The Bates Laser Sensing and Spectroscopy Lab develops and deploys optical sensors based on absorption spectroscopy. These instruments take advantage of the interactions between light and matter to measure things we care about – such as the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or the magnetic and dynamic processes in the sun. We work to improve optical sensing approaches through fundamental laboratory spectroscopy to improve the models used to interpret spectroscopic measurements and by utilizing advanced laser sources (optical frequency combs) to improve the precision and accuracy of our measurements.