Ian Colon-Pagan

My name is Ian C. Colon-Pagan and I was born and raised in a family of four siblings by a single mother in Patillas, Puerto Rico. At the age of four, I experienced the power of Hurricane Hugo, which compelled me into atmospheric science research. I conducted a number of hurricane studies while in middle school, and acquired my high school diploma from a specialized science and math school. This motivated me to pursue a career in this field, and later that year I entered the Physics Department of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, where I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Science in May 2008. Currently, I am a graduate student at North Carolina A&T State University pursuing a master's degree in Physics funded by NOAA's Interdisciplinary Scientific Environmental Technology Cooperative Science Center (ISET-CSC). In my research, I am developing a study of the orographic effects on rainfall induced by the passage of tropical cyclones over mountainous islands (Puerto Rico), which will help scientists and forecasters to improve the predictions of quantitative precipitation associated with the passage of this weather phenomenon over the island. I will be participating in the Was*IS Caribbean to understand more deeply issues that affect the Caribbean, and with it, my home island. I am strongly interested in learning about opportunities to help the region through my work, and connect with individuals who share the same interests.