RIT is collaborating with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to extend the capabilities of the ALGE hydrodynamic code to include simulations of surface ice formation and melting in cooling lakes that receive heated effluent from nuclear reactors operating in cold climates and collect the data needed to validate this extended version of the ALGE code at suitable locations in the northern US or Canada. SRNL uses the ALGE code to perform technical analyses of heat-generating industrial facilities for DOE and other government agencies. At present, ALGE simulations of cooling lakes and other bodies of water being used to dissipate waste heat from nuclear reactors are restricted to ice-free conditions. This restriction prevents imagery analysis for more than one-half the year at some northern sites. The extension to the ALGE code proposed here will allow year-round applications of the code which will result in more rapid completion of technical analyses.

RIT Project Number: 30789

Funding: $849,971

Period of Performance: 22 January 2008 to 21 January 2011

This fellowship entitled "Effects of humidity on atmospheric transmission for infrared sensors" will perform a comparative analysis of ship-based thermal infrared spectroradiometer measurements against MODTRAN simulations incorporating humidity dependent aerosol nucleation effects.

It is commonly assumed that scattering effects are negligible in the thermal infrared region. This, however, is based on standard atmospheric and aerosol models that have particle size distributions that are heavily weighted and have maximum concentrations in the sub-micron range. While particle concentrations in the super-micron range are orders of magnitude smaller than its submicron counterparts, certain conditions of high humidity may significantly increase their concentrations to levels that may impart scattering effects in the thermal infrared regions.

This hypothesis will be tested using the MODTRAN radiative transfer model (Berk 1989) coupled with the NOVAM - Navy Oceanic Vertical Aerosol Model (Gatham 1993). Given the nature of the data set from Explorer of the Seas ARM facility, this is a logical approach since oceanic aerosols will be inherent to the environment of the surface based measurements. The NOVAM model will be used to obtain first order estimates of potential aerosol effects and indicate possible aerosol nucleation mechanisms describing the concentrations of larger hygroscopic aerosols and their particle size distributions (Leeuw 1992). Currently, the NOVAM model supports three mode radii (peak of the particle size distribution) of 0.03, 0.24, and 2.0 microns. Modifications to the model to include larger mode radii will be investigated to support the thermal scattering hypothesis.

RIT Project Number: 30632

Funding: $119,978

Period of Performance: 17 August 2006 to 16 August 2007

RIT will provide support to gain insight into the phenomenology that influences the radiance field leaving the interior of a mechanical-draft cooling tower (MDCT). The DIRSIG modeling capability will be enhanced such that the models produced reflect, as accurately as possible, the actual data gathered with real airborne infrared imaging systems. These modeling efforts will focus on the phenomenology associated with “cavern-like” targets with numerous material types internally contained. This effort will be cyclical in nature with modeling approaches continually modified based on newly discovered phenomenology observed in real image data. The desired outcome of the modeling will be accurate internal-element emissivities and temperatures for the components that comprise the cooling tower for use with an external process model developed by Savannah River National Laboratory.

RIT Project Number: 30571

Funding: $457,820

Period of Performance: 01 February 2006 to 31 January 2009

RIT will provide support to the government as a critical participant in the National Signatures Program (NSP) working group monthly meetings. The NSP is responsible for the establishment of spectral measurements standards for solid, liquid, and gaseous materials. Standards in the form of measurement methodologies, formats, metadata, etc. fall within the purview of this group. RIT has been asked to be the representative for the government organization that funds and oversees this program to provide guidance, experience, and critical review to/of this programs efforts and to report back to the supporting organization with impressions and advice.

RIT Project Number: 30517/30654

Funding: $16,289 + $40,000 = $56,289

Period of Performance: 01 February 2005 to 31 July 2006 / 01 August 2006 to 31 July 2007

RIT will perform a system integration of the Designs & Prototypes MARLIN high-speed FTIR spectrometer with a FLIR Systems GasFindIR camera to create a bore-sighted or common-optic system capable of imaging effluent gas plumes and making spectral signature measurements at a central location in the field of view. RIT will further perform a proof-of-concept field study with this system against controlled gas releases. Once the data is collected, RIT will continue to analyze this data by producing an analysis software capability to perform gas identification and volume/rate-of-release estimations.

RIT Project Number: 30603/30652

Funding: $30,000 + $17,400 = $47,400

Period of Performance: 01 May 2006 to 30 November 2006

RIT will provide support through the Laboratory for Advanced Spectral Sensing for the development of an enhanced full spectrum material reflectance database to support more realistic simulations in the DIRSIG model. Current database holdings will be evaluated and test plan developed and executed to provide additional spectra to fill in voids in the current database.

RIT Project Number: 30483

Funding: $40,000

Period of Performance: 01 November 2004 to 31 May 2006

RIT will provide support for the development of new and/or evaluation of existing temperature extraction methodologies for infrared imagery. Techniques using a single band, multiple band, or multispectral/hyperspectral image data will be within the scope of this task. RIT will provide modeling support to produce synthetic imagery for evaluation of these algorithms using DIRSIG as requested. This support will may be in the form of assistance in the development of specific sensor models, specific imaging scenarios, and/or to provide a robust data set as a test-bed for new and existing algorithms. RIT will attend community meetings to report on the algorithm and modeling tasks as well as to provide critical review and/or insight into other proposed methodologies.

RIT Project Number: 30459

Funding: $114,640

Period of Performance: 01 November 2004 to 30 September 2005

RIT will be providing modeling support in the development of calibration test targets for longwave infrared (IR) test chamber characterization. RIT will utilize its DIRSIG model to represent the interior environment of the IR test chamber located at the WPAFB facility and the potential calibration targets that will be used, performing trade-off and optimization studies as top the efficacy of the designs to choose the proper target to manufacture. RIT will also place certain targets of interest into a cluttered IR background to assist in the design of future chambers with enhanced background capability.

RIT Project Number: 30463

Funding: $150,009

Period of Performance: 15 June 2004 to 11 November 2005

RIT will be utilizing funds provided to the current capital campaign by BAE Systems to support a graduate student in Imaging Science. The student will work on a project of interest to both RIT and BAE Systems for their thesis research project. The student will spend a Summer quarter working at BAE Systems with their scientist and engineers to gain real-world experience during their academic work.

RIT Project Number: 20157

Funding: $34,306

Period of Performance: 01 December 2003 to 30 November 2004

RIT performed two (2) tasks for LaSen, Incorporated in support of their aircraft-based LIDAR system. RIT investigated the feasibility of modeling a LaSen midwave infrared LIDAR system using DIRSIG with particular attention to spectral resolution, pulse generation, ground resolution, and atmospheric interaction. In addition, RIT made several high-spectral resolution reflectance measurements in the 3 to 5 micron region to aid in current exploitation task being carried out by the sponsor.

RIT Project Number: 30393

Funding: $7,000

Period of Performance: 01 May 2003 to 30 September 2003

RIT is determining the feasibility of automated tie point identification on numerous oblique air photos collected with the Pictometry system. Once a feasible approach is identified, RIT will be developing prototype software to assist Pictometry in this now largely manual process. This research was funded in part by CEIS, a NYSTAR-designated Center for Advanced Technology.

RIT Project Numbers: 36291, C3320, 33320 (CEIS)

Funding: $8,566 + $8,934 + $8,800 = $26,300

Period of Performance: 05 September 2003 to 04 September 2004

RIT will be providing a software tool that will allow the NYS OCSCIC to selectively degrade their online statewide library of aerial photographs to protect critical infrastructure information. As part of the Homeland Security initiative afoot in New York State, the OCSCIC desires a tool that would let them selectively degrade the resolution of their archives of air photos that are available to the public so that potential organizations that would aspire to do harm to these facilities do not have high quality data available to them, while maintaining the quality of the data in other regions for legitimate users. RIT will develop this software tool to key off of OSCCIC supplied shape files and apply the degradation to the library of imagery.

RIT Project Number: 33315

Funding: $21,039

Period of Performance: 04 April 2004 to 04 September 2004

RIT is supporting the NAIC Spectral Exploitation Center (NSEC) Spectral Library Support initiative by developing laboratory and field spectral library protocols to assure high quality spectral measurements are provide to the library expansion task. In addition, RIT personnel and students are measuring the spectral signatures of materials supplied by the library expansion team as well as those encountered during field exercises using laboratory and field spectrometers. Spectral reflectance measurements are being made from 0.35 through 20 microns for all materials.

RIT Project Number: 30340

Funding: $470,540 awarded / $340,540 allocated

Period of Performance: 16 October 2002 to 20 September 2004