Hans Moosmuller

Dr. Moosmüller’s interests include experimental and theoretical research in optical spectroscopy as well as its applications to atmospheric, aerosol, and climate physics. His research focuses on development and application of real time, in situ measurement methods for aerosol light absorption, scattering, extinction, and asymmetry parameter, and new optical remote sensing techniques. These measurement methods are being used for ambient air monitoring and vehicle, fugitive dust, and biomass burning emission studies. His latest research interests are fast, ultra-sensitive measurements of elementary mercury concentrations and fluxes and aerosol morphology and its influence on aerosol optical properties with a focus on fractal-like chain aggregates found in combustion particles. Dr. Moosmüller has also participated in the planning, fieldwork, and data analysis of several major air quality studies. During his first three years at DRI, he was responsible for the airborne ozone lidar research program under a cooperative agreement with the USEPA.

Before joining DRI, Dr. Moosmüller was at Colorado State University where he investigated Brillouin light scattering of spin waves and millimeter-wave effective line widths in thin metal films. He also did research on high-spectral-resolution lidar and coherent light scattering techniques. This work included the development of supersonic flow measurement techniques and the investigations of spectral line shapes. His earlier work at the Ludwigs-Maximilians Universität in Munich, Germany and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany focused on laser remote sensing.

Trabia Mohamed

Overview of current research projects:

Optimization Algorithms and their Applications to Mechanical Engineering Design
Finite Element Analysis of Mechanical Components and Systems
Dynamic Analysis and Control of Mechanical Systems with Emphasis on Flexible Robots
Analysis and Design of Robots and Mechanisms
Biomedical applications of mechanical design
Characterization of biomaterials
Shock Transmission
Characterization of Material Properties under Impact Loading.
Fuzzy Logic Control Applications.

Brenda Buck

Dr. Buck’s research focuses on medical geology – in particular how geological materials impact health. Currently, her work focuses on dust and hazards associated with dust exposure including those from asbestiform minerals, arsenic, and other carcinogens. She also performs research to better understand and quantify arid soil processes so that this knowledge can be applied in land use decisions, radionuclide and heavy metal contamination, biologic soil crusts, paleoclimate interpretations, landscape evolution, soil genesis, geomorphic hazards, and other applications.

Brian Hedlund

Dr. Brian Hedlund is a Professor in Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Hedlund’s research focuses on the microbiology and biogeochemistry of geothermal ecosystems, the genomic exploration of “microbial dark matter”, and the role of the intestinal microbiome in prevention of Clostridium difficile infection. Dr. Hedlund is editor for Antonie van Leeuwenhoek journal, a member of Bergey’s Manual Trust, and editor for Bergey’s Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria, the authoritative reference manual for microbial taxonomy.

Gannet Hallar

Dr. Hallar is an Assistant Research Professor with the Desert Research Institute, she directs Storm Peak Laboratory, a high elevation atmospheric science facility in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. This laboratory has undergone major changes under her leadership including new instrumentation, new research foci, new field courses, and a significant building expansion. Currently, at Storm Peak Laboratory, Dr. Hallar also work as adjunct faculty for the University of Nevada, Reno and teaches a graduate level field course in Mountain Meteorology.

The overarching theme of Dr. Hallar’s research is using high quality measurements of trace gases, aerosol physical and chemical properties, and cloud microphysics to understand connections between the biosphere, atmosphere, and climate, along with the impact of anthropogenic emissions on these connections. More specifically, currently her research uses high elevation sites, combined with airborne measurements, to study the formation processes of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and Ice Nuclei (IN) and how differing formation processes impact mixed-phase cloud microphysics. This research topic is stemmed in many potential formation mechanisms of aerosols, including nucleation, secondary organic aerosols, and primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP’s).

Greg Pohll

Dr. Pohll’s major research interest is in numerical simulation of hydrologic systems. Evaluation of complex hydrologic systems requires tools from the traditionally fragmented fields of surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrogeology, and statistics. He is specifically interested in the development and application of numerical models that allow the end users to better understand the system and to make decisions within an uncertain environment. He uses state-of-the-art numerical tools to evaluate the all of the uncertainties inherent in the modeling environment so the end users understand how to quantify the worth of the modeling results in relation to the ramifications of the decision.

Joseph Grzyzmski

Dr. Grzymski is the Senior Director of the Applied Innovation Center and an Associate Research Professor of microbiology and computational biology. He holds adjunct positions in molecular biosciences and hydrology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is co-founder of the companies Evozym Biologics, Inc and EMS Genomics, LLC.  His academic research focuses on adaptations in microbes to extreme environments using methods from biophysics, molecular biology, informatics and microbiology. Joe received his BA in philosophy and biology from Bowdoin College. He was a Fulbright Scholar before attending Rutgers University where he received a Ph.D in Oceanography. In his spare time, Joe plays tennis, runs, cooks and enjoys spending time with his family. He has been at DRI and lived in Nevada for 12 years. He is passionate about improving Nevada’s economy through the promotion of DRI’s incredible science.

Kumud Acharya

Dr. Acharya’s research involves aquatic and biological stoichiometry, the study of balance of energy and multiple chemical elements. He is particularly interested in how human management of watersheds affects aquatic invertebrate community structure in aquatic environments. Aquatic invertebrates face special evolutionary challenges in these systems due to factors such as hydroperiod, flow or anthropogenic effects. My specific studies involve observational and experimental studies at various scales, including laboratory cultures (zooplankton, algal chemostats), short-term field experiments and sustained whole-ecosystem manipulations. His other research interests are nutrient cycling, wastewater treatment systems, groundwater management, and ecological modeling. Recently completed studies include role of zooplankton populations in large river (Ohio River) food webs, impact of changes in hydrological conditions (e.g., excessive rainfall or drought conditions) in riverine biota via changes in nutrient and food conditions.

Sergiu Dascalu

Dascalu is an associate professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno. He received a master’s degree in automated control and computers from the Polytechnic of Bucharest, Romania and his doctorate in computer science from Dalhousie University, Canada.  Dascalu is the director of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SOELA) at UNR and has served as PI or co-PI on various projects funded by federal agencies such as NSF, NASA, and ONR, as well as by industry organizations.  Dascalu has more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and has been involved in the organization of many international conferences and workshops, from which he received numerous recognitions.  Dascalu’s main research interests are in software engineering and human-computer interaction, particularly in software specification and design, software tools for scientific research, simulation environments and user interface design.

Sushil Louis

Dr. Louis works in Genetic Algorithms, Evolutionary Computing and their applications to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Optimization. His current work investigates adaptive AI for RTS-games, interaction design for controlling large numbers of heterogeneous, semi-autonomous entities, and generating real-time micro for game and real-world agents. The Evolutionary Computing Systems Lab (ECSL), which I direct, has investigated new techniques for machine learning using Case-Injected Genetic AlgoRithms (CIGAR), new techniques for playing to learn to play computer games, and new techniques for evolving Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game micro and macro.