LAFTR — Light and Fast TGF Recorder

Montana State University, with UC Santa Cruz, developed the Light and Fast TGF Recorder (LAFTR) — a NASA University Student Instrumentation Project detector for high-energy gamma rays at very high rates.

• Light enough (< 2.5 kg) for balloon-borne observations inside thunderstorms
• Fast enough for unsaturated measurements near TGF generation regions
• Low-cost enough for multi-point ground and tower arrays

My PhD work included high-speed multi-channel instrumentation, power systems / PCB work for balloon flights, and field deployments. More context, maps, and related science live on the Research page.