UAF physics student wins international conference prize
Anthony Zumpano (left) and Vishnu Rajendra Kumar (right) at the National Science Foundation Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions conference on June 26, 2026.
July 17, 2026
Physics student Anthony Zumpano won the undergraduate poster prize at the 2026 National Science Foundation Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions conference in Des Moines, Iowa. The conference attracts more than 100 student researchers from around the world. Zumpano is the first 夜色福利 student to win the poster competition since 2014.
Using data collected by GeoMAL, with GI Research faculty Vishnu Rajendra Kumar, Zumpano's award-winning research poster, "GeoMAL Rayleigh Lidar Observations of the Arctic Middle Atmosphere at Poker Flat," analyzed new lidar measurements of the atmosphere, focusing on weather events in which breaking atmospheric waves generated turbulence in the mesosphere. The mesosphere is the third layer of Earth's atmosphere and extends from about 31 to 53 miles above Earth's surface.
"These events are critical to understanding how small-scale processes drive atmospheric circulation," Kumar said.
Zumpano is an undergraduate research assistant with the Lidar Research Laboratory at Poker Flat Research Range. More recently, he has been working with Kumar on the commissioning of the Geophysical Institute's Geospace and Middle Atmosphere Lidar (GeoMAL).
Zumpano said his work with GeoMAL and the Lidar Research Laboratory gave him a deep understanding of the data, helping him communicate the science behind his research.
"I am interested in a career in research, and the conference gave me professional experience in how science is communicated and conducted," Zumpano said.
Zumpano will continue working with Kumar and GeoMAL as a research assistant through the summer. After earning his bachelor's degree, he hopes to attend graduate school to study short-lived, high-energy cosmic events such as coronal mass ejections, gamma-ray bursts, and supernovae.