Daniel J. Emmons

Daniel J. Emmons is an Associate Professor of Physics and Senior Military Faculty at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Department of Engineering Physics. His work bridges military applications with fundamental research in space weather and ionospheric physics.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Applied Physics (2017), AFIT
  • M.S. in Applied Physics (2012), AFIT
  • B.S. in Physics (2007), San Diego State University

Research Interests: Focus on laser kinetics, plasma chemistry, and ionospheric disturbances. Key areas include sporadic-E layer dynamics, solar flare impacts on radio propagation, and GNSS-based electron density modeling.

Recent Publications highlight advancements in:

• Deep learning for sporadic-E prediction
• Magnetic field variability in solar flares
• GNSS radio occultation techniques for ionospheric analysis
• Solar eclipse effects on ionosphere-thermosphere systems

Scientific Awards:

• 2023 Educator of the Year, Air Education and Training Command
• 2022 Outstanding Science and Engineering Educator, Department of the Air Force
• Multiple mentorship and teaching awards (2021)

Advising and Collaborations: Co-authored studies with teams from New Mexico Tech, NASA, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Led invited talks on space weather impacts and ionospheric monitoring.