Nathaniel Frissell \u201907, assistant professor of physics and electrical engineering at the
\nUniversity of Scranton, made the news recently. As the lead principal investigator of a
\n$399,211 National Science Foundation (NSF) funded collaborative research project, he
\nwill be exploring \u201cMeasuring Daily Ionospheric Variability and the 2023 and 2024 Solar
\nEclipse Ionospheric Impacts Using HamSCI HF Doppler Shift Receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate, says Frissell. \u201cSince 2019, I\u2019ve received over $3.3 million in
\nNSF, NASA and Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) funding.\u201d<\/p>\n
At first glance, the space between Frissell\u2019s early years as a Bloomfield High School
\nmarching band and choir member, ham radio enthusiast, and dedicated Boy Scout, and
\nhis current role as a research scientist, might seem like a stretch of the imagination. But
\npassion, hard work and his undergraduate years at Montclair State University blazed a
\nmost fascinating career path.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to decide between a music-related degree and electrical engineering,\u201d
\nFrissell recalls. \u201cDr. Mary Ann Craig, Montclair\u2019s Director of Bands at the time, visited
\nmy school. She did a great job recruiting. In fact, she was the main reason I chose
\nMontclair, declared a Music Education major and joined the band.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frissell remained involved in ham radio and scouting, teaching electronics and radio
\ntechnology to summer campers at New York\u2019s Forestburg Scout Reservation. He found
\nhimself thinking more and more about electrical engineering, but he was already two
\nyears into his Music Education program, and he didn\u2019t want to leave Montclair for an
\nengineering school. \u201cOne of my Montclair mentors suggested I change my major to
\nPhysics, and then study electrical engineering in graduate school,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
He paid a visit to Mathematical Sciences professor Mary Lou West. \u201cI just knocked on
\nher door and asked if I could become a physics major,\u201d Frissell says with a laugh. \u201cAnd
\nshe said sure!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWest encouraged me to consider a double major,\u201d he says. \u201cIt meant two extra years of
\nundergraduate work, but it would be worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After completing his undergraduate education at Montclair, Frissell pursued electrical
\nand computer engineering, earning a Master\u2019s of Science and a doctorate from Virginia
\nTech; but his enthusiasm for research was sparked at Montclair. \u201cThe physics program
\nopened my eyes to what it means to be a research scientist,\u201d he says. \u201cDr. West
\nbrought me to my first professional conference, which was organized by the American
\nAstronomical Society. I also presented a poster and won my first research-related
\naward at the University\u2019s Sigma Xi on-campus research conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Student research was, and continues to be, an important aspect of the physics program
\nat Montclair. \u201cWe have always looked for opportunities to help students learn how to
\nturn information that you don\u2019t understand into something that makes sense,\u201d says
\nWest, who is now professor emerita of the University\u2019s Department of Physics and
\nAstronomy. \u201cWe help students think realistically about what they just measured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frissell, who was a post-doctoral associate then an assistant research professor with
\nNew Jersey Institute of Technology for three years, joined University of Scranton in
\n2019. In his role, he is fortunate to still work with West, who collaborates on multiple
\nresearch projects and helps advise his research students.<\/p>\n
Drawing on his early experiences with research at Montclair, Frissell\u2019s NSF project will
\ninvolve University of Scranton students as well as collaborators at Case Western
\nReserve University and volunteers across the nation. Together, they will monitor the
\neffects of dawn, dusk, and solar eclipses on the electrified portion of the upper
\natmosphere known as the ionosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese days we are accustomed to worldwide communication through digital and
\ninternet providers,\u201d Frissell explains. \u201cBut high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio doesn\u2019t
\nrequire providers. With HF radio communication the atmosphere, the natural
\nenvironment, is the provider.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ionosphere causes HF radio frequencies to propagate around the curvature of the
\nearth, allowing radio signals, and therefore communication, to span the globe,\u201d he
\ncontinues. \u201cBut the ionosphere exists primarily because of ultraviolet light from the sun.
\nOur research will help us better understand what happens to radio signals before,
\nduring and after an event that affects the path of light from the sun to the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frissell and his team are preparing for two such events in particular, an annular solar
\neclipse in October 2023, in which the edge of the sun remains visible as a bright ring
\naround the moon, and a total solar eclipse in April 2024. And the pressure is on: These
\nare the last solar eclipses that will be visible from the continental U.S. until 2044.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we learn about the upper atmosphere and how it works will help us, and other
\nresearchers, design better communications systems,\u201d Frissell says.<\/p>\n
Although his research \u2013 which has involved travel to locales as far away as Antarctica \u2013
\nis demanding, Frissell occasionally has the opportunity to take a drive through campus
\nto reminisce about his Montclair years. Among the highlights was the opportunity to
\nperform on stage with the innovative string ensemble, the Kronos Quartet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were scheduled to give a concert at Montclair,\u201d Frissell says. \u201cThe musicians
\nwere very interested in short-wave radio stations and wanted to incorporate radio
\nsounds into their music. I played ham radio during their performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether through music or radio technology \u2013 or both, Frissell\u2019s interest remains where
\nsound and science enable communication and provide opportunities to build community. Frissell founded and is the lead organizer of the international citizen science space physics research collective known as the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI.org). HamSCI is recognized as an official NASA Citizen Science Project.<\/p>\n
He also organized the Solar Eclipse QSO Party, a nationwide ham radio experiment to
\nstudy the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse, and maintains an ongoing collaboration with
\nthe amateur radio electrical engineering organization TAPR to develop a Personal
\nSpace Weather Station. For his efforts, the amateur radio community awarded him the
\nprestigious 2017 Yasme Foundation Excellence award, the 2019 Dayton Amateur Radio
\nAssociation Amateur of the Year Award, and he was inducted in 2021 to the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of fame.<\/p>\n
\u201cRadio signals allow us to send and receive sound around the world,\u201d he notes. \u201cWhat
\ncould be more exciting?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frissell\u2019s expansive life experience guides his sound advice: \u201cWhatever your interests
\nare, pursue them. It may take extra time, but it will be worth it. You never know where
\nyou\u2019re going to end up!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Research scientist and professor Nathaniel Frissell \u201907 began his Montclair journey with a passion for music and a hobbyist\u2019s enthusiasm for ham radio. Today, Frissell\u2019s research is deepening our understanding of the way radio waves travel through earth\u2019s upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":211592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-76_alumni-news-and-events","category-77_alumni-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211593,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211589\/revisions\/211593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}