MPS-Ascend: High Altitude Filament Formation and Propagation

该奖项的全部或部分资金根据《2021 年美国救援计划法案》（公法 117-2）提供。 杰西卡·佩纳 (Jessica Peña) 获得美国国家科学基金会 (NSF) 数学和物理科学提升博士后研究奖学金，用于开展一项与扩大 STEM 代表性不足群体的参与相关的研究和活动计划。 杰西卡·佩纳 (Jessica Peña) 的这项奖学金支持在赞助科学家的指导下题为“MPS-Ascend：高海拔细丝形成和传播”的研究项目。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器可以形成称为灯丝的自引导光学结构，通过形成等离子体通道，可以在地球大气层中以千米级距离投射高强度。 佩尼亚将定义各种大气压力和条件下的非线性或丝化机制，并描述环境因素如何影响丝的性能。 佩尼亚将担任学生导师，并与中佛罗里达大学的研究和指导计划 (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，招募和指导来自代表性不足群体的学生。该奖项由 NSF 地球科学理事会大气与地球空间科学部共同资助。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.