Principal Investigator

Dr. Xian lu

Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Clemson University

Office Location: 302A Kinard Laboratory
Office Phone: (864) 656-4204
Fax: (864) 656-0805
Email: xianl@clemson.edu
Curriculum Vita

Dr. Lu’s research focuses on the study of the atmospheric wave dynamics and coupling (including gravity waves, planetary waves and tides), and the neutral-plasma coupling in the Atmosphere-Magnesosphere-Ionosphere (AIM) system. She has extensive research experiences of analyzing the observational data from the satellite measurements as well as from the ground-based instruments such as lidar, airglow imager, meteor radar, and radiosonde. She also has the rich experiences of applying the assimilation data from MERRA and ECMWF for the wave studies. Her modeling experiences include developing a mechanistic model to study the planetary waves in Antarctica, and working with several general circulation models for the studies of wave dynamics and AIM coupling, which include the CTIPe, WACCM, and WAM. Dr. Lu is a PI and Co-I of several projects funded by NSF and NASA. She has been frequently serving as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journal papers and science proposals. She has extensive and successful experiences of advising graduate and undergraduate students in the atmospheric and space science studies.

Professional Experience:

  • Clemson University, 2016-, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
  • University of Colorado Boulder, 2012–16, Research Scientist & Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow (1 yr)
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2011–12, Postdoctoral Researcher
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006–11, Graduate Research Assistant
  • High Altitude Observatory (HAO), NCAR, 2010–11, Graduate Student Visitor

Research Interests:

  • Atmospheric wave dynamics including gravity waves, planetary waves and tides.
  • Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere coupling and space weather.
  • Data analysis and numerical modeling of atmospheric dynamics and space weather.
  • Lidar remote sensing technology.

Graduate Student

Haonan Wu

Graduate Student of Physics and Astronomy
Clemson University

Office Location: 310 Kinard Laboratory
Email: haonanw@g.clemson.edu

Mr. Haonan Wu graduated from University of Science and Technology of China and obtained his BS degree in Space Physics in 2017. He joined Clemson University in the Fall 2017. Haonan is working on atmospheric wave dynamics, numerical modeling and supercomputing. He is interested in using observations and modelings to explain the real-world atmospheric phenomena and understand the underlying physics. Haonan is currently responsible for porting the Specific Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (SD-WACCM) to the Palmetto supercomputer cluster of Clemson University.



Undergraduate Student

Lester Carson

Undergraduate Student of Physics and Astronomy
Clemson University

Email: lesterc@g.clemson.edu

Mr. Lester Carson is a junior student in Physics and Astronomy Department. Lester is working on characterizing planetary wave features in the Earth's atmosphere using the reanalysis data and atmospheric models. Lester is applying the 2-Dimensional (2D) Fourier analysis to extract waves of interests and examine their seasonal and latitudinal distribution and variations. This study is useful for us to understand the atmospheric wave couplings and dynamical processes that lead to their unique behaviors.




William Krier

Undergraduate Student of Electrical Engineering
Clemson University

Email: wkrier@g.clemson.edu

Mr. William (Billy) Krier is a senior student in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Billy is also pursuing his minor degree in Physics. Billy has processed SuperDARN data and compared the electric potential, electric fields, and ion velocities associated with the high-latitude convection pattern with those from the two ionosphere-thermosphere (IT) coupling models (TIE-GCM and CTIPe). Billy's study is especially important to valididate and improve the forecasting models for space weather predication.