Mobilizing frequency comb lasers for precision sensing in energy and climate applications

ME590 Seminar Speaker Greg Rieker

Bio: Greg Rieker is an Associate Professor and Vogel Family Faculty Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He leads the Precision Laser Diagnostics Laboratory, which aims to understand and improve energy and atmospheric systems through laser-based sensing. Greg earned a BS from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and MS and PhD degrees from Stanford University. He has affiliations with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Greg received the NSF CAREER award, the Peter Werle and Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Scientist Awards, and the Colorado Governor’s Award for High-impact Research.  He is a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, and co-founder and CTO of LongPath Technologies, Inc.

Additional Information:

Abstract: Dr. Rieker's laboratory has spent a decade adapting Nobel prize-winning frequency comb laser technology to address emerging challenges at the forefront of climate, energy, and environment. Frequency combs emit hundreds of thousands of distinct wavelengths of light in exquisitely short, repeatable pulses. They enable measurements of light-matter interaction at high accuracy, precision, and stability across large regions of the infrared spectrum. However, they have traditionally been used in laboratory environments. Dr. Rieker will describe the journey of this technology from a laboratory novelty to a variety of applications, including detecting methane emissions across hundreds of square miles of oil and gas infrastructure, designing hypersonic propulsion systems, and exploring exoplanet atmospheres.