Problem Solver

Grant Petty

Grant Petty

Areas Grant Petty is Knowledgeable in:

Satellite image processing, atmospheric radiative transfer, remote sensing algorithms, atmospheric physical processes. Principal component analysis and dimensional reduction of high-dimensional observational datasets. Physical and empirical estimation techniques, including optimal estimation; measurement theory. Principles of stereophotogrammetry.

Techniques Grant Petty Uses:

Ad hoc, heuristic, intuitive, experimental, and/or numerical simulation.

Grant Petty's Problem Solving Skills:

  1. radiative transfer
  2. meteorological measurements
  3. satellite image analysis
  4. meteorology
  5. textbook author
  6. textbook publishing
  7. LaTeX
  8. optimal estimation
  9. data analysis
  10. scientific programming (C, Fortran, Python)
  11. photography
  12. commercial UAV/drone pilot
  13. private pilot
  14. atmospheric physics
  15. technical writing
  16. remote sensing
  17. electromagnetic scattering
  18. statistical analysis
  19. UAV/drone construction
  20. reviewer of journal articles and science proposals
  21. basic electronics

Grant Petty's Problem Solving Experience:

  1. I developed a novel unsupervised classification algorithm based on pairwise similarities among the members of a multidimensional data set.
  2. In the era before terabyte-sized hard disk drives, I developed a C-language program for treating an open-ended collection of sequential magnetic tapes as a virtual random-access storage device.
  3. I wrote a Python program for automating the creation and management of invoices for online book orders.
  4. I built a 2.6m autonomous fixed-wing drone for making meteorological measurements.
  5. I developed a new technique for estimating rainfall from satellite multifrequency microwave observations of the global atmosphere and published results showing that it performs significantly better than the then-standard algorithm.
  6. I developed a theoretical concept for measuring the mass of falling precipitation particles using soft x-rays.
  7. I started an independent textbook publishing business that currently ships well over 1,000 books per year, including two of my own titles and three titles by other authors.
  8. I built and fly a manned ultralight airplane for use in meteorological research.
  9. I published a paper presenting the first calculations of scattering of microwave energy from realistic aggregated snowflakes.
  10. I developed a method for measuring above-surface winds by photogrammetrically tracking balloons with pro-sumer grade cameras.
  11. As a graduate student, I wrote a 10,000+ line C custom program for interactive display and analysis of satellite microwave images.
  12. For my Ph.D. dissertation, I developed a self-contained parametric model for the response of a particular satellite microwave radiometer to atmospheric state.