Ozair Usmani

Something About Me

Ozair is a rising third-year Physics major at UC Santa Barbara. He is interested in pursuing a career in climate science, specifically with improving climate models to better improve future projections. He began his interest by working with Professor Loaiciga on a saltwater intrusion groundwater modeling research project. The goal of this project was to show that saltwater intrusion in the Oxnard plain is worse with two pumping wells near the coast and one pumping well further inland, compared to only one pumping well further inland. He also showed that barrier wells help mitigate saltwater intrusion. Through his Fellowship this summer, he is working with PhD student Cali Pfleger in the Stevenson Lab on developing a full climate dashboard for Santa Barbara County based on Cal-Adapt data. This dashboard will allow Santa Barbara locals to access various climate observational data and future projections for many climate variables, such as annual average precipitation, minimum temperature projections, etc. This climate dashboard will promote open data science practices in the field of climate science while also bridging the gap between its complexities and the average understanding of local climate change impacts.