Kristine Larson

3 CU Boulder professors named American Academy of Arts and Sciences members

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 18:20:53 +0000

3 CU Boulder professors named American Academy of Arts and Sciences members Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/26/2024 - 12:20

Min Han and Arthur Nozik, both in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Kristine Larson in the College of Engineering and Applied Science have been named members of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The academy, founded in 1780 to help a young nation face its challenges through shared purpose, knowledge and ideas, announced its newest members Wednesday.

The 250 members elected in 2024 are being recognized for their excellence and invited to uphold the academy’s mission of engaging across disciplines and divides.

“Professors Han, Nozik and Larson embody the excellence in research, teaching and service that distinguish CU Boulder's faculty,” said CU Boulder Provost Russell Moore. “Their awards honor their individual achievements but also honor CU Boulder's commitment to creating new knowledge that advances the public good.”

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Eos highlights Larson earning Charles A. Whitten Medal

Anonymous — Wed, 26 May 2021 17:34:10 +0000

Eos highlights Larson earning Charles A. Whitten Medal Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/26/2021 - 11:34

The journal Eos is touting Professor Emerita Kristine Larson's win of the 2020 AGU Charles A. Whitten Medal.

The American Geophysical Union honor recognized Larson for her outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets:

"Kristine Larson is among the great innovators in geodesy. Whitten would be impressed and pleased to see the revolutionary applications she has invented or advanced, many of which were unimaginable at the time of Whitten’s 1994 death... she has turned GPS sites into tide gauges, snow depth meters, permafrost sensors, glacier ablation meters, soil moisture meters, and vegetation water content meters, all validated against ground truth or independent data."

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“She will never be able to do this.” – A career of breaking scientific boundaries

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:06:01 +0000

“She will never be able to do this.” – A career of breaking scientific boundaries Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/12/2020 - 12:06

Jeff Zehnder

Kristine Larson in Canberra, Australia as part of her 2020 Fulbright Scholar Fellowship.

Kristine Larson looks at GPS differently. Where many see only a wayfinding tool, Larson has stretched and reshaped the technology, inventing methods to use it for everything from measuring Arctic ice sheets to monitoring soil moisture on farms.

A 2019 Scientific American article described the work Larson and other researchers have done with GPS as MacGyver-level adaptions, radically transforming a technology originally created just for calculating location.

Larson’s research has now earned her one of the highest awards a scientist can receive: induction into the National Academy of Sciences.

“Kristine’s curiosity and dedication have allowed her to expand the capabilities of GPS and shed new light on the world around us,” said Keith Molenaar, interim dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. “It’s fitting that her innovative vision is being recognized with this tremendous honor.”

It is a big shift from the beginning of Larson’s career in the 1980s, when GPS was little-known to the public and a single receiver cost $150,000.

"When I started, no one had heard of GPS. I couldn't tell my family what I did," Larson said.

Her work began in the field of plate tectonics, where GPS offered exciting new ways to provide hard data to confirm movement of Earth’s continents.

Plate tectonics and ice sheets

"I was living in California, and California is split by a tectonic plate boundary," Larson said. “When I went to grad school we were told, ‘Here’s the way plate tectonics works,’ and they would show us a picture, but they didn't have any measurements. GPS was a way to validate all of that, but it was brand new. We had to develop software models to measure that motion, and were learning at the same time as our professors."

In 1990, she earned her PhD and came to the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences as an assistant professor. As her initial work in GPS matured, Larson began to look for ways to stretch it in new directions.

"When I started, we were content to measure plate tectonics, which is about one inch of movement per year unless there's an earthquake," Larson said. "Then I started to stumble onto other things that looked interesting to me."

First her research group measured the rapid ground motions caused by the great Denali earthquake of 2002. She also worked to measure ice sheet speeds with a team of CU Boulder researchers, including Waleed Abdalati, who is now director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. They set up GPS receivers in western Greenland with the goal of making the first ice sheet measurements through the winter.

Signal from noise

In analyzing these new data, her group discovered problems. While most of the satellite signal arrived normally, some signals were reflecting off the ice before being received. The reflected signal looked a bit like an echo.

"My group spent at least five years on the Denali and Greenland datasets working to get rid of those bounces, and we did, but in the process we realized we should turn the problem upside down. What if we used those bounces for something positive instead?" Larson said. "Could we use the delay in the echoes to measure if it has snowed recently in Greenland? Could we measure the amount of moisture in soil by the bounce? What about vegetation?"

It was an entirely new way to look at GPS data.

“She showed me the initial data early on, and what she was hypothesizing seemed plausible. She had the GPS expertise to know that she was looking at some geophysical phenomenon. It really was a clear example of the phrase, ‘One person’s noise is another person’s signal,’” said Abdalati. “Here something that we sought to remove from the signal actually contained important geophysical information.”

It took time to gain acceptance in the wider scientific community.

“I submitted a grant proposal to measure soil moisture with GPS for farmers and climate scientists and one of the grant reviewers wrote a note that said, ‘She will never be able to do this. Don't fund it,’” Larson said. “Well, we did it.”

[video:https://youtu.be/fCgyA7R1thw]

"GPS Can't Do That, Can It?"
Larson delivers the 113th University of Colorado Boulder
Distinguished Research Lectureship.

Expanding research

Larson’s ideas gradually gained traction, and today, there is an entire community of researchers using the noise on GPS signals in novel ways. Larson is now working to bring that analysis to the masses. She recently developed a publicly accessible web app to analyze GPS reflection data in real-time.

"I taught myself how to make a web app by watching YouTube videos. It was a challenge from my son, who is a computer science major. I had to learn three new programming languages to do it, but it was so much fun," Larson said.

She is in the middle of a Fulbright Fellowship with researchers in Australia. She had planned to spend much of 2020 based in Tasmania, but the coronavirus pandemic meant she returned to Boulder earlier than originally planned. Nevertheless, she is still working with her new colleagues remotely.

"With the group in Tasmania I’m working on data collected in Antarctica to measure snow accumulation; we’re also looking at expanding their tide gauge network by using reflected GPS signals. With government scientists in Canberra we are using new cloud-based analysis strategies to measure soil moisture network across Australia," Larson said. "It's one thing to write papers, but it's completely different and really exciting to think people around the world are deploying your ideas."

Larson is the first GPS researcher to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and said she sees the induction as a recognition not just of her work but GPS science as a whole.

“It was an unexpected and welcome acknowledgement of the research ideas that I pursued because they were fun and interesting. It's also a recognition of GPS and its importance,” Larson said. “Thirty years ago, no one in the National Academy was talking about GPS. A lot has changed.”

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Larson joins the ranks of the National Academy of Sciences

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 21:05:04 +0000

Larson joins the ranks of the National Academy of Sciences Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/28/2020 - 15:05

This week, the National Academy of Sciences announced that it had elected a CU Boulder researcher at the forefront of GPS science to its prestigious membership.

Kristine Larson will join more than 140 other United States-based and international scientists receiving this recognition in 2020. The honor is often considered one of the highest that scientists can receive during their careers.

Larson is a professor emerita in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR).

She is in good company: To date, 18 researchers from CU Boulder have entered the ranks of the National Academy of Sciences.

Eyes in the sky

The National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. (Credit: CC photo by Maxwell MacKenzie via Flickr)

Today, a fleet of more than 30 satellites orbit Earth, collecting a steady stream of GPS data that most people use for little more than driving across town. For several decades, Larson has focused on doing more with that same information.

Larson, for example, has led research that used GPS satellites to track how earthquakes change the shape of Earth’s surface. She and her colleagues have detected minute shifts in the contours of the planet’s crust hundreds of miles or more from the epicenter of a temblor. She similarly developed new methods to track shifts in sea level and in the volume of ice contained in the polar ice caps, all from space. Larson has also employed GPS to spot plumes of ash and smoke that spew from erupting volcanos.

"I'm grateful to my family and colleagues for making this honor possible,” Larson said.

She received her PhD from the University of California, San Diego in 1990 and joined CU Boulder later that year. Larson was elected an AGU Fellow in 2011 and received an Honorary Doctorate from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden in 2017.

Primordial air

Vaida and her colleagues study the processes that shape the atmosphere of modern and early Earth, and around other planetary bodies. She focuses on photoreactivity: when a compound changes properties due to interaction with light. Her research also explores how clouds form, with consequences for Earth’s climate.

Her lab looks at the chemical properties of atmospheric particles in situations in which water and air interact, such as the sea surface. The findings may help to explain the role that those environments played in creating chemical systems relevant to the emergence of life.

“The College of Arts and Sciences is pleased and proud that one of our own, Professor Veronica Vaida, has been selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences,” said Dean James White. “Professor Vaida is a true academic star and exemplifies the very high standards that our faculty hold themselves to; she is most deserving of this honor.”

Vaida recently received the 2020 Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics, sponsored by the American Chemical Society and the American Chemical Society Division of Physical Chemistry. In 2018 she was lauded with the “Veronica Vaida Festschrift Virtual Special Issue” of the Journal of Physical Chemistry.

Vaida joined the CU Boulder faculty in 1990 and has been a CIRES Fellow since 2000. She received her doctorate from Yale University in 1977.

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Scientific American: GPS is doing more than you thought

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:23:33 +0000

Scientific American: GPS is doing more than you thought Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/31/2019 - 09:23

Scientific American is exploring GPS applications that go far beyond map wayfinding. They've published an article highlighting a numerous Coloradans doing exciting work with GPS systems, including Smead Aerospace Professor Emerita Kristine Larson, who has led many of the discoveries into new applications for GPS. Read the full article...

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Kristine Larson to share groundbreaking GPS work on Dec. 5 as Distinguished Research Lecturer

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 17:59:02 +0000

Kristine Larson to share groundbreaking GPS work on Dec. 5 as Distinguished Research Lecturer Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 12/01/2018 - 10:59

RSVP for Professor Larson's talk: GPS Can't Do That, Can It? Kristine M. Larson of the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences will deliver a Distinguished Research Lecture about traditional and leading-edge applications of Global Positioning System (GPS) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Glenn Miller Ballroom, University Memorial Center
RSVP: Registration is requested

In this talk, Professor Larson will summarize the “traditional” applications of GPS in geosciences as well as the new environmental applications her group has developed.

For many people, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is just one of those gadgets in a smart phone that makes our lives a little easier. Much less known to the general public is the way that GPS has revolutionized the geosciences.

For decades, models have been able to predict how plate tectonics changes the surface of the Earth, but only with GPS have we been able to accurately measure these changes anywhere and anytime. Professor Kristine Larson’s career has coincided with this GPS revolution.

Early on, Larson used GPS to measure fault motions in California. Then, about 15 years ago, she began working on something GPS wasn’t supposed to be able to do–measuring how the ground is moving during an earthquake, when the ground is literally breaking apart.

In trying to convert a system designed to measure slow tectonic speeds into a seismometer, she found herself spending most of her time trying to model the effects of reflected GPS signals so they wouldn’t contaminate GPS seismic records. However, intrinsically, these reflections provide information about the surface beneath the GPS antenna (i.e. how much snow there is, whether the soil is wet or dry).

About Professor Kristine M. Larson

Larson received a BA in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University in 1985 and a PhD in Geophysics from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego in 1990.

Her dissertation was one of the first to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure the motions of faults in southern California. She became an aerospace engineering professor at CU Boulder in 1990. With her CU Boulder colleagues, she has worked on a diverse set of GPS research projects, such as measuring deformation across the Nepal Himalaya, synchronizing atomic clocks and assessing the variability of Greenland ice sheet speeds.

Her research on using GPS to measure seismic waves ultimately led to the development of GPS Interferometric Reflectometry (GPS-IR). In this new technique, GPS signals that bounce on the surface below a GPS antenna are reverse engineered to provide measurements of soil moisture, snow accumulation, vegetation water content and tides.

In 2014, her research group received the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Water Prize for Creativity. She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and was the European Geophysical Union Huygens Medalist in 2015. Last year she received an Honorary Doctorate from Chalmers University of Technology and an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Award.

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Larson honored with 2018 Distinguished Research Lectureship

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 19:44:30 +0000

Larson honored with 2018 Distinguished Research Lectureship Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/12/2018 - 13:44

Kristine M. Larson of the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and William M. Lewis Jr. of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department have been selected to receive the 2018 Distinguished Research Lectureship. The Lectureship is among the most esteemed honors bestowed by the faculty upon a faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Each year, the Research & Innovation Office (RIO) requests nominations from faculty for the Distinguished Research Lectureship, and a faculty review panel recommends one faculty member as a recipient. Two faculty members were selected this year.

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Breakthrough GPS work earns 2017 Governor's Award

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:37:01 +0000

Breakthrough GPS work earns 2017 Governor's Award Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/18/2017 - 12:37

Congratulations to professor Kristine Larson for being named a winner of a 2017 Governor's Award for High-Impact Research for her work "GPS Reflections: Innovative Techniques."

Now in their 9th year, the Governor's Awards are a project of CO-LABS, and celebrate the exceptional and groundbreaking work of scientists and engineers from Colorado’s federally-funded research labs and institutions.

“The projects in this year’s CO-LABS High-Impact Awards spotlight what makes Colorado a leader in innovation It’s terrific to see research advance its partnerships with the private sector. The range of crucial and profound discoveries coming from these labs are a national asset,” said Governor John Hickenlooper. “I congratulate the scientific teams for their groundbreaking work and am excited to see the mark they will leave on our state and society as a whole.”

GPS: Far More Than Navigation

Larson's research group, including CU Boulder, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University NAVSTAR Consortium (UNAVCO), utilized the reflections of signals from GPS satellites observed by ~500 ground-based receivers in the western U.S. and Canada.

"I'm glad to see the CO-LAB organization recognizing that great research comes not only from individual labs, but from a collaboration that crosses institutional boundaries," Larson says.

While GPS is typically thought of by the public as only a navigation tool, researchers like Larson have been able to develop new and innovative ways to use the signals. Taking the data from GPS receivers primarily deployed to measure ground motions related to plate tectonics and for other reasons, she has been able to extract key parameters about the state of the surface below the antenna, such as soil moisture, snow depth, vegetation water content, and water level.

These new measurements are utilized for research in diverse fields of Earth science, such as hydrology, phenology, ecology, soil science, atmospheric sciences, ocean sciences, and cryospheric sciences. GPS reflection measurements also provide a new source of data to validate and calibrate satellite-based earth observations. The data inform risk resiliency, such as flood or drought forecasting, support natural resource management, especially regarding land-use and farming efficiency, as well as helping diverse consumers, such as those in agriculture, the winter recreational industry and the aerospace industry.

Recognizing Breakthrough Research

“Colorado has one of the highest per capita concentrations of federal science, research and engineering facilities in the nation, with renowned scientists whose research has global impact in a range of fields including agriculture, climate and weather, earth science, materials science, natural resource management, renewable energy, space physics and telecommunications,” said CO-LABS Executive Director Dan Powers. “This prestigious event provides a unique opportunity to connect with leading scientists, lab directors, business leaders and policymakers in an informal and celebratory setting, as we highlight the labs’ role in innovation and their significant contribution to the state economy.”

Started in 2009 by then-Governor Bill Ritter, this recognition effort starts with CO-LABS convening a special committee of academic researchers, technology transfer experts and science and engineering professionals to review nominations from the more than 30 federally-funded labs and research institutes in Colorado. Through a thoughtful and thorough process this group selects projects that have had a significant global, national or state impact resulting from a scientific breakthrough, change in public policy or development of a new technology.

The winners will be formally recognized and celebrated Thursday, October 5, 2016 from 5:30pm-9:00pm at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard in Denver, Colorado. Tickets and registration details are available at www.co-labs.org.

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Larson awarded honorary doctorate for groundbreaking GPS research

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 17:07:44 +0000

Larson awarded honorary doctorate for groundbreaking GPS research Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/17/2017 - 10:07

Congratulations to CU Boulder aerospace professor Kristine Larson for being awarded an honorary doctorate from the Chalmers University of Technology!

Located in Gothenburg, Sweden, Chalmers is known for its engineering education and research programs. Larson is receiving the doctorate in recognition of her groundbreaking research using GPS signals to measure soil moisture, snow depth, vegetation, and sea level. Her work has contributed to improved hydrological studies, weather forecasting, climate models, and sea level rise estimates.

Larson served as a visiting professor at Chalmers in 2010-2011 and maintains an ongoing collaboration with researchers there. She has been an aerospace faculty member at CU Boulder since 1990.

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