April is Earth Month, and April 22 was Earth Day—an observance that is near and dear to me and drives so much of the motivation for our research at ASR. While the celebration is certainly not limited to one month of the year, Earth Month is an excellent opportunity to reflect on our appreciation of our planet’s resources and our commitment to deepening our understanding of its processes.
Advancing atmospheric science continues to be at the forefront of everything we do, and this edition of ASR News reflects our community’s work and accomplishments, including those of the University of Utah’s Jay Mace, co-principal investigator for the ASR-supported Cloud And Precipitation Experiment at kennaook (CAPE-k) campaign.
CAPE-k, which kicked off operations in Australia earlier this month, will study aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in the pristine marine low-cloud conditions found on the remote northwestern tip of Tasmania.
In this edition, we also have a short story about you: Tell us about your own science outreach to the public, such as local citizen groups, schools, etc. We want to share how the ASR community is making a broader societal impact beyond science journals and research projects.
Back in December, during the American Geophysical Union’s 2023 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, I had the pleasure of presenting “Building a Career in Science with Improv Comedy” at the popular science storytelling event, Ignite@AGU. In the uniquely formatted presentation (where I was challenged to present for five minutes with exactly 20 slides that automatically advance), I share my experience in improv comedy and how listening, play, and leaning-in techniques have shaped my professional journey. If you missed the presentation, you can check out the recording.
In closing, I’d like to remind you that spring also means it’s the time of year to think about progress reports and no-cost extensions. If your project is nearing its conclusion, please plan for final reports now. The Resources for ASR Scientists section of our website offers detailed information on project reporting.
As always, don’t hesitate to contact my co-program manager, Shaima Nasiri, and me with questions, concerns, or ideas. We want to hear from you!
# # #Author: Jeff Stehr, ASR Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, through the Biological and Environmental Research program as part of the Atmospheric System Research program.