My primary areas of interest involve atmospheric radiative transfer, remote sensing of clouds and aerosols, and climate/clouds-aerosols research. I have innovated a unified theory for light scattering by nonspherical ice crystals of all sizes and shapes, similar to the Lorenz-Mie theory for spherical droplets, and a number of physically-based approximations for the transfer of solar and thermal infrared radiation in cloudy and aerosol atmospheres for applications to remote sensing and climate modeling (see Professor Liou's primary research work). In recent years, I have focused my research on three areas: development of remote sensing programs for the detection of ubiquitous thin and subvisual cirrus and for the retrieval of the optical and microphysical properties of clouds and aerosols with validations on the basis of spectral channels that are and will be available from operational and research satellites; research on efficient radiative transfer programs (including 3D) for inhomogeneous clouds, aerosols, and mountain surfaces for incorporation in climate and general circulation models; and investigation of light scattering and spectroscopic features involving ice crystal clouds generated in a laboratory cloud chamber.
