Jeffrey Cupo
Summer 2007 WAS*IS
 I was born in New York City during the disco decade. Growing up in and around “the city that never sleeps” gave me a passion for never slowing down. It shows through in everything that I do, from the way that I walk to the way that I work. I developed a passion for meteorology at an early age. In 1995, I received my B.S. in Meteorology from Rutgers University. Immediately following graduation, I attended Florida State University where I worked closely with the NASA Langley Research Center to calculate air parcel trajectories over the North and Central Pacific. This work culminated in determining air source regions over a relatively data-sparse ocean. I completed my M.S. in Meteorology in 1998.
After graduate school, I was hired in 1998 by PRC, Inc. to train Weather Forecast Office (WFO) forecasters on the use of the newly-disseminated Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) platforms as part of the National Weather Service (NWS) modernization effort. Later that year, I was hired by the NWS Meteorological Development Lab (MDL) in Silver Spring, MD as a Techniques Development Meteorologist (TDM) where I helped further refine, develop, and implement the Local AWIPS MOS Program (LAMP) incorporated within the AWIPS platform at each local WFO.
In 2000, I was offered a position as a TDM at the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, OK where I developed new software to improve SPC forecasts. Most notably was a web-based text-generation system that revolutionized the way the SPC disseminates its forecasts, including its flagship severe thunderstorm and tornado watch products.
Toward the end of 2003, I was selected for a Science and Operations Officer (SOO) position for the Midland, TX WFO where I have taken my considerable knowledge working in national centers and applied it to the local office setting. After working for three and a half years in Midland, TX, I figuratively found greener (and more humid) pastures and was promoted to SOO for the San Juan, Puerto Rico WFO where I am enjoying becoming proficient in marine and tropical meteorology as well as the Spanish language.
With every great stride the NWS makes with science and technology, we often forget how the public will ultimately see and use our changes. What we do has a direct impact on the lives of many people. I am excited to be a part of the WAS*IS discussion and hope to facilitate discussion on what we can do to better integrate and align ourselves with the people we serve.
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