NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – Two students from the University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences have been named future investigators by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Aimee Matland-Dixon and Faezeh Najafzadeh have both received Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology grants.
Matland-Dixon is a School of Meteorology doctoral student working with the Advanced Radar Research Center. Her current research focuses on improving precipitation estimation to better calculate how much rain falls to the ground using phased-array radars. Using radars to collect a sample of cloud particles and precipitation at a specific height, she then calculates rainfall estimates at ground level. Phased-array radar, like ARRC’s Horus, allows scans to be done without a rotating dish and provides faster updates and denser atmospheric information.
The FINESST grant will build on her already existing doctoral work by incorporating satellite radar data. By leveraging the moments when ground-based and spaceborne radars overlap, which she calls moments of opportunity, Matland-Dixon hopes to improve the estimates of rainfall rates from both sources.
Najafzadeh is a doctoral student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability. Her project will focus on updating existing local climate zone maps in rapidly developing urban areas in the Global South by leveraging artificial intelligence and remote sensing data. Local climate zone maps categorize urban environments based on characteristics such as surface cover, structure and material. They are also an essential tool for understanding urban morphology and climate change.
Najafzadeh's previous work has focused on the impacts of urbanization and land cover changes on urban heat islands and wildfires. Her background in remote sensing and geospatial sciences will help her explore new angles and challenges in urban climate research through this NASA FINESST grant.
The FINESST program provides funds to graduate students with a faculty mentor as a principal investigator. Since 2007, there have been 999 Future Investigators. The awards are up to three years and up to $50,000 per year. Both Matland-Dixon and Najafzadeh were awarded under the Earth Science Division selections.
About the projects
“Advancing Precipitation Process Retrievals within Convection with Orbital and Suborbital Radar Observations” is led by Pierre-Emmanuel Kirstetter, Ph.D., an associate professor in the School of Meteorology and the Schol of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science.
“Coupling Multi-Source Earth Observation Data with Artificial Intelligence to Update Local Climate Zone in Cities of the Global South” is led by Chengbin Deng, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability and director of the Center for Spatial Analysis.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
The Hudson Fellows in Public Health Program – a select group of doctoral students at the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health – will observe its 10th anniversary on April 9 with the annual Hudson Fellows Symposium. The event will feature a noontime lecture by health innovation leader Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., MBA.
New research from University of Oklahoma researchers, published in Cell Reports, reveals that a hormone that reverses obesity in mice appears to work by signaling to a brain region involved in metabolism and appetite regulation, the same area targeted by the popular GLP-1 drugs.
The University of Oklahoma’s Max Westheimer Airport has received the prestigious Airport of the Year Award for 2026 from the Oklahoma Airport Operators Association. Airport Director Lance Lamkin was also named the 2026 Airport Manager of the Year.
