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Professor Stamnes celebrated 40 years of research at Stevens along with numerous other achievements this past Valentine's Day. (Credit: Courtesy of Wei Li)

Professor Stamnes celebrates 40 years of research at Stevens

Knut Stamnes Light and Life Laboratory
Professor Stamnes celebrated 40 years of research at Stevens along with numerous other achievements this past Valentine’s Day. (Credit: Courtesy of Wei Li)

The year 2014 has barely started, and already it’s a very special year for Professor Knut Stamnes, Department Chair and respected leader of the Department of Physics & Engineering Physics. Not only was his 70th birthday on the 7th, but this year also commemorated his 40th year of research at Stevens. These milestones, along with the myriad of his achievements, were commemorated throughout the day on February 14th in Bissinger.

Dr. Knut Stamnes obtained his B.S. in Physics at University of Norway, his Master’s at University of Colorado –Boulder, and his doctoral degree at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks. He has been an associate of Stevens and the PEP department for most of his life, but interspersed with his employment here he has made affiliations and ties with members of prestigious organizations like NASA, NORUT (Northern Research Institute – Norway), JAXA, NOAA – such tight connections that members of these institutions and more spoke on behalf of Dr. Stamnes and his noteworthy accomplishments.

Though Professor Stamnes clearly holds great power and is a highly respected figure, he was praised throughout the day as a benevolent man, as a beloved teacher and friend.

“I think the world of Professor Stamnes,” began Dean Michael Bruno, formerly Director of Davidson Laboratory and the Center for Maritime Systems. “He is a remarkable scientist, but I had the luck to work with him as a teacher as well.”

“He is the department director I try to be,” remarked Dr. Rainer Martini, current co-department chair. “I do my best to follow his example and keep the physics department the way he forged it, because look how much success it has brought us so far.”

Following the opening addresses was a series of presentations of current research by various institutions to which Professor Stamnes contributed or inspired, and these were many in number. One of the most intriguing groups of such projects were those of the PhD students of the Life and Light Laboratory (LLLab), a project co-founded by Dr. Stamnes, “using light to study life environments.” It is headquartered in Burchard but “located all over the world.”

Seven students currently center their research in the LLLab, including Snorre Stamnes, Dr. Stamnes’ son. Their projects are jointly researched by Stevens, NASA, and JAXA, and they center their research on meteorological and satellite-based data, developing accurate algorithms for satellite remote sensing; measuring atmospheric irradiance; and ironing out current data-collecting problems that weather institutions face today.

One problem is the “sun glint problem,” which occurs when the reflection of the sun’s rays on air and water particles obscures parts of pictures taken from satellites. It requires more data modification than you would think: the algorithms developed for weather patterns must be extremely precise, and pictures must be as clear and accurate as possible. And who is going to be credited for the solution to this problem for ages to come? Stevens students.

Another student project covered aerosol retrievals to achieve life detection throughout space. Aerosol particles are indicative of the presence of life and the cyclical use of the atmosphere, and in order to detect these particles more accurately Stevens has teamed up with NASA to develop a polarimeter using radiative transfer, and search for aerosol in different types of pollutants, searching namely in cloud formations.

Yet another project, inspired chiefly by Dr. Stamnes’ excursions throughout the Arctic Circle, covers Arctic sea ice thickness estimation and long-term modeling of Arctic snow sheets, in light of global warming. Cloud cover can obscure valuable data, but can also provide valuable data; thus, Stevens is developing an algorithm for tests of cloud, snow, elevation, atmosphere, and other geological factors pertinent to ice coverage, and is also sharing this data with national research institutions.

Another main section of research covers the ocean surface and mapping of such. As most of us know, we have better maps of the surface of Mars than of our own oceans – and under the watchful eye of Dr. Stamnes and Dr. Wei Li, his associate in the LLLab, the doctoral students collect data from wind patterns, satellite data, and field research – that is, facing the oceans head-on and literally diving into research.

But, incredibly, Dr. Stamnes’ influence does not stop there. Dr. Rune Storvald of NORUT and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology covered the bases on Dr. Stamnes’ contributions to one of the hottest developments in science and engineering – unmanned aircraft.

“We have found that unmanned aircraft can be used more flexibly than satellites, as they can fly as low or high as we please,” Dr. Storvald remarked. “We can use them to record not only ocean topography and ice coverage but also to detect oil spills, monitor vegetation, or even to count populations of reindeer and penguins.

“Under Professor Stamnes, we have a monitoring of Arctic geological properties and ice drift, whose surveillance will continue through 2017,” he continued. “We will undertake an eight-year, $36M project for oil discovery.”

“Through Stevens and Dr. Stamnes, we have developed an algorithm for droplet thickness and scattering, something formerly very hard to detect and reproduce,” noted Dr. Michael Mischenko, of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences. “Small discrepancies in droplet shape can affect how they scatter light, and it’s important to record these differences and their properties.”

Of course, to celebrate Professor Stamnes’ 70th year of life, there was a break in scholarly presentations for a light-spirited slideshow of pictures of his life, sitting in the snow with complicated instruments or snacking on seal meat, alongside well wishes from members and faculty of the physics department.

After all of the other presentations had concluded, it was time for the guest of honor to speak.

“My life work came to fruition here, I chose to have my children educated here, and I have a family here. I am proud to be affiliated with such a forward-thinking university,” Professor Stamnes concluded. “I would never have gotten so far in my research without Stevens or, moreover, without my dear colleagues before me today.”

If one were to research Professor Knut Stamnes on the internet, one would find that he has an extensive list of publications and contributions under several affiliations, and many of the descriptive presentation posters dispersed throughout Burchard are co-authored by him, while still many others reference his works.

It is clear, then, that Dr. Stamnes is an integral member of not only Stevens but the international scientific community, and will be remembered for ages to come.

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