Last week, ESSIC hosted retired NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) scientist Dr. Norman Grody for the Seminar Series, ESSIC’s weekly event celebrating the center’s vast research. Dr. Grody’s seminar drew over 60 in-person attendees and 30 online attendees, making it the most well-attended seminar of the year so far.
Dr. Grody brought in a homemade microwave radiometer, which he constructed using information and components available on the Internet. He was able to make a 4, 12 and 20.5 GHz Dicke radiometer using parts costing about $100 each. This construction, measurements, and analysis is summarized in an 88 page report that is available on Google Drive.
Dr. Grody was one of the chief NESDIS scientists who helped design sensors such as the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU). He also lead breakthrough discoveries such as warm-core features from microwave sounding channels, atmospheric temperature trends, and global climatologies of rainfall and snow cover from operational sensors not necessarily designed to do such things.
The slides of Dr. Grody’s talk can be viewed here. A video of his talk can be found on the ESSICUMD YouTube channel here.
For more information about the ESSIC seminar series, click here.
