Announcements of Opportunity
SURF: Announcements of Opportunity
Below are Announcements of Opportunity posted by Caltech faculty and JPL technical staff for the SURF program. Each AO indicates whether or not it is open to non-Caltech students. If an AO is NOT open to non-Caltech students, please DO NOT contact the mentor. Announcements of Opportunity are posted as they are received. Please check back regularly for new AO submissions!
Remember: This is just one way that you can go about identifying a suitable project and/or mentor. Click here for more tips on finding a mentor. Announcements for external summer programs are listed here.
*Students applying for JPL projects should complete a SURF@JPL application instead of a "regular" SURF application.
*Students pursuing opportunities at JPL must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.
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| Project: | Diurnal simulations of Venus atmospheric chemistry | ||||||||||||
| Disciplines: | Multidisciplinary, Chemistry | ||||||||||||
| Mentor: |
Yuk Yung,
Professor, (GPS),
yly@caltech.edu, |
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| Mentor URL: | https://www.gps.caltech.edu/people/yuk-l-yung (opens in new window) | ||||||||||||
| Background: | Venus’ atmosphere is composed predominantly of carbon dioxide and molecular nitrogen with trace abundances of other gases. Carbon dioxide splits into carbon monoxide and atomic oxygen when it absorbs ultraviolet sunlight. The reverse process to produce carbon dioxide proceeds via catalytic reactions involving hydrogen and chlorine compounds. For several decades, one-dimensional, global simulations of the reverse process have been unable to match key observations. Observations and modeling capability are now suitable for three-dimensional simulations of these chemical processes. We are extending our one-dimensional, global photochemical model to simulate diurnal-variations in Venus’ atmospheric chemistry to better simulate the catalytic chemistry that converts carbon monoxide and oxygen to carbon dioxide. | ||||||||||||
| Description: | We seek a dependable student who is excited to delve into model development in planetary atmospheric chemistry. The student will work with their mentor to set up and run diurnal simulations of Venus atmospheric chemistry, design numerical experiments to test hypotheses, and compare diurnal photochemical simulations with observations and/or the results from a general circulation model. Research work may include literature review, assessment of published laboratory and quantum chemistry research, modification of numerical simulation routines, visualization of model output, and statistical analyses to compare model results with observations. | ||||||||||||
| References: |
Mills, F.P., Allen, M., 2007. A review of selected issues concerning the chemistry in Venus’ middle atmosphere. Plan. Sp. Sci. 55, 1729–1740. doi:j.pss.2007.01.012. Yung, Y., DeMore,W., 1999. Photochemistry of Planetary Atmospheres. Oxford University Press, New York |
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| Student Requirements: | The student should have experience in a general chemistry or physics lab or have taken lab courses in chemistry and physics. | ||||||||||||
| Programs: |
This AO can be done under the following programs:
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