University of Iowa alumna Kawther Rouabhi, now in a Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado, Boulder, received an Outstanding Student Presentation Award for her talk at the AGU Fall Meeting Dec. 12-16, 2022 in Chicago. The honor is awarded for only the most exceptional presentations during the meeting, as determined by judge evaluations. 

Rouabhi's talk was on work she did as an undergraduate researcher last year in Associate Professor Allison Jaynes' Electron, Ion, Proton Sensors and Instrumentation for Space (ELIPSIS) Lab. Rouabhi developed a machine learning algorithm to detect pulsating aurora borealis using NASA THEMIS all-sky imager data. This algorithm will lead to an autonomously generated database of pulsating aurora events from the past two decades, which will serve as a convenient resource for scientists studying the phenomenon.

Rouabhi graduated from the UI with degrees in Computer Science and Engineering (Bachelors of Science and Engineering) in May 2022.