I am a third year Ph.D student at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences. My research involves using channeled polarimetry in the thermal IR to investigate characteristics of cirrus ice clouds. These clouds affect the Earth's radiation budget and are a major source of uncertainty in current climate models. Since light becomes polarized after interacting with particles in the atmosphere, polarization measurements contain information about the micro-physical properties of these clouds. In my first year of Space Grant, I created a week-long optical sciences class for 4th-7th graders for an educational program called Nerding. This class ran two times in June 2023 and has been permanently added to Nerding’s summer program list. In my second year, I will continue working with the Nerding teachers to improve the curriculum for next summer, as well as adapting the class to be offered in Nerding’s after school program.