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Austin Egert

Writer

Director of Atmospheric Physics

Profile

Join date: Apr 6, 2026

About

Austin's scientific journey began with a childhood fascination with planets, sparked by viewing Saturn through a telescope on Halloween night. Despite initial challenges with physics and computer programming in college, he discovered a passion for conceptual physics that led him to pursue a bachelor's degree in the field.

His career took an unexpected turn when he joined Intel Corporation as an electromagnetic compatibility engineer before completing his degree. Later, while pursuing his doctorate in physics, Austin developed programming skills in MATLAB, FORTRAN and IDL to model Jupiter's ionosphere. Today, Austin works as a scientific programmer modeling Earth's ionosphere, effectively combining his interests in science, space, and computer programming.

Posts (1)

Apr 6, 2026 ∙ 4 min

Unveiling the hidden connection between Earth and sky: How natural and human-made events affect the ionosphere 

Austin Egert, Director of Atmospheric Physics   When we think about the ionosphere—a critical layer of Earth’s atmosphere that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere—we tend to focus on impacts from the Sun. Solar flares and geomagnetic storms are well-known triggers for ionospheric disruptions. But what if some of the most profound changes in the ionosphere originate here on Earth? Earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and even human activities...