Researchers and Staff

I discovered my love for programming during undergrade when simulating a typhoon. I believed and enjoyed the idea of condensing human knowledge into code and improving the performance through trial-and-error. Combined with my fascination of physics, I found Dr. Kara Sulia from ASRC for graduate study focused on cloud ice particle growth and thunderstorm lightning simulation. This project revealed the need for deeper research around atmospheric electrification, one of which led to my postdoc at ASRC: Extracting ice particle features (e.g., riming) from airborne cloud particle images applying Deep Learning techniques. I am drawn to the physical processes involved in lightning, from fundamental physics to space plasma processes and—more boldly—its resonance with philosophy and neuroscience.

List of publications:

• Cai, Y. (2024). The Importance of Ice Microphysics in Storm Electrification. Ph.D. Dissertation.
• Solimine, S., Zhou, L., Raghavendra, A., & Cai, Y. (2022). Relationships between intense convection, lightning, and rainfall over the Congo Basin. Atmospheric Research, 273 (2022): 106164.

Yichen Cai's CV

Ivan Arias Hernandez received his bachelor's in science degrees in mathematics and electronic engineering and his master's in science degree in electronic engineering from Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia, in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA, in 2023. He visited the Earth Observing Laboratory at NSF-NCAR in 2021 as part of the Advanced Study Program. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University in the Radar and Remote Sensing Lab in 2023 and 2024. He was also a postdoctoral intern at the Naval Postgraduate School in the Clouds and Remote Sensing Lab in 2024 and 2025. He is currently a postdoctoral associate in the Atmospheric Science Research Center at the University at Albany, SUNY, and intends to be promoted to a research faculty member in Fall 2026.

Ivan Arias Hernandez's CV