Rate My Professor Greg Rieker

Greg Rieker is a Professor and Provost Endowed Professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, a position he has held since joining the faculty in 2013. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 2002, followed by a Master of Science in 2004 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 2009, both from Stanford University. Prior to his appointment at CU Boulder, Rieker served as a National Research Council research associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he explored frequency comb lasers for practical sensing applications. Earlier, during his postdoctoral work at Stanford University, he developed and studied plasma-based particle accelerators for medical applications and co-founded a company focused on this technology. His doctoral research centered on laser-based sensors for combustion applications, including internal combustion engines, scramjet engines, and oil refinery process flames.

Rieker leads the Precision Laser Diagnostics Laboratory at CU Boulder, specializing in the development of laser-based sensors to interrogate and control energy, atmospheric, and industrial systems. His work emphasizes techniques such as diode laser absorption spectroscopy, dual frequency comb absorption spectroscopy, and mass and energy spectrometry, enabling standoff detection in harsh environments like high-pressure combustors and turbulent atmospheres. Notable achievements include spinning out LongPath Technologies, Inc., from his lab for methane emission monitoring and leak detection. Rieker has received prestigious awards, including the Provost's Faculty Achievement Award for Tenured Faculty (2023), the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award (2015), participation in the US Frontiers of Engineering by the National Academy of Engineering (2021), and Senior Member status in the National Academy of Inventors (2021). He also holds the Vogel Family Faculty Fellowship and serves as Faculty Director for the Quantum Initiative. Key publications include “Regional trace-gas source attribution using a field-deployed dual frequency comb spectrometer” (Optica, 2018), “Frequency Comb-Based Remote Sensing of Greenhouse Gases over Kilometer Air Paths” (Optica, 2014), “Supersonic combustion diagnostics with dual comb spectroscopy” (Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 2023), “Broadband, high-resolution investigation of advanced absorption lineshapes at high temperature” (Physical Review A, 2017), and “Dual Frequency Comb Laser Absorption Spectroscopy in a 16 MW Gas Turbine Exhaust” (Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 2017). Rieker teaches in design and thermosciences and mentors students to become multifaceted engineers excelling in research, leadership, and entrepreneurship. His contributions advance sensing technologies for sustainable energy, environmental monitoring, and high-speed propulsion systems.