MPS-Ascend: High Altitude Filament Formation and Propagation

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。Jessica Peña被授予NSF数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金，以开展一项与扩大STEM中代表性不足的群体的参与相关的研究和活动。与Jessica Peña的这笔奖学金支持一项名为“MPS-Ascend：高海拔细丝形成和传播”的研究项目，该项目由一名赞助科学家指导。该奖学金的主办机构是中佛罗里达大学，赞助科学家是马丁·理查森博士。具有足够峰值功率的超短脉冲激光可以形成被称为灯丝的自引导光学结构，通过形成等离子体通道，这种结构可以在地球大气层中投射出超过千米尺度的高强度。Peña将定义不同大气压力和条件下的非线性或细丝形成区域，并描述细丝特性如何受环境因素影响。Peña将成为学生的导师，并与中佛罗里达大学的研究和导师计划(RAMP)、美国物理学会桥梁计划和全国范围内的GEM奖学金计划合作，从代表性不足的群体中招募和指导学生。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会地球科学局大气和地球空间科学部共同资助。这一奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Jessica Peña is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to conduct a program of research and activities related to broadening participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Jessica Peña supports a research project entitled "MPS-Ascend: High Altitude Filament Formation and Propagation", under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The host institution for the fellowship is the University of Central Florida and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Martin Richardson. Ultra-short pulse lasers with sufficient peak power can form self-guiding optical structures called filaments that can project high intensities over kilometer-scale distances in the Earth’s atmosphere by forming plasma channels. Peña will define the nonlinear, or filamentation, regime for various atmospheric pressures and conditions as well as characterize how the filament properties are influenced by environmental factors. Peña will be a mentor to students, as well as work with the Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP) at the University of Central Florida, the American Physical Society Bridge program, and the GEM Fellowship program nationally to recruit and mentor students from underrepresented groups. This award is co-funded by the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences in the NSF Directorate for Geosciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.