For journalists and other members of the working media
Scientists, technology developers, and other experts at NCAR, UOP,
and UCAR are available for interviews and comments. You'll find a sampling
here, including brief descriptions of specialties.
Other experts may also
be available. Contact David Hosansky in Media Relations (see box at
right) to discuss your needs and find the right experts and resources.
For researchers and educators in atmospheric and Earth system science
Use this list to identify and contact colleagues with potential common research
interests. Also see the Community Tools section devoted to Collaborations
& Partnerships.
Finding an Expert
Search for key words:
Use your browser's "Find" feature (CTRL-F on PCs or APPLE-F on Macs) to search for "wind" or "climate model," etc. Tip: for global warming experts, search for "climate change"
Weather including prediction and forecasting, numerical modeling, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, observing instruments, weather modification, fire weather, weather and transportation, urban heat island effect, societal impacts
Air Pollution and Air Chemistry
Mary Barth
NCAR Scientist barthm@ucar.edu
303-497-8186 Home Page Specialties include clouds, especially cloud chemistry and physics, cloud
modeling for weather and climate
Mary Barth specializes in the effects of clouds on the chemical environment. Her interests include investigating the chemistry in and around thunderstorm clouds to determine their importance for upper tropospheric chemistry and for the deposition of airborne chemicals to the ground. Barth also studies the role that fair weather cumulus and stratus clouds have on the composition of the lowest one to two kilometers of the atmosphere, known as the boundary layer. She is an expert on numerical modeling of cloud physics and chemistry and is currently involved in development of the chemistry components of the multiagency Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF). Barth is a researcher in NCAR's Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory.
Christopher Cantrell
NCAR Scientist cantrell@ucar.edu
303-497-1479 Profile Specialties include atmospheric chemistry, particularly ozone pollution
and smog
Chemist Chris Cantrell researches the kinetics, spectroscopy, and photochemistry
of important processes relevant to the atmosphere. He also develops and deploys
instruments for detecting levels of tropospheric peroxy radicals, which initiate
a chain reaction that leads to ozone formation and ultimately causes smog.
In 2003-2004, Cantrell oversaw the National Science Foundation's program in
atmospheric chemistry. He leads the Photochemical and Oxidation Processes section
of NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
David Edwards NCAR Scientist edwards@ucar.edu
303-497-1857 Home Page Specialties include satellite instruments for remote sensing of chemical
composition, effects of pollution on air chemistry and quality
Physicist Dave Edwards focuses on the design and use of satellite instruments
to provide information about the Earth's changing atmosphere. He is particularly
interested in using satellite measurements to obtain a global perspective on
pollution and determine which emission sources are important, how pollution
is transported around the globe, and how that pollution affects atmospheric
chemistry and air quality. Edwards plays a lead role on the scientific teams
for the MOPITT and HIRDLS satellites.
Edwards is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
Hans Friedli
NCAR Senior Research Associate friedli@ucar.edu
303-497-1395 Specialties include the study of mercury as a global pollutant, measuring
mercury emissions from wildfires and prescribed burns
Hans Friedli is a chemist who studies the cycle of mercury between terrestrial
ecosystems and the atmosphere, and the transport of mercury on regional and
global scales. The health effects of this global pollutant are the driving
force for his research. One of Friedli's specific interests is mercury emissions
from wildfires and prescribed burns, which he researches by measuring the mercury
in fuels and soil before and after fires and by sampling smoke plumes with
instrumented aircraft during fires. He studies the global transport of mercury
by intercepting pollution plumes close to their sources on research flights
during field expeditions. Friedli is a researcher in NCAR's Earth
and Sun Systems Laboratory.
John Gille NCAR Senior Scientist gille@ucar.edu
303-497-8062 Specialties include remote sensing instruments that study chemistry
in the troposphere and middle atmosphere
John Gille applies his training as a physicist to the development and use
of remote sensing instruments to study the chemical composition, dynamics,
and transport of trace species in the troposphere and middle atmosphere. He
is the U.S. principal investigator for the Measurement of Pollutants in the
Troposphere experiment (MOPITT),
an instrument flying aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft that measures the global
distributions of carbon monoxide in the troposphere. Gille is also the U.S.
principal investigator for the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS),
an instrument on NASA's Aura satellite that scientists use to study the ozone
layer, climate change, and more. Gille is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
Alex Guenther
NCAR Senior Scientist guenther@ucar.edu
303-497-1447 Home Page Specialties include Earth system interactions at the biological, geological,
and chemical level, particularly the exchange of
chemicals involved in air quality, impact of fire on the atmosphere and on
biogeochemical cycles
Trained in biology, computer science, and environmental engineering, Alex
Guenther focuses on biogeochemistry. His interests include the impact of fire
on biogeochemical cycles and atmospheric chemistry; developing and applying
trace gas and aerosol flux measurement techniques; understanding the biological
and environmental controls influencing trace gas fluxes; and numerical modeling
of chemical exchanges between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Guenther
is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
Elisabeth Holland NCAR Senior Scientist eholland@ucar.edu
303-497-1433 Home Page Specialties include regional and global nitrogen cycles, effects of air
pollution on ecosystems
Beth Holland is a biogeochemist who studies the link between the chemistry
of the atmosphere and ecosystems on Earth. As leader of NCAR's Biogeosciences
Initiative, she brings a biological perspective to geophysics and atmospheric
research. Holland's research focuses on the regional and global nitrogen cycles
and their interactions with the carbon and water cycles, including how land
ecosystems are affected by air pollution and climate change. She also works
on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments and will
serve as a lead author on the next report, due in 2007. Holland is a researcher
in NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
Jean-Francois Lamarque NCAR Scientist lamar@ucar.edu
303-497-1495 Home Page Specialties include chemistry-climate interactions,
nitrogen depositions in the present and the future
Jean-Francois Lamarque uses global models to study chemistry-climate interactions.
Some of his work on nitrogen involves simulating the deposition of nitrogen for
conditions today and in 2100. The results, which show nitrogen deposition increasing
threefold by the end of the century, provide an upper limit on the possible impact
of increased emissions. Lamarque's research includes studying how this nitrogen
deposition can lead to increased carbon uptake. Lamarque is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
Steven Massie
NCAR Scientist massie@ucar.edu
303-497-1404 Specialties include satellite research on cloud particles, the ozone hole,
aerosol particles, fire smoke
Steve Massie uses satellite data to study the effects of cloud particles as
well as liquid and solid aerosol particles upon the Earth's atmosphere. He
has conducted research on polar stratospheric clouds that produce the ozone
hole and on thin cirrus clouds near the tropopause that help to produce a dry
stratosphere. He has investigated boreal fire smoke in the troposphere and
stratosphere from intense fires in Asia and North America. He has also studied
increases in aerosol over Asia due to increases in human population during
the last two decades. Massie is a participating member of several NASA and
foreign satellite science teams. Massie is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
William Randel
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Atmospheric Chemistry Division randel@ucar.edu
303-497-1439 Home Page Specialties include dynamic variability and climatology of the stratosphere,
ozone assessments, satellite observations of the transport of trace constituents
in the atmosphere
Physicist Bill Randel studies the dynamic variability and climatology of the
stratosphere and works on increasing understanding of the transport of trace
constituents in the atmosphere using satellite observations. His recent work
focuses on the tropopause and mechanisms of stratosphere-troposphere coupling.
He has been a lead author for two international ozone assessments (1998 and
2002), and is a member of several NASA satellite instrument science teams.
Randel directs NCAR's unit studying chemical processes and their
impact on climate and air quality, the Atmospheric
Chemistry Division.
Climate including El Niño-La Niña (ENSO), climate variability and change, global warming, paleoclimate, computer modeling, Earth system science, societal and environmental impacts, climate policy
Caspar Ammann
NCAR Scientist ammann@ucar.edu
303-497-1705 Home Page Specialties include paleoclimatology–study of
past climates, how knowledge of past climatic change can teach about future
climatic change, how volcanoes and the Sun influence climate, models of climate
history compared to tree rings and ice cores
A paleoclimatologist, Caspar Ammann studies the climate of the past, on timelines
from centuries to millennia. His goal is to understand what caused climatic
changes in the past and what we can learn from them about potential future
climate change. Ammann uses global climate models to simulate climate history
and compares the output to climate reconstructions based on proxies, such as
tree rings or ice cores. As part of his paleoclimate research, he is particularly
interested in how volcanoes and the sun influence climate.
Ammann is a researcher in NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting
the evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division.
Gordon Bonan NCAR Senior Scientist bonan@ucar.edu
303-497-1613 Home Page Specialties include land-atmosphere interactions of ecological and hydrological
processes,
forest dynamics, ecosystem theory, effects of natural and human-induced changes
in landscapes on climate
Environmental scientist Gordon Bonan specializes in the land-atmosphere interactions
of ecological and hydrological processes, as well as the effects of natural
and human-induced changes in landscapes on climate. He is also interested in
more traditional ecological research, such as forest dynamics and ecosystem
theory. Bonan heads the Terrestrial Science Section in NCAR's
unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the evolution of Earth's climate
system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division.
Grant Branstator NCAR Senior Scientist branst@ucar.edu
303-497-1365 Home Page Specialties include dynamical processes that affect large-scale
atmospheric circulation on interannual and longer time scales, dynamical processes
that shape geographical patterns of variability, influence of El Niño
on midlatitude weather
Grant Branstator studies dynamical processes that affect the large-scale atmospheric
circulation on interannual and longer time scales. He is especially interested
in understanding mechanisms by which local events can influence the state of
the atmosphere in very distant regions, as well as determining the dynamical
processes that shape geographical patterns of variability. His work has implications
for topics ranging from the influence of El Niño
on midlatitude weather to the regional character of climate change. Branstator
is a researcher in NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the
evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division.
Clara Deser
NCAR Senior Scientist cdeser@ucar.edu
303-497-1359 Home Page Specialties include historical observations of global
climate, air-sea-ice interactions, upper-ocean dynamics, El Niño, Northern
Annular Mode (aka Arctic Oscillation)
Climatologist Clara Deser studies historical observations of air-sea-ice interactions,
upper-ocean dynamics, the El Niño-Southern
Oscillation phenomenon, and other features of global climate. Her goal is to
learn more about the interrelationships among these elements as well as about
climate variability on several time scales. Deser is a researcher in NCAR's
unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the evolution of Earth's climate
system, the Climate and Global Dynamics
Division.
Michael Glantz
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director
of the Center for Capacity Building glantz@ucar.edu 303-497-8119 Home Page Specialties include early warning systems for natural disasters, including
tsunamis; societal and policy responses to climate variability, drought,
desertification, food production problems
Mickey Glantz is an expert in the interaction between climate, society, and
the environment. His research covers societal responses to climate variability,
change, and extremes; African drought; desertification; food production problems
and prospects; the use of climate-related information for economic development;
early warning systems for climate and weather impacts and other natural disasters,
including tsunamis; and more. Glantz has edited several books and is the author
of numerous articles on issues related to climate, environment, and policy.
He organizes multidisciplinary, multinational workshops on climate-related
issues. Glantz directs the
Center for Capacity Building,
which focuses on increasing the capability of institutions and people to cope
with impacts related to climate, water, and weather in developed and developing
countries.
Marika Holland
NCAR Scientist mholland@ucar.edu
303-497-1734
Home Page Specialties include sea ice (Arctic, Antarctic) and its role in the climate
system
As a specialist in atmosphere-ocean interactions, Marika Holland focuses on
the role of sea ice in the climate system, including ice/ocean/atmosphere feedback
mechanisms; high latitude climate variability; and the impact of sea ice on
deep water formation in the North Atlantic. She is also interested in coupled
climate modeling and the improvement of sea ice models for climate simulations.
Holland is a researcher in NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting
the evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division.
James Hurrell
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Climate and Global Dynamics Division jhurrell@ucar.edu
303-497-1383 Home Page Specialties include the North Atlantic Oscillation and its role in
climate variability, global warming
Jim Hurrell's research interests are climate variability and anthropogenic
climate change. He has published widely on North Atlantic climate variability,
especially the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Hurrell has contributed to
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments and is actively
involved in the international research program on Climate Variability and Predictability
(CLIVAR). He is lead editor of The North Atlantic Oscillation: Climatic
Significance and Environmental Impact (AGU,
2003), and co-editor of Marine Ecosystems and Climate Variation--The North
Atlantic. A Comparative Perspective (Oxford University Press, 2004). Hurrell
is director of NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the
evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division.
Joan Kleypas
NCAR Scientist kleypas@ucar.edu
303-497-8111 Home Page Specialties include coral reefs and global warming, including the effects
of sea-level rise and changes in ocean chemistry
Joanie Kleypas is a marine ecologist/geologist who specializes in the interactions
between marine ecosystems and climate. In particular, she looks at the impacts
of increased carbon dioxide on coral reefs, such as how ocean acidification—C02-induced
changes in seawater chemistry—affects the rates at which reef-building
coral and algae secrete their calcium carbonate skeletons. Kleypas is a researcher
in NCAR's
institute focusing on the feedback between human activity and the Earth
system, the Institute for the Study of Society
and Environment.
Linda Mearns
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Weather and Climate Impact Assessment
Program lindam@ucar.edu
303-497-8124 Home Page Specialties include global warming and its effects on agriculture, regional
impacts of global warming, variability and uncertainty in climate change studies
Linda Mearns is an expert in climate model analysis, climate scenario formation,
impacts of climate change on agricultural crops, and regional impacts of climate
change. She has worked extensively with regional climate models and has contributed
to several Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports as a convening
lead author and lead author. Her IPCC contributions have focused on climate
variability in general circulation models, regional climate change, and climate
scenario formation. Mearns is director of the Weather
and Climate Impact Assesment Program of the Institute
for the Study of Society and Environment.
Gerald Meehl
NCAR Senior Scientist meehl@ucar.edu
303-497-1331 Home Page Specialties include global warming in the present and future and major impacts
of global warming, especially heat waves, droughts, storms, and other extreme
events
Jerry Meehl is an expert in tropical climate variability and projections of
future climate change. His current research focuses on analysis and interpretation
of results from various model experiments and analysis and interpretation of
observed data, with an attempt to relate the observed results to characteristics
of model simulations and vice versa. He has participated in the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change assessment process since 1989, serving as a lead author
and a convening lead author. Meehl is a researcher in NCAR's
unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the evolution of Earth's
climate system, the Climate and Global Dynamics
Division.
Douglas Nychka
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Institute for Mathematics Applied
to the Geosciences nychka@ucar.edu
303-497-1711 Home Page Specialties include use of statistics to study atmospheric and Earth systems
science
Doug Nychka applies statistical analysis to Earth science. His research interests
include statistical computing for large data sets, the analysis of spatial
data, and the use of statistical tools to characterize nonlinear properties
of a system in the presence of noise. Nychka is director of NCAR's interdisciplinary
Institute for Mathematics Applied to the
Geosciences.
Bette Otto-Bliesner
NCAR Scientist ottobli@ucar.edu
303-497-1723 Home Page Specialties include paleoclimate, or the behavior of past climates, including
variability in temperature and sea level
Bette Otto-Bliesner uses climate system models to investigate past climates
and climate variability across a wide range of time scales. She is particularly
interested in the range of climate sensitivity to past solar and greenhouse
gas forcings extending from the Holocene to the Last Glacial Maximum (21,000
years before present) and the Last Interglacial (125,000 years before present).
She is head of the Paleoclimate Group and deputy head of the Climate Change
Research Section within NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the evolution of Earth's
climate system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division.
Britton Stephens
NCAR Scientist stephens@ucar.edu
303-497-1018 Profile Specialties include instruments that study global carbon cycle, mitigating future
climate change
Britt Stephens examines how the Earth's biogeochemical systems, such as forests
and ocean regions, respond to natural and human-induced perturbations. He is
an expert at building new instruments and adapting new technologies to study
the global carbon cycle and has worked on research expeditions in forests,
at sea, and aboard aircraft. His goals include improving predictions of and
strategies for mitigating future climate change. Stephens is a researcher in
the NCAR lab that develops and provides instruments, aircraft, and support
services for field research, the Earth Observing
Laboratory.
Peter Thornton
NCAR Scientist thornton@ucar.edu
303-497-1727 Home Page Specialties include biophysics and biogeochemistry of terrestrial
ecosystems, numerical models of interactions between cycles of carbon, nitrogen,
water, and energy at the land surface
Thornton is interested in the biophysics and biogeochemistry of terrestrial
ecosystems, and the interactions of these ecosystems with the climate system.
His research focuses on the interactions between cycles of carbon, nitrogen,
water, and energy at the land surface. He looks at the influence of disturbance
and disturbance history on these interactions, and also specializes in building,
evaluating, and applying numerical models of the interactions. A second research
interest is the interpolation of surface weather observations to create gridded
regional datasets for use in driving terrestrial ecosystem models. Thornton
is a researcher in NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the
evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate and Global
Dynamics Division.
Kevin Trenberth
NCAR Senior Scientist trenbert@ucar.ed
303-497-1318
Home Page Specialties include global warming and its influence on the water cycle
(rain and snow, drought, hurricanes), El Niño/La Niña and other
preferred patterns related to weather and climate variability
Kevin Trenberth heads the Climate Analysis Section of NCAR's division dedicated
to understanding and predicting the evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate
and Global Dynamics Division. His main interests are climate variability
and El Niño; global climate change, the hydrological cycle, and climate
observations. His research emphasizes the analysis of observational data to understand
what happens in the real world. Trenberth has been involved for many years in
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, serving as a convening lead author
and lead author for the IPCC Scientific Assessments of Climate Change. Trenberth
received the Jule G. Charney award from the American Meteorological Society in
2000 and is a fellow of the AMS, the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, and the New Zealand Royal Society.
Warren Washington
NCAR Senior Scientist wmw@ucar.edu
303-497-1321 Home Page Specialties include computer modeling of Earth's climate, atmospheric science
An internationally recognized expert in atmospheric science and climate research,
Warren Washington specializes in computer modeling of Earth's climate. He heads
the Climate Change Research Section within the NCAR division dedicated to understanding
and predicting the evolution of Earth's climate system, the Climate and
Global Dynamics Division. Washington
has been a consultant and adviser on climate-system modeling to numerous government
officials and committees. In 1995 he was appointed to the National Science
Board and has since been elected to two terms as its chair. Washington is a
fellow and past president of the American Meteorological Society and a fellow
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected
a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2002.
Tom M.L. Wigley
NCAR Senior Scientist wigley@ucar.edu
303-497-2690 Home Page Specialties include global warming, climate policy, projections of future climate
and sea-level change, climate impacts on agriculture and water resources
Tom Wigley is an expert on the global warming problem, including carbon cycle
modeling and projections of future climate and sea-level change. He has published
on diverse subjects in the field of climatology: detection of anthropogenic
climate change; validation of climate models; climate impacts on agriculture
and water resources; climate, sea level, and carbon cycle modeling and assessment
of uncertainties; and climate policy. He holds awards for outstanding research
papers from NOAA and the World Meteorological Organization and is among the
most highly cited experts in climate change research. Wigley is a researcher
in NCAR's unit dedicated to understanding and predicting the evolution of Earth's
climate system, the Climate and Global Dynamics
Division.
Sun and Upper Atmosphere including solar structure, solar storms, auroras,
space weather
Joan Burkepile NCAR Scientist iguana@ucar.edu
303-497-1506 Specialties include the solar corona, coronal mass ejections,
large-scale solar
magnetic field
The solar corona is Joan Burkepile's focus, with a strong emphasis on the
study of coronal mass ejections and their impact on Earth. She combines a wide
variety of solar observations to determine the relationship of coronal mass
ejections to other forms of solar activity and to the changing state of the
large-scale solar magnetic field. Burekpile is a researcher in
NCAR's unit exploring the Sun and its effects on Earth's atmosphere and physical
environment, the High
Altitude Observatory.
Sarah Gibson
NCAR Scientist sgibson@ucar.edu
303-497-1587 Home Page Specialties include magnetic fields in both stable and erupting coronal
structures, energy stored in twisted magnetic structures, data analysis techiques
for forming comprehensive, three-dimensional picture of corona
The solar corona is Sarah Gibson's specialty. She investigates the role of
magnetic fields in both stable and erupting coronal structures, with emphasis
on the importance of the energy stored in twisted magnetic structures. Her
methods include advanced data analysis techniques that incorporate a range
of solar observations to aid in forming a comprehensive, three-dimensional
picture of the corona. Gibson is a researcher in
NCAR's unit exploring the Sun and its effects on Earth's atmosphere and physical
environment, the High
Altitude Observatory.
Peter Gilman
NCAR Senior Scientist gilman@ucar.edu
303-497-1546 Specialties include solar dynamo, fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics
of the Sun, Sun's tachocline, stars, and planets
Peter Gilman leads the Solar
Interior and Variability section of
NCAR's High Altitude Observatory. He is an expert in fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics
(the motions of the dense, electrically conducting plasmas known as magnetofluids)
of the Sun, stars, and planets. Gilman's current research focuses on understanding
how the solar dynamo, which maintains the Sun's magnetic field, works. He also
studies the dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics of the tachocline, a layer inside
the Sun discovered relatively recently, in the late 1980s. Gilman is a researcher
in
NCAR's unit exploring the Sun and its effects on Earth's atmosphere and physical
environment, the High
Altitude Observatory.
Gang Lu NCAR Scientist ganglu@ucar.edu
303-497-1554 Profile Specialties include space physics, high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamics,
ionospheric and magnetospheric electrodynamic quantities, disturbances in the
ionosphere and thermosphere
Gang Lu focuses on space physics. She studies high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamics
and the coupling of the solar wind with the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere.
Lu analyzes and interprets space and ground–based
observations of ionospheric and magnetospheric electrodynamic quantities. She
also models and interprets disturbances in the ionosphere and thermosphere.
Lu is a researcher in
NCAR's unit exploring the Sun and its effects on Earth's atmosphere and physical
environment, the High
Altitude Observatory.
Travis Metcalfe NCAR Scientist travis@ucar.edu
303-497-8326 Home Page Specialties include asteroseismology (the study of the internal structure
of stars through the interpretation of their pulsation periods) and magnetic
activity cycles of Sun-like stars
Travis Metcalfe is an astronomer who probes the interiors of distant, Sun-like
stars to improve understanding of stellar structure and shed light on the behavior
of our own Sun. He combines astronomical theory, computer science, and the few
measurements available to piece together a portrait of magnetic plasma movement
and other interior processes. For data, he relies on sound waves, or pulsation
frequencies, that traverse the interiors of Sun-like stars and rise to the surface.
Metcalfe has a cross-laboratory appointment in NCAR's High
Altitude Observatory (ESSL) and Scientific
Computing Division (CISL).
Annick Pouquet NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Geophysical Turbulence Program pouquet@ucar.edu 303-497-1860 Specialties include fundamental nature of turbulent flow, especially in
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, solar flares, generation of magnetic
fields in stars and planets, stochastic processes in complex systems, dynamics
of interactions between velocity and magnetic fields in the solar interior,
solar corona, interstellar medium, and Earth's interior
The fundamental nature of turbulent flows is the focus of Annick Pouquet's
research, from solar flares to the generation of magnetic fields in stars and
planets. Her work emphasizes the dynamics of interactions between velocity
and magnetic fields taking place, for example, in the solar interior, solar
corona, interstellar medium, and Earth's interior. Her work has advanced understanding
of stochastic (random) processes in complex systems. Pouquet is a researcher
in NCAR's Earth
and Sun Systems Laboratory and director of the multidisciplinary Geophysical
Turbulence Program, which works to improve understanding of turbulence
throughout the Earth system.
Stanley Solomon NCAR Senior Scientist stans@ucar.edu
303-497-2179 Profile Specialties include physics and chemistry of Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere,
theoretical modeling and data analysis of impacts of solar output on Earth's
atmosphere, solar terrestrial physics, satellite system design
The physics and chemistry of the Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere are
Stan Solomon's specialty. He works on theoretical modeling and data analysis
to investigate the impacts of solar output on Earth's atmosphere. Solomon is
a principal investigator for TIMED (Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere
Energetics and Dynamics). Instruments on this NASA satellite are gathering
data to help understand how the Sun controls weather at the edge of space.
In addition to his research, Solomon has served as a lecturer at the University
of Colorado, teaching topics that range from solar-terrestrial physics to satellite
system design. Solomon is a researcher in
NCAR's unit exploring the Sun and its effects on Earth's atmosphere and physical
environment, the High
Altitude Observatory.
Steven Tomczyk NCAR Scientist tomczyk@ucar.edu
303-497-1579 Specialties include solar oscillations, development of instrumentation
and techniques for study of magnetic fields in the Sun's photosphere and corona,
development of CoMP (coronal multichannel polarimeter)
Steve Tomczyk is an astronomer whose main interests are observing solar oscillations
and developing instrumentation and techniques for studying magnetic fields
in the Sun's photosphere and corona. Tomczyk leads development of CoMP, a coronal
multichannel polarimeter that has captured landmark
imagery of
magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere. CoMP is expected to provide the
next generation of data on magnetic structures in the solar corona, the extremely
hot halo around the Sun that becomes visible during eclipses. Tomczyk is a
researcher in
NCAR's unit exploring the Sun and its effects on Earth's atmosphere and physical
environment, the High
Altitude Observatory.
Weather including prediction and forecasting, numerical modeling, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, weather modification, fire weather, weather and transportation, societal impacts
Richard Anthes
President, University Corporation for Atmospheric
Research (UCAR) anthes@ucar.edu
303-497-1652 Home Page Specialties include hurricanes, tropical cyclones, numerical weather forecasting
Richard Anthes has been president of UCAR since
1988. An internationally recognized atmospheric scientist, author, educator,
and administrator, he has published more than 100 articles and books. He holds
a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison that reflects his interest
in hurricanes and tropical cyclones. Some of his other specialties include
numerical weather forecasting and observations of the atmosphere using the
Global Positioning System (GPS). Before coming to UCAR in 1981, Anthes was
a professor at Pennsylvania State University.
Ben Bernstein
NCAR Associate Scientist bernstei@ucar.edu
303-497-8424 Home Page Specialties include icing hazards to aircraft, icing physics, supercooled water
drops
Ben Bernstein is an expert on icing hazards to aircraft, especially in-flight
icing. In NCAR's
applied science and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory,
his research in icing physics includes a focus on freezing precipitation (freezing
rain, freezing drizzle, and ice pellets) and supercooled water drops.
Daniel Breed
NCAR Project Scientist breed@ucar.edu
303-497-8933 Home Page Specialties include cloud physics, atmospheric electricity, radar meteorology
Dan Breed is an expert in cloud physics, rain enhancement, atmospheric electricity,
radar meteorology, and airborne instrumentation. He has participated in dozens
of field projects related to these topics, most recently serving as project
manager for NCAR's rainfall
enhancement studies in
Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
Breed is a researcher in NCAR's applied science and technology transfer unit,
the Research
Applications Laboratory.
Roelof Bruintjes
NCAR Project Scientist roelof@ucar.edu
303-497-8909 Home Page Specialties include cloud seeding, effects of smoke and pollution on clouds
and rainfall
A specialist in weather modification of all sorts, Roelof Bruintjes focuses
especially on various types of cloud seeding and the effects of smoke and pollution
on clouds and rainfall. He acts as an advisor to weather modification programs
in the United States and around the world. Bruintjes headed NCAR's cloud seeding
experiment in Mexico in the 1990s and is currently leading a similar research
project in
the United Arab Emirates. Bruintjes is a researcher in NCAR's applied science
and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory.
Bruce Carmichael
NCAR Manager, Research Applications
Laboratory Engineering Group brucec@ucar.edu
303-497-8406 Home Page Specialties include weather information for pilots, air traffic control
As manager of the engineering group for NCAR's applied science
and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory,
Bruce Carmichael focuses on projects that improve weather information for pilots,
dispatchers, and controllers. He is active in research and the development
of technology designed to lessen the hazards of thunderstorms, turbulence,
winter weather, and poor visibility. His past work with the aviation industry
included projects to improve air traffic control, weather information, and
the automation of maintenance processes. Carmichael is a licensed commercial
instrument pilot.
Fei Chen specializes in interactions of the land surface with the atmosphere.
Through modeling and observational studies he teases out the influence of soil
moisture, soil temperature, vegetation, and other landscape features on regional
weather, climate, and the water cycle. This work improves the ability of forecasters
to predict the behavior of storms forming along the dry line in the Southern
Great Plains or near the scarred ground left behind after a major wildfire. Chen
uses similar tools to understand precipitation, wind flow, and air pollution
patterns over growing cities subject to the urban heat island effect. Chen is
a researcher in NCAR's applied science and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory.
Janice Coen
NCAR Project Scientist janicec@ucar.edu
303-497-8986 Home Page Specialties include fire weather, infrared imagery of wildland fire dynamics,
numerical modeling of precipitation over complex terrain
An expert on fire weather, Janice Coen's research interests include coupled
atmosphere-wildland fire modeling, analysis of infrared imagery of wildland
fire dynamics, and numerical modeling of precipitation formation over complex
terrain. Coen played a critical role in developing the first fire-atmosphere
coupled model and has authored a number of publications on topics such as the
effect of atmospheric winds, wind shear, and terrain on fire behavior.
Coen is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying weather on the regional and local
scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division.
Hal Cole NCAR Engineer cole@ucar.edu
303-497-8753 Weather Observing Tools Specialties include meteorological instrumentation, dropsondes and dropwindsondes
that work with the Global Positioning System (GPS)
Hal Cole is an expert in meteorological instrumentation with a special focus
on dropsondes. Also known as dropwindsondes, these instruments are attached
to parachutes and dropped from aircraft to measure temperature, humidity, pressure,
and winds. Cole helped pioneer advanced dropsondes in the 1970s and initiated
the development of the lightweight, digital GPS Dropsonde system that has become
the standard for hurricane research since the late 1990s. He
currently works on NCAR's Driftsonde Balloon Project, which will carry up to
20 dropsondes up to 10 miles or more above Earth for five or six days at a
time.
Cole is a researcher in the NCAR lab that develops and provides instruments,
aircraft, and support services for field research, the Earth
Observing Laboratory.
Larry Cornman
NCAR Project Scientist cornman@ucar.edu
303-497-8439 Research Applications Program Specialties include turbulence detection and warning systems for aircraft,
clear-air,convective, and mountain-induced turbulence
An expert in turbulence detection and warning systems for aircraft, Larry
Cornman's research focuses on measurements of clear-air, convective, and mountain-induced
turbulence. He has developed turbulence-detection equations for ground-based
and airborne Doppler radars, lidars, and wind profilers. Cornman also developed
methods for making in situ measurements
of turbulence from commercial aircraft. Another focus of Cornman's work is
the development of advanced signal processing and quality control algorithms
for sensors. Cornman is a researcher in NCAR's applied science and technology
transfer unit, the Research Applications
Laboratory.
Christopher Davis
NCAR Senior Scientist cdavis@ucar.edu
303-497-8990 Profile Specialties include thunderstorms, squall lines, tropical cyclones, hurricanes,
coastal storms
Chris Davis studies the systems that lead to thunderstorms and other heavy
rainfall events, including squall lines, tropical cyclones, and hurricanes.
He uses observations and sophisticated computer models such as the NCAR/Penn
State Mesoscale Model, version 5 (MM5), to construct a basic understanding
of the evolution of these systems. Other interests include the rapid intensification
of nontropical coastal storms and the effects of mountains on midlatitude storm
systems.
Davis conducts research in two NCAR labs, the Earth
and Sun Systems Laboratory and the Research
Applications Laboratory.
Brant Foote
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Research
Applications Laboratory foote@ucar.edu
303-497-8458 Home Page Specialties include severe storms, cloud physics, short-term forecasting,
aviation weather, weather modification
Brant Foote is director of NCAR's
applied science and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory.
He specializes in severe storms, cloud physics, short-term forecasting, aviation
weather, and weather modification.
Robert Henson
UCAR Writer/Editor bhenson@ucar.edu 303-497-8605 Home Page Specialties include the history of television weather forecasting,
TV coverage of climate change and of severe storms, weather and climate patterns
around the world, climate change in the media
Science writer Bob Henson is the author ofThe Rough Guide to
Weather and
The Rough Guide to Climate Change (Rough Guides), as well as Television
Weathercasting: A History (McFarland). For
the weather guide, he synthesized and summarized typical weather and climate
patterns for all parts of the world. He has also analyzed how TV weathercasters
cover severe thunderstorms and report on climate change. Henson completed
graduate work in both meteorology and journalism for his M.A. at the University
of Oklahoma. He is a writer and editor in UCAR
Communications, the media relations and public
information office for NCAR, UCAR, and UOP.
Andrew Heymsfield
NCAR Senior Scientist heyms1@ucar.edu
303-497-8943 Home Page Specialties include microphysical and radiative properties of ice clouds, software
and models for interpreting research aircraft data on clouds
To better understand the effects of clouds on climate, Andy Heymsfield studies
the microphysical and radiative properties of ice clouds. He uses instruments
aboard research aircraft to measure cloud particle shapes and particle size
distributions. Heymsfield has played a key role in developing software packages
and analytic models to interpret those observations. His products are used
in both cloud and general circulation models.
Heymsfield is a researcher in NCAR's unit studying weather on the regional and
local scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division.
Terry Hock specializes in the measurement of winds through Global Positioning
System (GPS) dropsondes. He led NCAR's development of this revolutionary device
that has extended atmospheric profiling capabilities. GPS dropsondes have been
deployed since the late 1990s from hurricane-hunting aircraft. They report
winds between flight level and the sea surface at 16-foot intervals. The dropsondes
have gathered the first-ever wind data at high resolution from the eyewall
that swirls around the calm eye of a hurricane. Hock is a researcher in the
NCAR lab that develops and provides instruments, aircraft, and support services
for field research, the Earth Observing
Laboratory.
Greg Holland
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division gholland@ucar.edu 303-497-8949 Profile
Specialties include hurricane structure and behavior, influence of natural variability
and climate change on hurricanes
Greg Holland is director of NCAR's unit studying weather on the regional
and local scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division. His background is in tropical meteorology
and severe weather, with a strong emphasis on tropical cyclones and hurricanes.
Recent investigations have explored the relative importance of long-term global
warming in comparison to preferred patterns of weather variability such as the
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Before coming to NCAR he employed
his expertise in robotic aircraft, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV),
as director of the company Aerosonde. Holland spent 22 years as a forecaster,
lecturer, and research scientist at the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre
in his native Australia.
Matthew Kelsch UCAR Meteorologist kelsch@ucar.edu
303-497-8309 Profile Specialties include floods (post-hurricane, urban, flash), Boulder and
Colorado weather
As a hydrometeorologist, Matt Kelsch specializes in weather events involving
water, such as floods, droughts, rain, hail, or snow. For UCAR's COMET, Cooperative
Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training program,
he develops and delivers educational materials designed for groups ranging from
National Weather Service forecasters to the military, private clients, and scientists
and professionals from abroad. Kelsch is also a local observer for the National
Weather Service and a local coordinator for the multi-state Community Collaborative
Rain and Hail Study (CoCoRaHS).
Charles Knight
NCAR Senior Scientist knightc@ucar.edu
303-497-8940 Home Page Specialties include hail, ice, snow, artificial snowmaking, hail suppression
Research specialties of Charlie Knight include hail, ice, snow, artificial
snowmaking, hail suppression, and more. He is an expert on nucleation, a process
that is important for both artificial snow production at ski resorts and natural
snow formation in the atmosphere. Knight is a researcher in
NCAR's unit studying weather on the regional and local scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division.
Ying-Hwa "Bill" Kuo
NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of UCAR's COSMIC Program Office kuo@ucar.edu
303-497-8910 Profile Specialties include regional weather modeling, heavy rainfall prediction,
remote sensing using the GPS system
Bill Kuo directs the program office for the
Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate, or
COSMIC. This globe-spanning satellite
network, launched in April 2006, will furnish round-the-clock weather data,
monitor climate change, and improve space weather forecasts by using signals
from the Global Positioning System (GPS). Kuo served as the U.S. project director
for the Taiwan Area Mesoscale Experiment and is a recognized leader in the
fields of mesoscale numerical modeling and data assimilation. For many years
he was the lead developer of the MM5 weather model, used around the world.
His scientific interests include mesoscale modeling, explosive marine cyclogenesis,
mesoscale convective systems, heavy rainfall prediction, data assimilation,
the use of GPS for meteorological research, and model initialization. Kuo
divides his time between COSMIC and
NCAR's
unit studying weather on the regional and local scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division.
Wen-Chau Lee
NCAR Scientist wenchau@ucar.edu
303-497-8814 Profile Specialties include hurricane and tornado winds, hurricane intensity
Wen-Chau Lee is the chief scientist for NCAR's ELDORA Doppler radar, which
flies on the tail of a P-3 research aircraft operated by the Naval Research
Laboratory. ELDORA captures detailed images of precipitation and winds produced
by hurricanes and severe thunderstorms. Lee has also developed a mathematical
technique to pull more information out of ground-based radar depictions of
intense, fast-changing weather systems, including hurricane eyewalls. Lee is
a researcher in the NCAR lab that develops and provides instruments, aircraft,
and support services for field research, the Earth Observing
Laboratory.
William P. Mahoney III NCAR Senior Program Manager mahoney@ucar.edu
303-497-8426 Home Page Specialties include wind shear (microbursts) detection, aviation weather support
systems, ground transportation weather
Trained in aeronautics and atmospheric science, Bill Mahoney applies his research
and development expertise to convective wind shear (e.g., microbursts), wind
shear detection systems, terrain-induced wind shear and turbulence, decision
support systems for aviation weather, and surface transportation weather. Recent
projects include the winter road Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS)
and the Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS). Mahoney is director
of the Weather Systems and Assessment Program at
NCAR's applied science and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory.
John Michalakes
NCAR Software Engineer michalak@ucar.edu
303-497-8199 Home Page Specialties include weather models and climate models for forecasting
and research
John Michalakes is an expert on the use of computers for weather forecasting.
A software engineer by training, he conducts research on software tools and
algorithms for implementing atmospheric models on parallel computers. He is
currently the lead software architect for the Weather Research and Forecasting
model (WRF), a numerical weather prediction system designed to serve both operational
forecasting and atmospheric research needs. Other major climate models he has
worked on include the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) and the message
passing version of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM2). Michalakes is a
researcher in
NCAR's unit studying weather on the regional and local scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division.
Kevin Petty
NCAR Scientific Program Manager kpetty@ucar.edu
303-497-2705 Home Page Specialties include transportation weather and decision support systems
Kevin Petty's field is transportation weather. At NCAR he manages two
programs involving highways and weather: the Maintenance Decision Support System
(MDSS) and the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) program. MDSS
is a Web-based system that provides decision support for winter road maintenance
managers. VII aims to increase the safety of U.S. roadways by using
vehicle data elements to diagnose and forecast weather and road conditions.
Petty has also assisted the National Transportation Safety Board as a technical
expert on the meteorological aspects of transportation accident investigations.
Petty is a researcher in NCAR's applied science and technology transfer unit,
the Research
Applications Laboratory.
Marcia Politovich
NCAR Scientist marcia@ucar.edu
303-497-8449 Home Page Specialties include aviation weather hazards (in-flight icing,
turbulence detection)
The research interests of meteorologist Marcia Politovich include aviation weather,
cloud physics, in-flight icing detection and forecasting, remote sensing, and
in situ instrumentation. She leads the Federal Aviation Administration's InFlight
Icing Product Development Team, part of the FAA's Aviation Research Program,
and serves as lead scientist on the FAA's Juneau Turbulence Detection Program.
Politovich is a researcher in NCAR's applied science and technology transfer
unit, the Research Applications Laboratory.
Christian Rocken UCAR Scientist rocken@ucar.edu
303-497-8012 Specialties include Global Positioning System utilization in meteorological
research
Chris Rocken is chief scientist for COSMIC,
a UCAR program that exploits characteristics of the Global Positioning System
(GPS) to capture meteorological data. When launched, COSMIC satellites will intercept
GPS signals to create vertical profiles of temperature and moisture across the
globe with high spatial and temporal resolution. Rocken also explores possibilities
for new ground-based applications of GPS atmospheric sensing and directs UCAR's
ground-based GPS research.
Richard Rotunno
NCAR Senior Scientist rotunno@ucar.edu
303-497-8904 Home Page Specialties include mesoscale phenomena (tornadoes, supercells, squall
line, gust fronts, hurricanes, polar lows, cyclones and fronts), numerical
modeling
Rich Rotunno's specialties are mesoscale phenomena such as tornadoes, squall
lines, gust fronts, hurricanes, polar lows, mid-latitude cyclones and fronts,
density-stratified flow past mountains, sea breezes, and a variety of related
subproblems. He combines theory and numerical modeling to seek ways of improving
the forecasting of these weather phenomena. Rotunno is a researcher in
NCAR's unit studying weather on the regional and local scale, the Mesoscale
and Microscale Meteorology Division.
Scott Swerdlin NCAR Senior Manager swerdlin@ucar.edu
303-497-8378 Specialties include design of systems for protection against airborne releases
of hazardous materials
Scott Swerdlin's expertise is in designing applications for protection against
airborne releases of hazardous materials. He also specializes in systems architecture
and program development. Swerdlin directs programs in defense,
homeland security,
and numerical weather prediction applications in NCAR's applied science and technology
transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory.
He also provides consulting and technical direction for Peak
Weather Resources, which commercializes technology developed at UCAR, NCAR,
and UOP.
Gregory Thompson
NCAR Scientist gthompsn@ucar.edu
303-497-2805 Home Page Specialties include in-flight aircraft icing diagnosis and prediction, numerical
modeling of microphysical processes
Greg Thompson works on the development and improvement of in-flight
aircraft icing diagnosis and prediction. A key tool in that research is numerical
modeling of microphysical processes. Thompson also maintains a suite of real-time
weather data pages.
He is also a published photographer of severe thunderstorms, rainbows, sunsets,
lightning, tornadoes, and other weather events. Thompson is a researcher
in NCAR's applied science and technology transfer unit, the Research
Applications Laboratory.
Roger Wakimoto NCAR Senior Scientist and Director of the Earth Observing Laboratory wakimoto@ucar.edu
303-497-2040 Specialties include radar, severe weather (microbursts, thunderstorms, tornadoes)
A geophysicist by training, Roger Wakimoto is director of NCAR's lab that
develops and provides instruments, aircraft, and support services for field
research, the Earth
Observing Laboratory. His research interests
include using data collected from the surface and aloft to study the evolution
of severe local storms, including microbursts, thunderstorms, and tornadoes.
A radar specialist, he has used airborne and ground-based Doppler radar to
analyze the structure of oceanic cyclones and pollution layers as well as severe
thunderstorms. During the early 1980s, Wakimoto participated in the first studies
to identify microbursts as a threat to aviation.
Jeff Weber
UCAR Scientist jweber@ucar.edu
303-497-8676 Specialties include synoptic meteorology; Colorado weather and climate; Arctic
climate; real time data and imagery
Jeff Weber's background is in climatology
and remote sensing with an emphasis on the Arctic. His field work on the
Greenland Ice Sheet involved mass balance studies, solar and terrestrial
radiation fluxes, and climate. Weber is a researcher in UCAR's Unidata program,
which provides a broad array of data and software tools for use in geoscience
education and research. Weber focuses on real time data delivery, visualization
tools, remote data access for real-time and historical data, and educational
materials and case studies. Jeff also has a special interest in Colorado's
weather and climate.
Tammy Weckwerth
NCAR Scientist tammy@ucar.edu
303-497-8790 Home Page Specialties include mesoscale meteorology, organized structures within
the planetary boundary layer, initiation of thunderstorms
Instrumentation expert Tammy Weckwerth has been on numerous field expeditions
to assure optimal data collection under challenging conditions. As a researcher
in NCAR's lab that develops and provides instruments, aircraft, and
support services for field research, the Earth
Observing Laboratory, she
uses data from radars, lidars, soundings, wind profilers, cloud photographs,
aircraft data, satellite imagery, and surface stations. Weckworth concentrates
on mesoscale meteorology; more specifically, the organized structures within
the planetary boundary layer (such as horizontal convective rolls) and the
relationship between the boundary layer and the initiation of thunderstorms.
