Steven Platnick's research includes theoretical/experimental studies of satellite, aircraft, and ground-based cloud remote sensing. He has been involved extensively with remote sensing field studies, including use of the MODIS Airborne Simulator instrument flown on the NASA ER-2 along with flight scientist roles in a number of field campaigns. He is a member of the MODIS and S-NPP Atmosphere Science Team working on operational cloud optical and microphysical products, as well as the MODIS Atmosphere Team Lead.