THE NASA/AF LIGHTNING ADVISORY PANEL (LAP) WAS FORMED TO PROVIDE AN INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF THE NASA/AF LIGHTNING LAUNCH COMMIT CRITERIA (LLCC) AND TO CONSIDER ANY RELATED ISSUES IN THE SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT RULES (FR). IT ALSO HAS BEEN ASKED TO KEEP INFORMED ABOUT ANY NEW SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES IN LIGHTNING RESEARCH OR THUNDERSTORM ELECTRICITY, AND RELATED TECHNOLOGY THAT MIGHT BE RELEVANT OR HAVE APPLICATIONS IN LAUNCH OPERATIONS. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR ON THIS PROPOSAL, PROFESSOR KENNETH CUMMINS, IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS A WORLD-EXPERT ON LIGHTNING DETECTION AND GEO-LOCATION USING SIGNALS ACROSS THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM, AND IS CURRENTLY COLLABORATING WITH NOAA AND NASA TO ASSESS GROUND-BASED LIGHTNING MEASUREMENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE RECENT LAUNCH OF THE GEOSTATIONARY LIGHTNING MAPPER ON GOES-R. DR. CUMMINS HAS LED AND PARTICIPATED IN NUMEROUS RESEARCH PROJECTS TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES OF LIGHTNING, EMPLOYING INFORMATION FROM LIGHTNING LOCATION SYSTEMS, WEATHER RADAR, AND VIDEO CAMERAS.