Mathematics & Science Division 572C Holloway Road U. S. Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 21402

telephone: 1-443-994-4470 (voice)

Teaching and Research Experience
1991-present:  research professor, Mathematics and Science Division, U. S. Naval Academy
1992-1994, 1996-1999:  visiting CNMOC Chair in Remote Sensing, Oceanography Department, U. S. Naval Academy
1989-1991:  postdoctoral researcher, Meteorology Department, Pennsylvania State University
1980-1988:  graduate lecturer and teaching assistant, Meteorology Department, Pennsylvania State University

Education
Ph. D. in meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
B. A. cum laude in art history from Williams College, Williamstown, MA

Resident courses taught (Penn State):
  Graduate practicum in Physical Meteorology
  Introductory Meteorology
  Observing and Analyzing Atmospheric Physics

External courses taught (Penn State):
  Applications of Statistics to Meteorology
  Hydrodynamics of the Atmosphere
  Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology
  Introduction to Synoptic Meteorology
  Physical Meteorology
  Tropical Meteorology

Papers in Refereed Journals
2020  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Analyzing colors and spectra of natural rainbows with hyperspectral imaging,” Applied Optics 59, F63-F70.

2017  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Spectral measurement and modeling of natural rainbows,” Applied Optics 56, G42-G50.

2017  R. L. Lee, Jr. and D. C. Mollner, “Tropospheric haze and colors of the clear twilight sky,” Applied Optics 56, G179-G187.

2015  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Tropospheric haze and colors of the clear daytime sky,” Applied Optics 54, B232-B240.  {data}

2015  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Measuring and modeling twilight’s Belt of Venus,” Applied Optics 54, B194-B203.   {Media1, Media2}  {data}

2012  R. L. Lee, Jr. and O. R. Samudio, “Spectral polarization of clear and hazy coastal skies,” Applied Optics 51, 7499-7508.  {data}

2011  R. L. Lee, Jr., W. Meyer, and G. Hoeppe, “Atmospheric ozone and colors of the Antarctic twilight sky,” Applied Optics 50, F162-F171.  {data}

2011  R. L. Lee, Jr. and P. Laven, “Visibility of natural tertiary rainbows,” Applied Optics 50, F152-F161.  {data}

2008  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Measuring overcast colors with all-sky imaging,” Applied Optics 47, H106-H115.  {data}

2008  R. L. Lee, Jr. and D. E. Devan, “Observed brightness distributions in overcast skies,” Applied Optics 47, H116-H127. {data}

2006  S. Johnsen, A. Kelber, E. Warrant, A. M. Sweeney, E. A. Widder, R. L. Lee, Jr., and J. Hernández-Andrés, “Crepuscular and nocturnal illumination and its effects on color perception by the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor,” Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 789-800.

2005  R. L. Lee, Jr. and J. Hernández-Andrés, “Short-term variability of overcast brightness,” Applied Optics 44, 5704-5711.

2005  R. L. Lee, Jr. and J. Hernández-Andrés, “Colors of the daytime overcast sky,” Applied Optics 44, 5712-5722.

2005  M. A. López-Álvarez, J. Hernández-Andrés, J. Romero, and R. L. Lee, Jr., “Designing a practical system for spectral imaging of skylight,” Applied Optics 44, 5688-5695.

2004  M. V. Berry, M. R. Dennis, and R. L. Lee, Jr., “Polarization singularities in the clear sky,” New Journal of Physics 6 (9 November, # 162), 14 pp.

2004  R. L. Lee, Jr. and J. Hernández-Andrés, “Virtual tunnels and green glass: The colors of common mirrors,” American Journal of Physics 72, 53-59.

2003  R. L. Lee, Jr. and J. Hernández-Andrés, “Measuring and modeling twilight’s purple light,” Applied Optics 42, 445-457.

2003  J. Hernández-Andrés and R. L. Lee, Jr., “Color and luminance asymmetries in the clear sky,” Applied Optics 42, 458-464.

2001  J. Hernández-Andrés, R. L. Lee, Jr., J. Romero, and J. L. Nieves, “Color and spectral analysis of daylight in southern Europe,” Journal of the Optical Society of America A 18, 1325-1335.

2001  J. Hernández-Andrés, R. L. Lee, Jr., and J. Romero, “Colorimetric and spectroradiometric characteristics of narrow field-of-view clear skylight in Granada, Spain,” Journal of the Optical Society of America A 18, 412-420.

1999  J. Hernández-Andrés, R. L. Lee, Jr., and J. Romero, “Calculating correlated color temperatures across the entire gamut of daylight and skylight chromaticities,” Applied Optics 38, 5703-5709.

1998  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Mie theory, Airy theory, and the natural rainbow,” Applied Optics 37, 1506-1519.

1998  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Digital imaging of clear-sky polarization,” Applied Optics 37, 1465-1476.

1994  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Horizon brightness revisited:  Measurements and a model of clear-sky radiances,” Applied Optics 33, 4620-4628, 4959.

1994  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Twilight and daytime colors of the clear sky,” Applied Optics 33, 4629-4638, 4959.

1991  R. L. Lee, Jr., “What are ‘all the colors of the rainbow’?,” Applied Optics 30, 3401-3407, 3545.

1990  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Green icebergs and remote sensing,” Journal of the Optical Society of America A 7, 1862-1874.

1988  R. L. Lee, Jr., “Colorimetric calibration of a video digitizing system:  Algorithm and applications,” Color Research and Application 13, 180-186.

Invited Papers and Talks
2017  “Out of the blue: Hyperspectral imaging and analysis of clear daytime and twilight skies,” invited talk given on 15 November at Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.

2000  “Regnbuen og regndråbernes størrelse,” Aktuel Naturvidenskab, (# 1, February/March), 10.

2000  “Looking at and through clear to cloudy skies:  Research in mirages, glories, coronas, sky color and more, 1970-1999,” in On Minnaert’s Shoulders:  20 Years of the Light and Color Conferences, in the Optical Society of America’s series Classic Reprints on CD-ROM, Vol. 1.

2000  Wrote 40 peer-reviewed entries in second edition of the AMS Glossary of Meteorology.

1998  “Regnbuens farver,” Kvant 9 (# 4, December), 14.

1990  “The light at the end of the rainbow,” (with Alistair B. Fraser) New Scientist 127 (# 1732, 1 September), 40-44.

1984  “Rainbows: An observer’s guide,” “God, the rainbow, and the artist,” “What’s at the end of the rainbow puzzle?” Published simultaneously in The Johns Hopkins Magazine, Franklin & Marshall Today, The Wick {Hartwick College alumni magazine}, At Rensselaer, The WPI Journal; pp. I - XI (August 1984).

Scholarly Book
2001 The Rainbow Bridge (393 pp.; with Alistair B. Fraser), Penn State Press and SPIE Press (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers). The Rainbow Bridge is a richly illustrated history of the science, mythology, and art of the natural rainbow.

Dissertation:  “Green icebergs:  A problem in geophysics and atmospheric optics.”  Two remote sensing techniques show that bottle-green icebergs need not be caused by extrinsic colorants.  Instead, intrinsically blue-green ice containing a few black or gray scatterers can generate the greens observed, and these greens are especially vivid when the ice is illuminated by reddened sunlight.

Reports and Course Development
1992-2019  numerous technical reports in forensic meteorology, visibility, and lighting for Robson Forensic, Inc., Lancaster, PA.

1995  “Low-visibility accidents” in National Transportation Safety Board’s Highway Accident Report and Special Investigation of Collision Warning Technology, NTSB/HAR-95/03, pp. 29-35.

1992  Federal Highway Administration study Final Report # FHWA-RD-91-016, Driver Visibility Under Wet Pavement Conditions: Size, Shape, and Spacing of Road Markers (with R. S. Hostetter and Herschel Leibowitz).

1991, 1986  “Weather and Society,” Department of Independent Learning, Pennsylvania State University, 262 pp. (1st & 2nd editions)

2016  “Tropospheric haze and twilight sky colors,” paper presented at the 12th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Granada, Spain on 3 June.

2016  “Spectral imaging of spraybows and natural rainbows,” paper presented at the 12th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Granada, Spain on 31 May.

2013  “Twilight’s Belt of Venus:  Mythology, measurements, and modeling,” invited paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Fairbanks, AK on 8 August.

2013  “Measuring haze’s effects on the colors and visible-wavelength spectra of clear skies,” paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Fairbanks, AK on 7 August.

2010  “Spectral polarization of clear and hazy coastal skies,” paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, St. Mary’s City, MD on 19 June.

2010  “Seasonal ozone depletion and colors of the twilight sky at Neumayer Station, Antarctica,” paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, St. Mary’s City, MD on 18 June.

2010  “Visibility of natural tertiary rainbows,” paper presented at the 10th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, St. Mary’s City, MD on 16 June.

2007  “Measuring overcast colors with all-sky imaging,” paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Bozeman, MT on 25 June.

2007  “Observed brightness distributions in overcast skies,” paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Bozeman, MT on 25 June.

2004  “Colors of clear and overcast skies,” invited paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Bad Honnef, Germany on 16 June.

2004  “Temporal variability of overcast illuminances,” paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, Bad Honnef, Germany on 16 June.

2002  “Polarization in atmospheric optics,” invited paper presented at the 3rd George Gabriel Stokes Summer School conference, Skreen, Ireland on 22 June.

2001  “The Rainbow Bridge:  Rainbows in art, myth, and science,” invited paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO on 8 June.

2001  “Twilight’s purple light:  New evidence on an old problem,” presented at the 7th International Conference on Meteorological Optics, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO on 7 June.

1999   “Visibility of SMV signs during twilight,” presented at the National Institute for Farm Safety conference, Ocean City, MD on 21 June.

1997  “Mie theory, Airy theory, and the natural rainbow,” invited paper presented at the Topical Meeting on Light and Color in the Open Air, Optical Society of America, Santa Fe, NM on 10 February.

1997  “Expanding the Arago neutral point:  Digital imaging of clear-sky polarization,” presented at the Topical Meeting on Light and Color in the Open Air, Optical Society of America, Santa Fe, NM on 11 February.

1993  “Horizon brightness revisited:  Measurements and a model of clear-sky radiances,” presented at the Topical Meeting on Light and Color in the Open Air, Optical Society of America, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA on 17 June.

1993  “Twilight and daytime colors of the clear sky,” presented at the Topical Meeting on Light and Color in the Open Air, Optical Society of America, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA on 17 June.

1990  “Green icebergs and atmospheric optics,” presented at the Topical Meeting on Light and Color in the Open Air, Optical Society of America, Georgetown University, Washington, DC on 12 July.

1990  “Rethinking the rainbow’s colors,” presented at the Topical Meeting on Light and Color in the Open Air, Optical Society of America, Georgetown University, Washington, DC on 11 July.

1987  “Colorimetric calibration of a video digitizing system,” presented at the Topical Meeting on Color Appearance, Optical Society of America, at St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD on 30 June. 

2017  Wrote proposal for and was awarded as principal investigator the National Science Foundation grant # AGS-1664404, “Hyperspectral imaging and analysis of natural rainbows.”

2010 Contributed to proposal for and was awarded (with Charles Adler as principal investigator) the National Science Foundation grant # AGS-0962429, “2010 Meteorological/Light and Color in the Open Air Conference; St. Mary’s City, Maryland; June 16-20, 2010.”

2009  Wrote proposal for and was awarded as principal investigator the National Science Foundation grant # AGS-0914535, “Visual and spectral properties of tropospheric haze.”

2007  Wrote proposal for and was awarded (with Joseph Shaw as co-principal investigator) the National Science Foundation grant # AGS-0731416, “Conference support for the 9th International Meeting on Light and Color in Nature; Bozeman, Montana; June 25-29, 2007.”

2006  Wrote proposal for and was awarded as principal investigator the National Science Foundation grant # AGS-0540896, “Spectral imaging of overcast skies.”

2002  Wrote proposal for and was awarded as principal investigator the National Science Foundation grant # AGS-0207516, “Ground-based passive remote sensing of the overcast sky.”

2001  Wrote proposal for and was awarded a National Science Foundation conference grant for the 2001 Topical Meeting on Meteorological Optics at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO.

1999  Wrote proposal for and was awarded (with Alistair B. Fraser as co-principal investigator) National Science Foundation grant # AGS-9820729, “Twilight’s spectral and spatial structure in the visible.”

1995  Wrote proposal for and was awarded (with Alistair B. Fraser as principal investigator) National Science Foundation grant # AGS-9414290, “Twilight & the naked-eye observer:  Models and high-resolution measurements.”

1992  Awarded funding by the Naval Research Laboratory and the U. S. Naval Academy’s Research Council to collaborate with NRL researchers on “Polarization and wavelength diversity of coherent SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imaging.”

1991  Consultant to Kerr-McGee Corporation on “Measured pigment colors and modeled colors of pigment spheres.”

1989  Wrote proposal for and was awarded (with Alistair B. Fraser as co- principal investigator) renewal of National Science Foundation grant # AGS-8917596, “The natural rainbow and passive remote sensing.”

1988  Awarded two-year contract as principal investigator for Federal Highway Administration study # DTFH61-88-C-00118, “Driver visibility under wet pavement conditions.”

1986  Wrote proposal for and was awarded (with Alistair B. Fraser as principal investigator) National Science Foundation grant # AGS-8607577, “The natural rainbow and passive remote sensing.”

2016-2017  Topical editor for Optical Society of America technical papers resulting from 12th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature.

2015-2016  Organizing committee for 12th International Meeting on Light and Color in Nature at the University of Granada, Spain from 31 May-3 June 2016.

2014-2015 Topical editor for Optical Society of America technical papers resulting from 11th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature.

2012-2013  Organizing committee for 11th International Meeting on Light and Color in Nature at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks, AK from 5-8 August 2013.

2011 Topical editor for Optical Society of America technical papers resulting from 10th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature.

2010 Invited panelist for public forum on “The atmosphere exposed:  Photographs of meteorological optics,” Boyden Art Gallery at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on 16 June.

2009-2010  Organizing committee for 10th International Meeting on Light and Color in Nature at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, MD from 16-20 June 2010.

2008 Topical editor for Optical Society of America technical papers resulting from 9th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature.

2007  Organizing committee for 9th International Meeting on Light and Color in Nature at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT; also served as session chair on 28 June.

2004-2005  Topical editor for Optical Society of America technical papers resulting from 8th International Conference on Light and Color in Nature.

2004  Organizing committee for 8th International Conference on Atmospheric Optics at the German Physical Society, Bad Honnef, Germany; also served as session chair on 17 June.

2001  Organizing committee for Topical Meeting on Meteorological Optics at Boulder, CO; also served as session chair on 6 June.

1997  Session chair for OSA/AMS topical meeting, Santa Fe, NM on 11 February.

1995  Invited speaker at National Transportation Safety Board Investigative Conference on “Mobile collision warning technology for low visibility/low awareness conditions,” Arlington, VA on 4 April.

1991-1994  Invited panel member for the National Research Council’s Highway Research Synthesis on “Reduced visibility on the highway” (NCHRP Project 20-5, Topic 23-12).

1991  Invited speaker at National Transportation Safety Board Special Public Hearing on “Driving and fog-related accidents,” Knoxville, TN on 23-25 April.

1990  Member of Technical Program Committee for OSA topical meeting, Washington, DC on 11-13 July.

1995-2018  Supervised 16 Oceanography Department majors in their Honors Research projects; advised Physics Department major in Honors Research project (2004); supervised 14 Oceanography Department majors on their Capstone papers.

1990-2020  Reviewed 41 technical papers for Aerosol Science and Technology, American Journal of Physics, Applied Optics, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Journal of Display Technology, Journal of Geophysical Research--Atmospheres, The Observatory, The Physics Teacher, Solar Energy, and Journal of the Optical Society of America A.

2002-2009  Reviewed 3 popular-level book manuscripts for MIT Press, Cambridge University Press, and Princeton University Press.

2001  Reviewed book chapter on a field guide to meteorology for Penguin Press.

1999  Nominated as member of Ph.D. dissertation tribunal for Javier Hernández-Andrés, Department of Optics, University of Granada, Spain.

1996  Reviewed college-level meteorology workbook for AMS’ Project Atmosphere.

1995  M. S. thesis advisor/signatory for Michael E. Churma, The Modeling and Remote Sensing of the Rainbow (Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University).

1994-2003, 2018  Reviewed 6 National Science Foundation technical proposals (EPSCoR, Polar Programs, and Physical Meteorology).

1985  Reviewed paper on the optics and colorimetry of light scattering by bubbles in water for Applied Optics.

1984-1985  Reviewed 2 papers on meteorological optics for the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

(Material contained herein is made available for the purpose of peer review and discussion and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.)