Harvard Lunch and Learn
Jasna Pittman: Connecting Worlds Away Through Thin Air: Airborne Research in the Atmospheric Sciences.
Jasna Pittman AM '01, PhD '05 spent her early years in Venezuela and moved to the U.S. to pursue her interests in the natural sciences. She completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry and Math at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, her Master’s degree in Chemistry and Ph.D. degree in Atmospheric Sciences at Harvard University, and a post-doctoral fellowship at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Her main scientific interests include studying global-scale air circulation and atmospheric composition in the context of natural variability and anthropogenic activity, all of which are important factors needed for accurately forecasting changes in Earth's climate system. Since her Ph.D. years, part of her research has focused on building and deploying specialized instruments that measure concentrations of various chemicals tracers, such as water and greenhouse gases, found at the one-in-a-million and even one-in-a-billion level in Earth’s lower atmosphere. These specialized instruments have flown on various research aircraft operated by NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF). She has participated in numerous field campaigns worldwide, collecting over 1,000 hours of airborne data from the surface to well into the stratosphere at 70,000 ft and from the North Pole to the edge of Antarctica every second along the way. During field deployments and also when at home, Dr. Pittman has been passionate about organizing and participating in outreach activities to engage future generations of scientists and to share field experiences with students and non-students of all ages. When not working, Dr. Pittman enjoys being outdoors with her family – hiking, skiing, jogging, horseback riding, and most recently learning how to fly small aircraft.
Those interested in climate change and global warming will learn much from Jasna's talk. Read about one of Jasna's projects here.
Harvard Lunch and Learns are free and open to all Harvard Alumni and their guests. To reserve a seat, please email me. There is ample free parking at the site. We are delighted to present Harvard Lunch and Learns in partnership with Protective Life.