by Umar Saeed

During the month of August, 2015, I completed a combined secondment to the University of Cologne and RPG. I spent 2 weeks at RPG and a week and a half at the University of Cologne.

The two weeks at RPG were a great learning experience in terms of the industry standards and practices. I was given an orientation of the company and Microwave Radiometer instrument. Several training sessions and meetings with Mr. Harry Czekala and Mr. Thomas Rose were of great educational value for the understanding of practical considerations related to the instrument and information retrieval.

At the University of Cologne, I was involved in discussions with Professor Susanne Crewell, and I attended two weekly group meetings in order to be updated on the current research work going on there. During a meeting with Susanne, Roel Neggers, and Jan Schween we discussed and agreed on the house of LES simulated data for our upcoming work. In another meeting with Susanne and Uli Lohnert, we discussed and explored our idea of direct retrieval of atmospheric boundary layer height from the simulated measurements with input from LES simulated profiles of temperature and aerosols backscatter. We also discussed the idea related to the simulated lidar and microwave radiometer data to investigate the strengths and limitations of the aerosol- and temperature- based methods by avoiding the instrumental shortcomings.

Overall, it was a great experience to be in the vibrant and lively city of Cologne. We started exploring it from where we left off in 2013 and were impressed even more with the touristic attractions like Cathedral, Chocolate museum and Cologne zoo, as well as places of preference for locals such as the parks and green belts.