Zhiguo Meng | Remote Sensing Geology | Research Excellence

Published on by Applied Scientist

Prof. Dr. Zhiguo Meng | Remote Sensing Geology | Research Excellence

Jilin University | China

Prof. Dr. Zhiguo Meng is a prominent lunar remote sensing and planetary geoscience scholar whose research has substantially advanced our understanding of the Moon’s surface processes, thermophysical behavior, and geological evolution, supported by an impressive record of 105 scientific publications, 771 citations from 446 citing documents, and an h-index of 16. His work focuses extensively on analyzing multi-frequency microwave radiometer data, thermal radiation characteristics, and regolith properties derived from China’s Chang’e missions, including CE-2, CE-4, CE-5, and CE-6. Meng has contributed major breakthroughs in constructing global lunar brightness temperature datasets, defining effective brightness temperature differences, and developing innovative techniques to detect subsurface anomalies and assess the thermophysical properties of lunar deposits in regions such as Oceanus Procellarum, Mare Imbrium, Lacus Mortis, and the Schiller–Schickard cryptomare. His research reveals new insights into lunar volcanic evolution, crustal structure, and thermal history by studying crater emissions, lava flows, and regolith heat production rates. Meng is also active in developing advanced computational tools, including deep learning frameworks such as MFBTFF-Net, to estimate lunar surface oxide abundances using Chang’e microwave sounder data. His interdisciplinary contributions extend to planetary formation studies, notably using Chang’e-4 data to examine millimeter-scale particle–surface collisions, and to Earth-based applications, including InSAR-based ground deformation monitoring in mining and earthquake-prone regions. Through extensive collaboration, frequent contributions to leading journals, and advanced modeling of scattering, irradiation, and thermal behavior, Prof. Dr. Meng continues to shape the scientific foundation essential for lunar exploration, mission planning, and future planetary research.

Profiles: Scopus | Orcid

Featured Publications

  • Meng, Z., Mei, L., Liu, C., Xu, Y., Zhang, X., Bugiolacchi, R., Zong, Q., Cheng, W., Ping, J., & Zhang, Y. (2025). Definition of effective brightness temperature difference and its geological significance. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

  • Li, Z., Zhao, Y., Tang, X., & Meng, Z. (2025). Heat production rate of lunar major basins: New insights into lunar thermal evolution. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

  • Li, Y., Yuan, Z., Mazhar, S., Meng, Z., Zhang, Y., Ping, J., & Nunziata, F. (2025). MFBTFF‐Net: A multi-frequency brightness temperature feature fusion network for lunar surface oxides abundance estimation using Chang’e-2 data. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing.

  • Chang, W., Meng, Z., Xu, Y., Zhang, X., Bugiolacchi, R., Xiao, L., Ping, J., Zhang, H., & Zhang, Y. (2025). Microwave thermophysical properties of surface deposits in the CE-6 landing region and implications for returned samples. Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

  • Lei, L., Zhang, X., Luo, P., Zhang, G., You, J., Liu, J., Xu, Y., Fu, S., Li, X., & Meng, Z. (2025). Planetary formation constrained by collisions between millimeter-sized lunar particles and the lunar surface from the Chang’E-4 mission. The Astrophysical Journal.

Giuseppe Osteria | Cherenkov Camera in Space | Research Excellence Award

Published on by Applied Scientist

Dr. Giuseppe Osteria | Cherenkov Camera in Space | Research Excellence Award

Istituto Nazione di Fisica Nucleare | Italy

Dr. Giuseppe Osteria’s research focuses on advancing astroparticle physics with a strong emphasis on high-precision measurements of cosmic radiation using space-based and balloon-borne detectors. With a citation record of 19,296 citations, an h-index of 63, and an i10-index of 193 (with 5,131 citations, h-index 34, and i10-index 99 since 2020), his work has significantly shaped the field. Over the past 25 years, he has contributed extensively to major international experiments aimed at understanding the composition, origin, and propagation of cosmic rays, antimatter components, and high-energy astrophysical phenomena. His scientific contributions span the MACRO experiment, which provided foundational insights into atmospheric neutrinos and underground muon fluxes, as well as the MINISINGAO/ARGO and NOE/ICANOE projects investigating cosmic-ray interactions and neutrino behavior. A major portion of his career is linked to the WIZARD-PAMELA mission, where his leadership in time-of-flight systems, trigger development, and light-nuclei data analysis enabled groundbreaking results, including the discovery of anomalous positron abundance and precise measurements of proton, helium, electron, positron, and antiproton spectra. Dr. Osteria has also played central roles in the JEM-EUSO program, contributing to the advancement of space-based detection of extreme-energy cosmic rays and serving as an international data processor and operations manager for missions such as EUSO-Balloon, TA-EUSO, and MINI-EUSO. His work extends to next-generation missions—SPB2, PBR, CSES-Limadou, GAPS, and HERD-DMP—where he has overseen instrumentation, trigger electronics, calorimetry systems, and high-level data processing. Collectively, his research drives progress in cosmic-ray physics, antimatter studies, and multi-messenger astrophysics, positioning him as a leading contributor to space-borne astroparticle research.

Profiles: Google Scholar | Orcid | Scopus

Featured Publications

  • Adriani, O., Barbarino, G. C., Bazilevskaya, G. A., Bellotti, R., Boezio, M., et al. (2009). An anomalous positron abundance in cosmic rays with energies 1.5–100 GeV. Nature, 458(7238), 607–609.

  • Adriani, O., Barbarino, G. C., Bazilevskaya, G. A., Bellotti, R., Boezio, M., et al. (2011). PAMELA measurements of cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra. Science, 332(6025), 69–72.

  • Adriani, O., Barbarino, G. C., Bazilevskaya, G. A., Bellotti, R., Boezio, M., et al. (2010). PAMELA results on the cosmic-ray antiproton flux from 60 MeV to 180 GeV in kinetic energy. Physical Review Letters, 105(12), 121101.

  • Picozza, P., Galper, A. M., Castellini, G., Adriani, O., Altamura, F., Ambriola, M., … Barbarino, G. C. (2007). PAMELA–A payload for antimatter matter exploration and light-nuclei astrophysics. Astroparticle Physics, 27(4), 296–315.

  • Ambrosio, M., Antolini, R., Aramo, C., Auriemma, G., Baldini, A., Barbarino, G. C., … MACRO Collaboration. (1998). Measurement of the atmospheric neutrino-induced upgoing muon flux using MACRO. Physics Letters B, 434(3–4), 451–457.