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Felix Seidel Caprez

Photo of Felix Seidel Caprez

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 233-200

Pasadena, CA 91109

Phone:

818-354-7604

Fax:

818.393.4619

Curriculum Vitae:

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Member of:

Aerosols And Clouds

Biography

Felix Seidel, Scientist, Principal Investigator, and Program Manager at NASA/Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), holds a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences and an M.S. in Atmospheric & Climate Sciences. He is dedicated to amplifying NASA and JPL’s societal impact through compelling science and mission concepts. His expertise spans climate research, including aerosol, radiation, cloud dynamics, wildland fires, air quality, and weather. As Manager of JPL’s Science Research & Concept Development Office, Felix leads the Earth science Research and Analysis (R&A) program, overseeing science proposals, program management, coordination, and team leadership

Education

  • Ph.D., Radiative Transfer and Aerosol Remote Sensing, University of Zurich (2011)
  • M.S. (Dipl. Natw. ETH), Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2004)
  • B.S. (Vordiplom ETH), Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2002)

Professional Experience

  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA (2019-present)
    • 2023- Manager, Science Research & Concept Development Office 8310 - Responsible for R&A program
    • 2023- Council Member, Scientific Understanding from Data Science (SUDS) initiative
    • 2023- JPL Representative, NASA Earth System Observatory (ESO) Integration Framework Formulation tiger team
    • 2022- Earth Venture Suborbital (EVS-4) Portfolio Mngr., on behalf of Earth Science Research & Mission Formulation Office 8300
      • Matured multiple EVS-4 concepts ensuring high-quality submissions
    • 2022- Principal Investigator, JPL strategic initiative on wildfires & JPL POC for wildfire science activities across NASA and JPL
      • Captured large mission concept study to showcase scalable wildfire management remote sensing capabilities
      • Spearheaded JPL’s strategic initiative on wildfires, driving increased research focus
      • Assisted NASA HQ in successfully launching the FireSense Project Office
    • 2022- Discipline Program Manager (DPM), Weather & Atmospheric Dynamics
    • 2021- DPM, Atmospheric Composition
      • Secured long-term funding for research lab and workforce, ensuring sustained scientific progress
      • Achieved above average win rate for JPL PI-led ROSES proposals
      • Organized review panels and site visits, ensuring effective communication and collaboration between JPL and NASA HQ.
    • 2021-2022 Co-lead, strategic partnerships of SUDS initiative
      • Established a strategic partnership, resulting in improved collaboration and more efficient research efforts
    • 2020- Co-lead, Suborbital Observing system of the NASA ESO / Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) Mission
      • Helped to define prioritized science and observing system requirements and implementation options
    • 2020-2022 Instrument Scientist, NASA ESO/AOS Mission through Pre-Phase A
      • Developed an innovative instrument concept for NASA’s Atmospheric Observing System (AOS) mission
    • 2020-2021 Prepared Inter-Agency Agreements for Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission
    • 2019- Task Manager, MISR data product enhancements and AirMSPI-2 instrument development projects
    • 2019- Assistant Study Lead, early mission concept maturation architecture team (A-Team)
  • NASA, Headquarter, Washington DC, USA (2017-2019)
    • Program Scientist, NASA’s TROPICS EVI-3 satellite mission
      • Was responsible for the scientific oversight of TROPICS, incl. Program Level Requirements
      • Advocated successfully for the launch of the TROPICS qualification unit, paving the way for impactful research
    • Contributed significantly to NASA’s 2017 Earth Decadal Survey implementation plan, guiding future missions.
    • Managed the Aerosol Cloud Ecosystem (ACE) pre-formulation study
    • Program Scientist, NASA’s ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) EVS-1 mission
    • Supported management/oversight of NASA Earth Science missions (Flight) & research programs (R&A)
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
    • Data Scientist (2016-2017)
      • Managed major NASA airborne campaigns such as ACEPOL and FIREX-AQ/ER-2, delivering key scientific data
      • Developed operational data processing software for extracting and visualizing key information for end-users
    • Technologist / Scientific SW Engineer (2013-2016)
      • Discovered bias in optical snow grain size and albedo data during snowmelt conditions, suggesting improvements
    • Senior Postdoctoral Scholar (2011-2013)
      • Team member Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO)
      • Developed remote sensing (imaging spectroscopy) algorithms and data products
      • Derived snow albedo and radiative forcing by light-absorbing impurities using imaging spectroscopy
  • University of Zurich, Remote Sensing Laboratories, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Research Assistant (2010-2011)
    • Lecturer (2006-2011)
  • Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Lecturer (2006-2011)
  • Swiss National Point of Contact for Satellite Images, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Head (2009-2011)
    • Staff member (2004-2009)
  • European Space Agency
    • Astronaut Applicant (2008)

Research Interests

  • Atmospheric Composition
  • Remote sensing of aerosol, clouds, and atmospheric dynamics
  • Data analysis and geophysical retrievals
  • Remote sensing instrument development

Selected Awards

  • NASA Group Achievement Award (2020) for Firex-AQ
  • NASA Group Achievement Award (2019) for ORACLES
  • NASA Group Achievement Award (2017) for AirMSPI in CalWater-2, RADEX, ImPACT-PM, and ORACLES
  • NASA Group Achievement Award (2014) for ASO
  • NASA Group Achievement Award (2014) for PODEX, pre-HyspIRI, and SEAC4RS
  • Outstanding Student Poster Award of the European Geosciences Union at the EGU General Assembly, Vienna (2011)

Selected Publications

  1. Warneke, C., Schwarz, J. P., Dibb, J., Kalashnikova, O., Frost, G., Al-Saad, J., et al., (incl. Seidel, F. C.): Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ), Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037758, 2023.
  2. Redemann, J., Wood, R., Zuidema, P., Doherty, S. J., Luna, B., LeBlanc, S. E., Diamond, M. S., Shinozuka, Y., Chang, I. Y., Ueyama, R., Pfister, L., Ryoo, J.-M., Dobracki, A. N., da Silva, A. M., Longo, K. M., Kacenelenbogen, M. S., Flynn, C. J., Pistone, K., Knox, N. M., Piketh, S. J., Haywood, J. M., Formenti, P., Mallet, M., Stier, P., Ackerman, A. S., Bauer, S. E., Fridlind, A. M., Carmichael, G. R., Saide, P. E., Ferrada, G. A., Howell, S. G., Freitag, S., Cairns, B., Holben, B. N., Knobelspiesse, K. D., Tanelli, S., L’Ecuyer, T. S., Dzambo, A. M., Sy, O. O., McFarquhar, G. M., Poellot, M. R., Gupta, S., O’Brien, J. R., Nenes, A., Kacarab, M., Wong, J. P. S., Small-Griswold, J. D., Thornhill, K. L., Noone, D., Podolske, J. R., Schmidt, K. S., Pilewskie, P., Chen, H., Cochrane, S. P., Sedlacek, A. J., Lang, T. J., Stith, E., Segal-Rozenhaimer, M., Ferrare, R. A., Burton, S. P., Hostetler, C. A., Diner, D. J., Seidel, F. C., Platnick, S. E., Myers, J. S., Meyer, K. G., Spangenberg, D. A., Maring, H., and Gao, L.: An overview of the ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) project: aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions in the southeast Atlantic basin, Atmospheric Chemistry Physics, 21, 1507–1563, doi:10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021.https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, 2021.
  3. Knobelspiesse, K., Barbosa, H. M. J., Bradley, C., Bruegge, C., Cairns, B., Chen, G., Chowdhary, J., Cook, A., Di Noia, A., van Diedenhoven, B., Diner, D. J., Ferrare, R., Fu, G., Gao, M., Garay, M., Hair, J., Harper, D., van Harten, G., Hasekamp, O., Helmlinger, M., Hostetler, C., Kalashnikova, O., Kupchock, A., Longo De Freitas, K., Maring, H., Martins, J. V., McBride, B., McGill, M., Norlin, K., Puthukkudy, A., Rheingans, B., Rietjens, J., Seidel, F. C., da Silva, A., Smit, M., Stamnes, S., Tan, Q., Val, S., Wasilewski, A., Xu, F., Xu, X., and Yorks, J.: The Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) airborne field campaign, Earth System Science Data, 12, 2183–2208, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2183-2020, 2020.
  4. Garay, M. J., M. L. Witek, R. A. Kahn, F. C. Seidel, J. A. Limbacher, M. A. Bull, D. J. Diner, E. G. Hansen, O. V. Kalashnikova, H. Lee, A. M. Nastan, and Y. Yu, Introducing the 4.4 km spatial resolution Multi-Angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aerosol product, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 593-628, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-593-2020,2020.
  5. Fu, G., O. Hasekamp, J. Rietjens, M. Smit, A. Di Noia, B. Cairns, A. Wasilewski, D. Diner, F. Seidel, F. Xu, K. Knobelspiesse, M. Gao, A. da Silva, S. Burton, C. Hostetler, J. Hair, and R. Ferrare, Aerosol retrievals from different polarimeters during the ACEPOL campaign using a common retrieval algorithm, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 553-573, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-553-2020, 2020.
  6. Ceamanos, X., S. Moparthy, D. Carrer, and F. C. Seidel, Assessing the potential of geostationary satellites for aerosol remote sensing based on critical surface albedo, Remote Sensing, 11(24), 2958, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11242958, 2019.
  7. Thompson, D. R., K. N. Babu, A. J. Braverman, M. L. Eastwood, R. O. Green, J. M. Hobbs, J. B. Jewell, B. Kindel, S. Massie, M. Mishra, A. Mathur, V. Natraj, P. A. Townsend, F. C. Seidel, and M. J. Turmon, Optimal estimation of spectral surface reflectance in challenging atmospheres, Remote Sens. Environ., 232(UNSP 111258), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.111258, 2019.
  8. Knobelspiesse, K., Q. Tan, C. Bruegge, B. Cairns, J. Chowdhary, B. van Diedenhoven, D. Diner, R. Ferrare, G. van Harten, V. Jovanovic, M. Ottaviani, J. Redemann, F. C. Seidel, and K. Sinclair, Intercomparison of airborne multi-angle polarimeter observations from the polarimeter definition experiment, Appl. Optics, 58(3), 650-669, https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.58.000650, 2019.
  9. Seidel, F. C., E. N. Stavros, M. L. Cable, R. Green, and A. Freeman, Imaging spectrometer emulates Landsat: A case study with airborne visible infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) and operational land imager (OLI) data, Remote Sensing of Environment, 215, 157 - 169, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.05.030, 2018.
  10. van Harten, G., D. J. Diner, B. J. S. Daugherty, B. E. Rheingans, M. A. Bull, F. C. Seidel, R. A. Chipman, B. Cairns, A. P. Wasilewski, and K. D. Knobelspiesse, Calibration and validation of airborne multiangle spectropolarimetric imager (airmspi) polarization measurements, Appl. Optics, 57(16), 4499-4513,https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.57.004499, 2018.
  11. Kalashnikova, O. V., M. J. Garay, K. H. Bates, C. M. Kenseth, W. Kong, C. D. Cappa, A. I. Lyapustin, H. H. Jonsson, F. C. Seidel, F. Xu, D. J. Diner, and J. H. Seinfeld, Photopolarimetric sensitivity to black carbon content of wildfire smoke: Results from the 2016 impact-pm field campaign, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 123(10), 5376-5396, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028032, 2018.
  12. Xu, F., G. van Harten, D. J. Diner, A. B. Davis, F. C. Seidel, B. Rheingans, M. Tosca, M. D. Alexandrov, B. Cairns, R. A. Ferrare, S. P. Burton, M. A. Fenn, C. A. Hostetler, R. Wood, and J. Redemann, Coupled retrieval of liquid water cloud and above-cloud aerosol properties using the airborne multiangle spectropolarimetric imager (AirMSPI), J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 123(6), 3175-3204,https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027926, 2018.
  13. Witek, M. L., D. J. Diner, M. J. Garay, F. Xu, M. A. Bull, and F. C. Seidel, Improving MISR AOD retrievals with low-light-level corrections for veiling light, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing, 56 (3), 1251-1268, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2017.2727342, 2018a.
  14. Witek, M. L., M. J. Garay, D. J. Diner, M. A. Bull, and F. C. Seidel, New approach to the retrieval of AOD and its uncertainty from MISR observations over dark water, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11(1), 429-439, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-429-2018, 2018b.
  15. Tosca, M. G., J. Campbell, M. Garay, S. Lolli, F. C. Seidel, J. Marquis, and O. Kalashnikova, Attributing accelerated summertime warming in the southeast united states to recent reductions in aerosol burden: Indications from vertically-resolved observations, Remote Sens., 9(7), https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9070674, 2017.
  16. Xu, F., van Harten, G., Diner, D.J., Kalashnikova, O., Seidel, F.C., Bruegge, C.J., Dubovik, O., Coupled retrieval of aerosol properties and land surface reflection using the Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI), Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122, 7004–7026, doi:10.1002/2017JD026776. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026776, 2017.
  17. Xu, F., O. Dubovik, P.-W. Zhai, D. J. Diner, O. V. Kalashnikova, F. C. Seidel, P. Litvinov, A. Bovchaliuk, M. J. Garay, G. van Harten, and A. B. Davis, Joint retrieval of aerosol and water-leaving radiance from multispectral, multiangular and polarimetric measurements over ocean, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2016, 2877-2907, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2877-2016, 2016.
  18. Seidel, F. C., K. Rittger, S. M. Skiles, N. P. Molotch, and T. H. Painter, Case study of spatial and temporal variability of snow cover, grain size, albedo and radiative forcing in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain snowpack derived from imaging spectroscopy, The Cryosphere, 10(3), 1229-1244, d https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1229-2016, 2016.
  19. Painter, T. H., D. F. Berisford, J. W. Boardman, K. J. Bormann, J. S. Deems, F. Gehrke, A. Hedrick, M. Joyce, R. Laidlaw, D. Marks, C. Mattmann, B. McGurk, P. Ramirez, M. Richardson, S. M. Skiles, F. C. Seidel, and A. Winstral, The airborne snow observatory: Fusion of scanning lidar, imaging spectrometer, and physically-based modeling for mapping snow water equivalent and snow albedo, Remote Sensing of Environment, 184, 139-152, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.06.018, 2016.
  20. Thompson, D.R., F. C. Seidel, B. C. Gao, M. M. Gierach, R. O. Green, R. M. Kudela, and P. Mouroulis, Optimizing irradiance estimates for coastal and inland water imaging spectroscopy, Geophysical Research Letters, 42(10), 4116-4123, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063287, 2015GL063287, 2015.
  21. Schaepman, M., M. Jehle, A. Hueni, P. D'Odorico, D. A., J. Weyermann, F. Schneider, V. Laurent, C. Popp, F. C. Seidel, K. Lenhard, P. Gege, C. Küchler, J. Brazile, P. Kohler, L. De Vos, K. Meuleman, R. Meynart, M. Kneubühler, D. Schläpfer, and K. Itten, Advanced radiometry measurements and earth science applications with the airborne prism experiment (apex), Remote Sensing of Environment, 158, 207-219, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.11.014, 2015.
  22. Thompson, D. R., M. de la Torre Juarez, C. M. Barker, J. Holeman, S. Lundeen, S. Mullian, T. H. Painter, E. Podest, F. C. Seidel, and E. Ustinov, Airborne imaging spectroscopy to monitor urban mosquito microhabitats, Remote Sensing of Environment, 137(0), 226-233, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.06.015, 2013.
  23. Painter, T. H., F. C. Seidel, A. C. Bryant, S. McKenzie Skiles, and K. Rittger, Imaging spectroscopy of albedo and radiative forcing by light-absorbing impurities in mountain snow, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 118(17), 9511-9523, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50520, 2013.
  24. Seidel, F. C., and C. Popp, Critical surface albedo and its implications to aerosol remote sensing, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 5(7), 1653-1665, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-1653-2012, 2012.
  25. Seidel, F., A. Kokhanovsky, and M. Schaepman, Fast retrieval of aerosol optical depth and its sensitivity to surface albedo using remote sensing data, Atmospheric Research, 116(0), 22 - 32, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.03.006, 2012.
  26. Seidel, F. C., A. A. Kokhanovsky, and M. E. Schaepman, Fast and simple model for atmospheric radiative transfer, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 3(4), 1129- 1141, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-3-1129-2010, 2010.
  27. Seidel, F., D. Schläpfer, J. Nieke, and K. I. Itten, Sensor performance requirements for the retrieval of atmospheric aerosols by airborne optical remote sensing, Sensors, 8(3), 1901-1914, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s803190, 2008.
  28. Itten, K. I., F. Dell'Endice, A. Hueni, M. Kneubühler, D. Schläpfer, D. Odermatt, F. Seidel, S. Huber, J. Schopfer, T. Kellenberger, Y. Bühler, P. D'Odorico, J. Nieke, E. Alberti, and K. Meuleman, APEX- the Hyperspectral ESA Airborne Prism Experiment, Sensors, 8(10), 6235-6259, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s8106235, 2008.

Projects

ACCP
AirMSPI
MAIA
MISR