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Sebastian Eastham

Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Seb is a research scientist in the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment, part of MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. His research career began at Cambridge, where he worked on the environmental impact of expanding Heathrow Airport as part of his undergraduate degree. Seb completed a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering at MIT in 2015, followed by a two year postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard in the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group, supported jointly by the Harvard University Center for the Environment and by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate and Global Change program. He joined LAE as a research scientist in 2017.

At LAE, Seb’s work is focused on understanding and reducing the atmospheric impacts of aviation. A key part of this is the physical modeling of aircraft exhaust plumes and condensation trails, using high-fidelity local simulations in combination with global-scale numerical models of the atmosphere. His research on this topic also benefits from the application of machine learning methods to Earth observation data, such as an ongoing project to identify aircraft condensation trails – and from there quantify their climate impacts – in geostationary satellite imagery.

His work also considers the consequences that a growing aviation industry could have for the climate. One such project that Seb is leading at LAE is concerned with trade-offs which might exist between the design choices of a future supersonic civil airliner and the eventual damage that might be done to the environment.

Seb is also affiliated with MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.

The secondhand smoke you're breathing may have come from another state

Feb 13, 2020 00:07 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

Scientists estimate that each year in the U.S., outdoor air pollution shortens the lives of about 100,000 people by one to two decades. As it turns out, much of this pollution originates not in a persons own...

Economy

Morgan Stanley Warns Against Overestimating EV Demand Boost from Rising Oil Prices

Morgan Stanley is urging caution among investors who believe that surging oil prices will automatically trigger a rapid recovery for South Korean battery manufacturers. While recent headlines have painted an optimistic...

Australia Extends Fuel Sulphur Relaxation Amid Iran War Supply Disruptions

Australia has extended its temporary easing of fuel-quality standards through September, as ongoing disruptions from the Iran war continue to strain the countrys fuel supply chains. Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed...

Stocks Surge as Strait of Hormuz Reopens, Oil Prices Plunge

U.S. stock markets closed sharply higher on Friday as easing Middle East tensions and the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz sent investor confidence soaring. The SP 500 gained 1.2% to finish at 7,125.36, the...

Oil Prices Plunge as Strait of Hormuz Reopens Amid U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Talks

Global oil prices fell sharply on Friday after Iran and the United States jointly announced the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing fears over a major disruption to the worlds oil supply. Brent crude...

IMF Warns Middle East War to Deepen Economic Divide Across Latin America and Caribbean

The ongoing Middle East conflict is expected to widen economic inequality across Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the International Monetary Fund. While oil-exporting nations stand to gain short-term...

Politics

North Korea Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles Amid Growing Nuclear Ambitions

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, according to South Korea and Japan, marking Pyongyangs seventh ballistic missile test this year and its fourth in April alone....

U.S.-Iran Tensions Escalate as Hormuz Crisis Deepens Amid Ceasefire Strains

Fragile ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran are facing serious pressure after a dramatic weekend of escalating confrontations in and around the Strait of Hormuz. New reporting from the Wall Street...

Brazil, Spain, and Mexico Unite to Support Cuba Amid U.S. Blockade

During a high-profile international summit held in Barcelona, the leaders of Brazil, Spain, and Mexico came together to announce a strengthened commitment to providing coordinated humanitarian aid to Cuba. The meeting,...

Trump's Iran Claims Spark Market Confusion Over Strait of Hormuz

Global financial markets and world leaders are navigating a wave of cautious optimism mixed with uncertainty after President Donald Trump announced a breakthrough in U.S.-Iran negotiations, including what he described as...

Anthropic CEO Meets Trump Officials to Discuss Powerful New AI Model Mythos

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sat down with senior Trump administration officials last Friday in what analysts are calling a pivotal move to repair a strained relationship between the AI company and the federal government....

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

Iran’s AI memes are reaching people who don’t follow the news – and winning the propaganda war

A Lego-style Iranian military commander raps over a gangster beat: Our inbox is flooded with Americans saying they dont watch the news. They listen to our songs instead since your media is full of shit. This is the opening...

Apple Wins ITC Ruling, Keeping Blood-Oxygen Feature on Apple Watch

A U.S. trade tribunal sided with Apple on Friday, rejecting Masimo Corporations push to reinstate an import ban on Apple Watch. The U.S. International Trade Commission chose not to review an earlier judges ruling that...

OpenAI's $20 Billion Cerebras Deal Signals Massive AI Infrastructure Push

OpenAI is reportedly set to spend over $20 billion with AI chip startup Cerebras over the next three years, marking a significant expansion of an already substantial computing partnership. According to The Information, the...

Tesla's Terafab: AI Chip Factory Eyes Taiwan's Semiconductor Talent

Tesla is actively recruiting semiconductor engineers in Taiwan for its ambitious Terafab project a fully vertically integrated AI chip manufacturing facility that aims to consolidate logic, memory, packaging, testing, and...

Japan to Subsidize Sony's Image Sensor Plant in Kumamoto with $380 Million

The Japanese government has announced plans to provide Sony with subsidies of up to 60 billion yen, equivalent to approximately $380 million, to support the construction of an image sensor manufacturing facility in...