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Nick Lombardo studied physics, math, and earth science at Central Connecticut State University and earned a PhD in Earth & Planetary Sciences at Yale University. His cross-cutting interests in astronomy and earth physics led him to specialize in planetary atmospheric science, with a focus on Saturn’s largest moon Titan. Before beginning his PhD, he was an astronomer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where he was a member of the Cassini mission in the final year before it plunged into Saturn. More recently, he served as a member of the James Webb Space Telescope team for Guaranteed Time Observations for Titan, an associate of NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Titan, and as the Titan science lead for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. He has taught a range of introductory physics courses at Central Connecticut State University and is passionate about making science accessible to non-STEM students. He is active in communicating science to the public, and has led astronomy activities at local museums, sports stadiums, and the White House. Examples of outreach videos he has contributed to can be found listed on his personal website here.
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Climate science
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Computational physics
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Astronomy
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Ocean science
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Atmospheric science
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Planetary astronomy
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Atmospheric dynamics
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Habitability
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Titan, Venus
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Radiative transfer
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Circulation modeling
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- in rev. Lombardo, N. A. & Lora, J. M., “Interaction of Trace Species and Three-Dimensional Circulation in Titan’s Middle Atmosphere”, under review in JGR: Planets.
- 2025. Nixon, C. A., Bézard, B.†, Cornet, T.†, Coy, B. P.†, de Pater, I.†, Es-Sayeh, M.†, Hammel, H. B.†, Lellouch, E.†, Lombardo, N. A.†, López-Puertas, M.†, Lora, J. M.†, Rannou, P.†, Rodriguez, S.†, Teanby, N. A.†, Turtle, E. P.†, +30 others, “Titan’s Atmosphere in Late Northern Summer from JWST and Keck Observations”, Nature Astronomy, †These authors contributed equally.
- 2024. Light, S., Gurwell, M., Thelen, A., Lombardo, N. A., Nixon, C. A., “Measurements of Titan’s Stratospheric Winds During Equinox with the eSMA”, The Planetary Science Journal, 5, 98.
- 2023. Lewis, N. T., Lombardo, N. A., Read, P. T., Lora, J. M., “Equatorial Waves and Superrotation in the Stratosphere of a Titan General Circulation Model”, The Planetary Science Journal, 4, 149.
- 2023. Lombardo, N. A. & Lora, J. M., “The Heat and Momentum Budgets of Titan’s Middle Atmosphere”, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 128, e2023JE00806.
- 2023. Lombardo, N. A. & Lora, J. M., “Influence of Observed Seasonally Varying Composition on Titan’s Stratospheric Circulation”, Icarus, 390, 115291.
- 2019. Nixon, C. A., Ansty, T. M., Lombardo, N. A., Bjoraker, G. L., Achterberg, R. K., Annex, A. M., Rice, M., Romani, P. N., Jennings, D. E., Coustenis, A., Bézard, B., Vinatier, S., Lellouch, E., Teanby, N. A., Cottini, V., Flasar, F. M. “Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer Observations of Titan 2004-2017”, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 244, 14.
- 2019. *Lombardo, N A., Nixon, C. A., Greathouse, T. K., Bézard, B., Jolly, A., Vinatier, S., Teanby, N. A., Richter, M. J., Irwin, P. J. G., Coustenis, A., Flasar, F. M. “Detection of Propadiene on Titan”, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 881, L33 - *featured on Sci-News and NASA Astrobiology Institute homepage.
- 2019. Lombardo, N. A., Nixon, C. A., Sylvestre, M., Jennings, D. E., Teanby, N., Irwin, P. G. J., and Flasar, F. M. “Ethane in Titan’s Stratosphere from Cassini CIRS Far- and Mid-Infrared Spectra”, The Astronomical Journal, 157, 160-170.
- 2019. Lombardo, N. A., Nixon, C. A., Achterberg, R. K., Sung, K., Jolly, A., Irwin, P. G. J., and Flasar, F. M. “Spatial and Seasonal Variations in C3Hx Hydrocarbon Abundance in Titan’s Stratosphere with Cassini CIRS Observations”, Icarus, 317, 454-469.
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- Yale Earth & Planetary Sciences Hammer Award for Outstanding Graduate Students, 2024
- Yale Geology & Geophysics Bateman Fellowship for Incoming PhD Students, 2019
- NASA Group Achievement Award for the Grand Finale orbits of Cassini around Saturn, 2018
- NASA Group Achievement Award for the Solstice, F-Ring, and Proximal orbits of Cassini, 2018
- CCSU Department of Physics and Engineering Physics Honors, 2017
- CCSU Bulman Award for Service to the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, 2016
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