 Dr. Ali H. Omar is a research scientist at the Chemistry and Dynamics Branch of the Atmospheric Sciences Competency of NASA Langley Research Center. Dr. Omar received a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1997. Upon graduation, Dr. Omar spent one year at the Electro-Optics System Laboratory (UIUC) as a post-doctoral fellow working on the retrieval of temperature and aerosol profiles from Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) data. Dr. Omar’s research interests are (1) characterization of the physical and chemical properties of aerosols using field measurements and model simulations and (2) determination of optical properties of aerosols using remote sensing techniques with a goal of improving estimates of the optical properties of tropospheric aerosols in order to minimize uncertainties in the direct and indirect climate forcing effects of aerosols. From 1998-2002, Dr. Omar worked for Hampton University as a research scientist for the Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) mission CALIPSO (Cloud and Aerosol Lidar Infrared imager Pathfinder Spaceborne Observations). He is a science team member of CALIPSO and joined Atmospheric Sciences Competency of NASA LaRC in 2002. Current research activities include (1) development of algorithms to invert CALIPSO lidar data and (2) the characterization of aerosol optical and physical properties. Dr. Omar is an adjunct associate professor at Old Dominion University and Hampton University. Dr. Omar received his M.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1992, and B.S. degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Aeronautical Engineering from Saint Louis University in 1989.
Professional Societies and Activities
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society (1995)
- IGARSS (2002)
Relevant Publications
Omar, A. H., J.-G. Won, D. M. Winker, S.-C. Yoon, O. Dubovik, and M. P. McCormick (2005), Development of global aerosol models using cluster analysis of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D10S14,doi:10.1029/2004JD004874
A. H. Omar and C.S. Gardner, (2001) Observations by the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) of high altitude clouds over the Equator in regions exhibiting extremely cold temperatures, J. Geophys. Res., 106 , No. D1 , p. 1227
A. H. Omar, S. Biegalski S.M. Larson, and S. Landsberger, (1999) Particulate Contributions to light extinction and local forcing at a rural Illinois site. Atmos. Env., 33 (17):2637-2646.
Rahmes, T.F, Omar, A. H. and D. Wuebbles, (1998) Atmospheric distributions of soot particles by current and future aircraft fleets and resulting radiative forcing of climate J. Geophys. Res., 103, D24: 31,657-31,667.
M.A. Felton, T. A. Kocas, A.H. Omar and C.A. Hosteler (2005) Classification of Polar Stratospheric Clouds using lidar measurements from the SAGE III Ozone loss and Validation Experiment, In Press, J. Geophys. Res.
David M. Winker, A. Omar, M. Vaughan, Z. Liu, and S. Young (2005), Tropospheric aerosol properties from the CALIPSO lidar, In preparation for submission to J. Geophys. Res.
Omar, A.H.; Winker, D.M.; Jae-Gwang Won; Vaughan, M.A.; Hostetler, C.A.; Reagan, J.A.; Selection Algorithm for the CALIPSO Lidar Aerosol Extinction-to-Backscatter Ratio, Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2003. IGARSS '03. Proceedings. 2003 IEEE International, Volume 3, 21-25 July 2003 Page(s):1526 - 1530
Vaughan, M. A., Young, Stuart A., Winker, D. M., Powell, K. A., Omar, A. H., Liu, Z., Hu, Y., Hostetler, C. A. Fully automated analysis of space-based lidar data: an overview of the CALIPSO retrieval algorithms and data products, Image and Signal Processing for Remote Sensing X. Edited by Bruzzone, Lorenzo. Proc. SPIE, Volume 5575, pp. 16-30 (2004).
Ali H. Omar (1997), The Effect of Aerosols on Radiative Transfer and the Optical Properties of the Atmosphere, Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 227 pp. Advisor: Prof. S. M. Larson. |
