NSF NCAR Field Campaigns

Bo LeMay is an aviation professional, with over 35 years of distinguished leadership and aviation expertise spanning both military and corporate/general aviation sectors. He has logged over 10,000 flight hours across a diverse array of aircraft, including the An-26, Casa-212, C-47, OV-10, and numerous variants of the C-130 and has demonstrated proficiency in managing complex aviation operations by holding FAA Ratings as an ATP with type ratings in DA-2EASy, G-V, G-IV, L-382, DC-3, and CE-500. Currently serving as Chief Pilot, he oversees operations for two specialized aircraft (GV and EC-103Q) and provides crucial support to National Science Foundation research projects, leading a team of ten personnel. As a retired US Air Force Lt Colonel, he has held various key roles, including Commander, Operations Officer, Combat Aviation Advisor, and Instructor pilot, showcasing my adaptability and leadership skills in dynamic environments.

Pei-Sang Tsai received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan, and a M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After graduation, she joined the Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory (MIRSL) and started her career in atmospheric radar development. In September 2009, she was drawn to the unique opportunity of developing an airborne, pod-based, millimeter-wave radar system, also known as the HIAPER cloud radar (HCR). She started working for the Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL), NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR). After HCR became operational in 2015, she transitioned her focus into the phased array radar (PAR) technology. She started her collaboration and research with The University of Oklahoma on PAR calibration and has been a key member of NSF NCAR’s Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR) Project. Her research and work focus on development of millimeter-wave, airborne radar systems, and the calibration of phased array radars.

Ivana Vu has worked in non-profit environmental sciences for almost 20 years, with fieldwork taking her from the alpine tundra to the ocean floor. She is passionate about using advanced technology to understand more about our natural environment and has traveled to labs and field sites around the world in support of scientific research. She has a B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina but has worked on instrumentation used to study a wide range of disciplines, including astronomy, marine biogeochemistry, and fluid dynamics. Some previous jobs she held include scientific diver for the University of North Carolina, aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, youth summer instructor at Women’s Wilderness, and airborne sensor operator at NSF’s National Ecological Observatory Network. Currently a technician at NSF NCAR’s Research Aviation Facility, she builds scientific instrumentation, installs research equipment on NSF NCAR aircraft, and operates the aircraft data system during research flights around the globe.