Dr. Jeffrey Thayer

My research program is rooted in studying the aerospace environment of our Earth’s atmosphere and geospace environment – that region of space strongly influenced by earth’s gravitational and magnetic fields. I specialize in geophysical fluid dynamics, gas and plasma interactions, thermodynamics, and electrodynamics applied to the upper atmosphere (above 10 km altitude) and geospace. This field of research has increased over the years as our society rapidly becomes more dependent economically and socially on access to space and space assets. Understanding the upper atmosphere and geospace environment is critical for our “space” society and indications are that this field will continue to grow. I also specialize in active remote sensing techniques employing engineering concepts to design, develop, deploy and apply laser radars (lidars) to upper atmosphere studies and apply radar techniques to geospace studies. The active remote sensing techniques engage engineering concepts and solutions with an acute understanding of the scientific purpose. This effectively bridges and balances engineering concerns with scientific expectations. Remote sensing is also a rapidly developing field with broad applications.