Dr. Hozumi.
The HamSCI network, developed by Dr. Frissell and supported by multiple six- and seven-figure grants from NSF, NASA and other organizations, is a worldwide group of licensed amateur radio operators who gather data to measure the effects of weather in the ionosphere.
“The data collected by this network over the past several years spans the ocean and other parts of the globe, such as the polar regions, where it is difficult to install equipment able to capture these modulations in the ionosphere,” said Dr. Hozumi, who also noted that the HamSCI data gathered is openly shared with the public.
“The data creates a high potential for study of the plasma bubble and polar regions,” said Dr. Hozumi.
Dr. Hozumi earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand, and her Ph.D. from Kyoto University in Japan. Before becoming a post-doctoral research associate with Scranton, she worked as a researcher at the Space Environment Laboratory, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan.
Dr. Frissell will serve as The University of Scranton institutional lead principal investigator for the collaborative grant, which is part of the NSF’s Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) research and is titled “Effects of Ionospheric Density Irregularities on High-Frequency Radio Wave Propagation.”
Dr. Frissell joined the faculty at Scranton in 2019. A space physicist, Dr. Frissell’s research focuses on the ionosphere. Through numerous grants he has received in the past five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, the Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) foundation and other organizations, Dr. Frissell, physics and engineering faculty and students, as well as community volunteers, have been involved in numerous space research projects, including one of just five projects selected by NASA’s Citizen Science Investigations to study the effects of the total solar eclipse on the earth’s ionosphere. Most recently, he was awarded a $1.8 million NSF grant to further develop the scientific measuring capabilities for data collection of the HamSCI network.
Grants have also supported the development of state-of-the-art amateur radio station W3USR on the fifth floor of the Loyola Science Center on The University of Scranton’s campus.
Dr. Frissell earned his bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University and his master’s degree and doctorate from Virginia Tech.
