Atmospheric Science Lab: Build, Test, & Deploy a Handheld Air Quality Sensor In this lab, we will build a sun photometer - a sensor sensitive to sunlight - that will allow us to study the amount of pollution in the atmosphere. Typically, the amount of sunlight on a clear day is stable and well-known. If our sensor measures less light than expected, there are likely aerosols, like smoke or dust, floating about in the atmosphere - maybe from Baltimore City, or as far away as Canada! These measurements are important for public health, and also help scientists better understand how pollution impacts our weather, climate, and ecosystem. In this course studentss will use commercially available Arduino boards, sensitive temperature and pressure detectors, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to study how much sunlight is reduced by aerosols in the sky.
Students will work together in the UMBC Physics Machine Shop to solve some engineering problems along the way: How will we hold the sensor during a measurement? How will we protect the electronics from the outside world? How will our sensor actually measure the sun, and save the data? We’ll then take our sensor outside and measure the atmosphere! This lab will introduce you to the life cycle of atmospheric science measurements, and drop you right into electronics, machining, science analysis, and teamwork - a mixture of hard and soft skills required to succeed in this field.
LUNCH: Students staying for full day or for both morning and afternoon sessions can bring or buy their lunch. All students will eat lunch on Campus in The Commons, a small food court.
Digital Credentials are linked directly to a students emails and cannot be assigned to a parents email. For your student to receive their digital credential please add your student’s email at registration.
