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Faculty Member

Dr. Kim Nielsen

Biography

I got my BS in physics from University of Copenhagen (I am Danish) before I decided to stepping into the wild as a MS student of physics at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. After 4 years in the wild, I moved to Utah State University where I received my PhD in physics. Hauling my way out of Utah, I went to Washington D.C., where I spent two years in my car on I-95 and occasionally worked at the Naval Research Laboratory developing censored by DOD. One day, I took a different exit and ended up in Boulder, Colorado, where I enjoyed 3 years of research working on my own NSF projects and the NASA Aeronomy of Ice (AIM) satellite mission (pretty exciting algorithm retrieval development). I always enjoyed teaching and combined with the stressful hustle of writing research grants, I decided to pursue my luck in higher education. Back to Utah I went and have now been at UVU since 2012.
Aside from teaching, I love researching waves in the near-space environment, cosmic rays, and general relativity, launching high-altitude balloons and high-powered amateur rockets.

Education

PhD, Utah State University, 2007

Major: Physics

MS, University of Alaska, 2002

Major: Physics

BS, University of Copenhagen, 1998

Major: Physics

Teaching

PHYS 3400

Classical Mechanics, Fall 2026

PHYS 2210

Physics for Scientists and Engineers I, Fall 2026

PHYS 2215

Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Lab, Fall 2026

PHYS 4920R

Topics in Physics, Fall 2026

PHYS 3400

Classical Mechanics, Summer 2026

PHYS 2210

Physics for Scientists and Engineers I, Spring 2026

PHYS 2215

Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Lab, Spring 2026

PHYS 2220

Physics for Scientists and Engineers II, Spring 2026

PHYS 2225

Physics for Scientists and Engineers II Lab, Spring 2026

PHYS 4890R

Undergraduate Research in Physics, Spring 2026

Presentations

Nielsen, Kim , 2026 AAPT Summer Meeting, "Embedding Workforce-Aligned Microcredentials in Introductory Physics Using AI-Supported Projects", Association of Physics Teachers, Pasadena, CA. (July, 2026)
Nielsen, Kim , 2026 AAPT Summer Meeting, "Monte Carlo Error Analysis in the Introductory Physics Laboratory", American Association of Physics Teachers, Pasadena, CA. (July, 2026)
Nielsen, Kim , 2027 AAPT Winter Meeting, "Rethinking Physics Instruction_ A Tiered Model Bridging Flexibility and Rigor to Empower Diverse Learners", American Association of Physics Teachers, Las Vegas, NV. (January 17, 2026)
Tenbrink, Taylor (Presenter & Author), Nielsen, Kim (Co-Author), 2025 Annual Meeting of the APS Four Corners Section, "Sensitivity of Solar Neutrino Oscillations to Density Profile Perturbations", University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado. (October 11, 2025)
Blackburn, Haley (Presenter & Author), Nielsen, Kim (Co-Author), Tsuda, Takuo (Co-Author), Shiokawa, Kazuo (Co-Author), 2025 Annual Meeting of the APS Four Corners Section, "Engaging Students in Atmospheric Research_ Airglow Imaging of Gravity Waves at High Latitudes", University of Northern Colorado, Greely, CO. (October 10, 2025)
Nielsen, Kim (Co-Author), Blackburn, Haley (Presenter & Author), 7th ANtarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network (ANGWIN) Workshop, "Airglow Imaging of Gravity Waves at High Latitudes", Utah State University, Logan, UT. (October 6, 2025)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Nielsen, Kim , "Introducing Uncertainty Propagation with Monte Carlo Methods in Introductory Physics Labs" . The Physics Teacher.
Nielsen, Kim , (2026) "An Overlooked Foundation_ Teaching Equations of Constraints in Introductory Physics " (Issue: 6, vol. 64). The Physics Teacher. https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/article/64/6/500/3403165/An-Overlooked-Foundation-Teaching-Equations-of
Tsuda, Takuo , Hozumi, Y , Kawaura, K , Tatsuzawa, K , Ando, Y , Hosokawa, K , Suzuki, H , Murata, K T, Nakamura, T , Yue, J , Nielsen, Kim , (2021) "Detection of Polar Mesospheric Clouds Utilizing Himawari-8/AHI Full-Disk Images" (Issue: 1, vol. 9). American Geophysical Union - Earth and Space Science. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021EA002076
Triplett, C C, Collins, R L, Nielsen, Kim , Harvey, V L, Mizutani, K , (2017) "Role of Wind Filtering and Unbalanced Flow Generation in Middle Atmosphere Gravity Wave Activity at Chatanika Alaska" (Issue: 2, vol. 8). Atmosphere. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/8/2/27

Awards

Presidential Fellowship for Faculty Scholarship

Utah Valley University - May 3, 2018

Led a collaborative research project with Utah State University and the University of Electro-Communications (Japan) investigating energy transport by small-scale atmospheric gravity waves. The project deployed advanced and student-developed low-cost airglow imaging systems in Utah and Japan and explored novel multi-site and tomographic techniques for quantifying wave propagation and energy transfer. Undergraduate and graduate students were integrated throughout the research, including through an international student-oriented workshop coordinating observations, analysis, and collaborative research activities.

Utah Valley University Dean’s Award of Excellence

Utah Valley University - May 1, 2017

Recognize full and part-time faculty and staff who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service to their department, academy, school, and the University.

Presidential Fellowship for Faculty Scholarship

Utah Valley University - May 19, 2015

Developed advanced, low-cost optical instrumentation using commercial digital cameras for atmospheric and biomedical imaging. The project engaged students in instrument design and data analysis, expanded international collaborations, and supported airglow and space-weather observations, including instrument deployment in Nepal.

Gene Adams Endowed Scholarship 2005-2006 Outstanding Graduate TA

Utah State University

Awarded the Gene Adams Endowed Scholarship by the Utah State University Department of Physics in recognition of outstanding performance and contributions as a graduate teaching assistant (Outstanding Graduate TA, 2005).

NSF CEDAR Poster Prize Winner

NSF CEDAR - June 15, 2006

First Place, NSF CEDAR Student Poster Competition (2006), for Propagation and Ducting of Short-Period Gravity Waves over Antarctica. Selected as one of two first-place recipients from 63 competing student research posters at the annual NSF CEDAR Workshop.

AGU GRL Highlight Paper

American Geophysical Union - April 5, 2006

Selected as an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Journal Highlight for “An Unusual Mesospheric Bore Event Observed at High Latitudes over Antarctica,” published in Geophysical Research Letters (2006). The study reported the first identified mesospheric bore at polar latitudes, a rare atmospheric event observed among more than 400 Antarctic gravity-wave events analyzed.