I’m a Ph.D. student at the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder). I also work as a Research Affiliate/Assistant at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). I am a part of the Atmospheric Imaging, Radiation, and Remote Sensing (AIRS) group, advised by Sebastian Schmidt.
I immigrated to the U.S. in 2018 to study Electrical and Computer Engineering at CU Boulder. During my Master’s, I took on several projects involving machine learning and have since continued in that path. I was also a part of the Maxwell CubeSat engineering team where I was the Lead ADCS Engineer. I graduated with a Master’s in 2020 and took on a full-time role working with Sebastian Schmidt at LASP. Since then, I have probably moved away from engineering and more towards science although there are more than a few commonalities between the two worlds. I have worked on machine learning algorithms to retrieve cloud optical thickness as well as algorithmic tool development.
In 2023, I began my Ph.D. at ATOC and intend to graduate sometime in 2026. I am currently focused on the Arctic where I’m developing a surface characterization algorithm using satellite data. To support that research, I’m also a part of the NASA ARCSIX aircraft field campaign, and I will be going to the Arctic as part of the campaign to get more field measurements!
For more information, feel free to contact me or peruse my CV.
Vikas Nataraja 