2015 News & Events

Ru-Shan Gao Awarded OAR Employee of the Year

3 December 2015

Ru-Shan Gao
Dr. Ru-Shan Gao

Dr. Ru-Shan Gao has been granted the OAR Employee of the Year Award, "for outstanding innovations in the design, engineering, and construction of a new lightweight, low-cost detector for studying atmospheric aerosols, the Printed Optical Particle Spectrometer, and using it on versatile airborne platforms to achieve ground-breaking measurements in the atmosphere."

The OAR Employee of the Year Award recognizes OAR employees who have made outstanding contributions to promote excellence in the operations or programs of NOAA Research. Ru-Shan's work at NOAA includes the measurement of trace gases and aerosols in the troposphere and lower stratosphere using airborne instruments. He has participated and served as Principal Investigator for a variety of instruments on a number of airborne sampling missions, including recent research with the Printed Optical Particle Spectrometer (POPS) scoring an observation "first" on balloon flights in China during the summer Asian Monsoon. He is considered by his colleagues to be a Master Craftsman who is outstanding at creating one-of-a-kind scientific devices for laboratory and field instruments.

Ru-Shan receives this well-deserved recognition at a ceremony on December 9 at OAR Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.