Awarded the 2010 Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Prize Lecture, Dr. Paul A. Bernhardt gave a presentation on "Using Active Experiments to SEE and HEAR the Ionosphere" held June 22, 2010, at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Bernhardt was chosen for the presentation because of his "pioneering work" in the areas of ionospheric modification with high-power radio waves and chemical releases, satellite-based radio beacon sensing of space plasmas, and analysis and numerical modeling of plasma instabilities and is the first NRL scientist to receive this honor. In 2004, Bernhardt presented the CEDAR Tutorial: "Chemical Release Applications, Observations, and Modeling."
As head of the Space Use and Plasma Environment Research Section within the Plasma Physics Division at NRL, Bernhardt's primary areas of research focus on remote sensing of the upper atmosphere using radio techniques to include computerized ionospheric tomography (CIT), optical excitation by high power radio waves and radar diagnostics Space Shuttle engine burns.
He has been Principal Investigator on a number of NASA and Department of Defense sponsored experiments including Spacelab-2 Plasma Depletion Experiments, CRRES experiments AA-1, A-4, G-5, NICARE rocket experiments, SIMPLEX experiments on Shuttle flights STS-86 and STS-93, and CERTO radio beacons for the ARGOS, DMSP/F15, TERRIERS, STRV-1d, PICOsat, C/NOFS, COSMIC, ePOP, and EQUARS satellites.
Publishing over 110 papers in refereed journals, Bernhardt has been Chairman (1994-1997) for Commission H of the United States National Committee of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) and Chairman of Subcommission C4/D4 on Active Experiments of COSPAR Experiments (1998 - 2004). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), member and previous books-board editor of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Associate Editor for Radio Science and a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).
His theoretical interests include modeling of non-linear interactions of high-power radio waves in the ionosphere, numerical solutions of partial differential equations for fluids and waves, and reconstruction algorithms for tomographic imaging.
CEDAR is a focused Global Change program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goal of the program is to understand the behavior of atmospheric regions from the middle atmosphere upward through the thermosphere and ionosphere into the exosphere in terms of coupling, energetics, chemistry, and dynamics on regional and global scales. Each year CEDAR awards one Prize Lecture given for the attendance of 300 or more researchers in the field of upper atmospheric research.
Previous presenters for the CEDAR prize lecture have been from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Colorado, the University of Illinois, Utah State University, Clemson University, SRI International, Goddard Space Flight Center, Colorado State University, High Altitude Observatory NCAR, and the Aerospace Corporation.
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