Rakov Awarded $1M NSF Grant for Lightning Studies
UF Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Professor and Co-Director of the International Center for Lightning Research & Testing (ICLRT) Vladimir Rakov has been awarded a $1M grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his project, “Lightning Studies Based on Measurements Spanning the Ranges from Radio Frequency to Optical (including Infrared and Ultraviolet) to Gamma-Rays.”
Much of the work will be done at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville (LOG), a facility that includes the glass cupola on top of the New Engineering Building (NEB), providing more than 180° unobstructed view of the horizon. The cupola houses digitizing oscilloscopes, computers, and high-speed video cameras. In addition, various sensors—electric field antennas, electric field derivative antennas, magnetic field derivative antennas, and x-ray/gamma-ray detectors—are located nearby on the roof. Data from all of these devices are recorded continuously, filling local and cloud servers managed by the department.
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