Participants
Summer 2009 WAS*IS
August 2009
Quick links
WAS*IS Organizers' Biographies
 Eve Gruntfest
Inventing and developing the WAS*IS movement have been the work I’ve enjoyed most in my long career.
I was a Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO from 1980 until 2007. My career is originally based on what we can learn from the Big Thompson Flood in Colorado. That catastrophic flash flood occurred in July 1976 and 144 people were killed. I have published widely and I am an internationally recognized expert in the specialty areas of warning system development and flash flooding. In 2008 we are wrapping up a five- year National Science Foundation project evaluating warnings for short fuse weather events, particularly tornadoes and flash floods.
As a social scientist giving many presentations to the world of engineers and physical scientists, often early career folks would tell me that they wanted to do work that integrated social science and meteorology but they didn’t know how and they didn’t know other folks who were doing that kind of work. WAS*IS recognizes the need to bring social science methods into meteorology and to develop cadre of physical scientists who understand the benefits and tools of social science.
Beginning in May 2008 I will be directing a new initiative that build on the WAS*IS movement. SSWIM stands for Social Science Woven into Meteorology. With the expert assistance of WAS*ISers Heather Lazrus, Kim Klockow and Gina Eosco we will integrate social science into the multi-faceted National Weather Center in Norman, OK. Our project is funded jointly by University of Oklahoma and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We are thrilled that so many meteorology students recognize the importance of including societal impacts in their work. Stay tuned for exciting news of our projects.
 Julie Demuth
I am an Associate Scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Societal Impacts Program (SIP). Much of my current research is on communicating weather forecast uncertainty information, particularly the public's understanding of, use of, and preferences for uncertainty information. I'm also working on an assessment of the value of weather information to the transportation sector by evaluating its sensitivity to weather. My other research interests include whether and how people use weather information in their decision-making, what other non-weather-related factors affect decision-making, and risk communication to the public. Of course, in addition to my research, I've also had the great opportunity to work on WAS*IS for nearly the past two years! I've learned a lot during that time, and it's been such a wonderful opportunity to meet others who are passionate about the integration of meteorology and social science. Prior to my work at NCAR, I spent a couple years working in science policy in Washington, D.C. at the National Research Council's (NRC) Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) as a Program Officer where I worked on a myriad of congressionally mandated and agency-requested studies.
 Jeff Lazo
For the last five years I have been Director of the Societal Impacts Program (SIP) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research here in Boulder, Colorado. A major effort of the SIP has been the support of the WAS*IS workshops for the last five years. I am an economist with expertise in nonmarket valuation of environmental and natural resource commodities. My current research focuses on the communication and value of weather information and the economic impact of severe weather events. Among other things, I am a member of the World Meteorological Organization Forum on the Socio-Economic Applications of Meteorological and Hydrological Services, the WMO Societal and Economic Research and Applications Working Group, and editor of the new American Meteorological Society journal Weather, Society, and Climate. I received a BA in economics and philosophy from the University of Denver and my Masters and PhD in environmental and natural resource economics from the University of Colorado-Boulder. I am a Colorado native and prior to going back to grad school worked as a ski lift operator and mechanic, construction worker, dishwasher, parking lot attendant, and chimney sweep and volunteered in on the Red, White, and Blue Fire Department in Breckenridge, the Summit County Ambulance, and Summit County Water Rescue Team. For fun – besides work – I mainly play soccer and bike ride.
 Emily Laidlaw
I am an associate scientist for the Societal Impacts Program (SIP) within the Research Applications Laboratory (RAL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. My current research involves projects on the value of weather forecasts to U.S. economic sectors, as well as
a project in conjunction with the National Weather Service examining disaster loss data collection and reporting. In addition, I manage SIP's information resources, including the Extreme Weather Sourcebook, the Societal Aspects of Weather page, and the SIP and WAS*IS Web pages, among other resources. I also manage, design and help edit SIP's Weather and Society Watch newsletter.
I have a master’s degree in journalism with an emphasis on science writing/editing from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Rochester. As you might guess from my degree combination, I believe there is a strong need for science-trained communicators who can bridge the gap between atmospheric and social science research and the policy makers, media members, and general citizens that research was intended to serve.
My past science communications work includes positions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the University of Colorado Environmental Center. My professional writing, editing and design experience includes positions with the University of Rochester Office of Communications, the Denver Business Journal, SKI Magazine, the Fort Morgan Times, and the Hampton Group, as well as several freelance Web design projects.
 Sheldon Drobot
I am the Scientific Program Manager for the Weather Systems and Assessment Program (WSAP) within the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Research Applications Lab (RAL). My work focuses on the interface of environmental variability and society, and my goal is to increase the societal benefits of and reduce societal vulnerability to environmental variability and change. In particular, my research involves activities broadly grouped into four categories: (a) determining the viability of using vehicles as mobile weather collection platforms; (b) developing decision-support systems to help transportation agencies better plan for and account for weather variability in their daily operations; (c) determining what risk factors lead people to make poor choices in dangerous weather situations; and (d) developing climate data records.
2009 WAS*IS Advisory Committee Biographies
 Kevin Barjenbruch
I am the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) Salt Lake City Weather Forecast Office (WFO). My core responsibilities include managing WFO operations to ensure an integrated warning system and serving as the primary customer service representative to the local community, including the Media and a diverse emergency management/response community ranging from the Paiute Indian Tribe to the Utah Department of Public Safety to safety officials at mountain resorts and national parks. In this capacity, my current work is focused on improving public awareness, preparedness, and response to hazardous weather.
Following participation in the Summer 2006 WAS*IS, I have had the opportunity to work on several WAS*IS-related projects, the first of which was co-leading the WAS*IS Partnership Initiative which targeted improving communication and collaboration between the government and private sectors as well as enhancing products and services of the weather enterprise. This past year I assisted in the societal impacts component of the Service Assessment of the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak of February 5-6, 2008. I am currently engaged in aresearch initiative aimed at investigating the impact of winter weather events on the efficiency of travel in the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Area as well as assessing how individual travelers receive, process, and respond to observed road and weather conditions and forecasts of inclement weather.
 Tom Behler
As I write this professional bio, I am preparing to relocate to the Boulder, CO area, where I will be taking a Visiting Scientist Position with the NCAR/SIP program. I am coming to NCAR/SIP from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI, where I was a tenured Full Professor of Sociology. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1975, my Masters Degree from Rutgers University in 1980, and my Ph D in Sociology from the University of Delaware in 1987.
As a sociologist, I have always been interested in how communities respond to emergencies, and what affects those responses. For example, my Doctoral Dissertation focused on the response of a local community near the Three Mile Island Nuclear plant to the 1979 accident at that facility.
More recently, I was actively involved in emergency preparedness and response-related concerns in both my local community, and at Ferris State University. This involvement was evident in my role as County Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Coordinator; my active participation in several Local Emergency Response organizations; and my role as a member of Ferris State University’s Emergency Response Team. In addition, I completed a wide array of training courses in emergency communications, emergency response, emergency field operations, exercise design, and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
Within the past three years, I also developed and offered a new course in Ferris State’s Sociology program entitled “The Sociology Of Disasters And Emergency Preparedness”. The course was very successful, and is now a permanent part of Ferris State’s Sociology curriculum.
I have come to believe that the Social Sciences are filled with opportunities for integrating the science of weather forecasting, with the more social-scientific goals of research and community outreach. I also have become convinced that a more social-scientific approach to weather and weather forecasting can serve people with disabilities. The disabled undoubtedly have a variety of unique concerns when it comes to preparing for, and responding to, actual or potential severe weather situations. These unique concerns must be more thoroughly understood and addressed, in order to ensure that “special needs” populations are adequately served when necessary.
The afore-mentioned issues and concerns are precisely what makes my new NCAR/SIP position so exciting. I look forward to helping facilitate upcoming WAS*IS workshops, and to taking a lead on additional initiatives to further strengthen the WAS*IS movement.
 Melissa Tuttle Carr
My WAS*IS involvement began when I attended the summer 2006 workshop. It was an honor to participate and I left Boulder with a renewed commitment to furthering my own education on the integration of weather and social science, as well as spreading the WAS*IS word and mission to others. My areas of greatest interest are the effective communication of weather information, and fostering excellent working relationships across different disciplines and sectors. In that vein, I co-founded the WAS*IS Partnership Project and serve on the American Meteorological Society Board on Societal Impacts. I also attended the 2008 Advanced WAS*IS workshop in Norman, OK. I am excited to continue my WAS*IS involvement by serving on the 2009 workshop Advisory Committee.
I am currently a Freelance Meteorologist/Weather Producer at CNN in Atlanta, GA. In this role, I create weather graphics for network broadcasts, ensuring weather stories are effectively communicated to viewers. I also act as a meteorological liaison, providing weather information to on-camera meteorologists and newsroom teams. Previously, I spent over eleven years at The Weather Channel (TWC) in Atlanta. After time as a forecaster, local product developer, and an on-camera meteorologist apprentice, I spent my last two years as the Manager of Weather Information Distribution. In this role, I managed cross-departmental projects, wrote technical requirements, and provided customer support for both internal and external customers of TWC distribution systems. I also managed numerous data sets and served as the TWC liaison to the National Weather Service.
A Wisconsin native, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997 with a BS in Atmospheric Sciences. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, yoga, playing softball and ice hockey, and cheering for Wisconsin sports teams.
 Nate Johnson
You could say that my career has brought me full circle. I hope I still
have most of my working years ahead of me, so I’m still not sure what to make of this realization. So far, though, it’s been a fun ride.
That ride began at NC State University in Raleigh, NC, where I received degrees in computer science and meteorology. While there, I worked with a research group conducting real-time mesoscale
modeling of the southeastern US, resurrected a student-led forecasting operation for the campus newspaper and radio stations, did some independent research on the NWS Modernization of the 1990s, and interned across the street (literally) at WRAL-TV.
The next stop was as a meteorologist (and eventually, chief meteorologist) at KTXS-TV in Abilene, TX. I spent six years there, including many sleepless nights of weather coverage of severe storms, floods, winter weather, and even the occasional hurricane or tropical storm.
Then, I stepped off camera to take a position with Baron Services. Much of my work centered around developing user-centered data products designed to enable people to quickly assess a weather situation and make decisions without needing to be a meteorologist themselves. I also did some miscellaneous research, second-tier technical support, and client training. It was after one of those training trips that I was considered for, and eventually accepted, a
position with WRAL-TV.
Among other things, my work at WRAL includes collaborating with the meteorologists and other newsroom staff to make sure that we’re presenting the weather in a way that is interesting, informative, and understandable. That work necessarily includes grappling with the issues of how people receive and interpret that weather information – everything from lazy weekend weather to urgent weather alerts. Arguably this is the single most important public service that television stations provide, and it’s critical that we get it right.
To that end, this fall, I plan to begin work on a Master’s degree in Technical Communication at – where else? – NC State University. And thus, the circle is complete.
 Heather Lazrus
Heather Lazrus is a postdoctoral research associate and the deputy director of the Social Science Woven into Meteorology (SSWIM) program housed at the National Weather Center and jointly funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Oklahoma. Heather’s research interests fall within SSWIM’s objectives to improve the efficacy of weather forecasts and warnings, reduce social vulnerability to atmospheric and related hazards, and understand community and cultural adaptations to climate change. Her Ph.D. work is in the field of environmental anthropology at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her dissertation is entitled Weathering the Waves: Climate Change, Politics, and Vulnerability in Tuvalu and is an ethnographic examination of the political ecology of climate change impacts and the governance of vulnerability in Tuvalu, South Pacific. She has been a consultant for organizations active in the Pacific including the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, and the World Bank. Heather came to SSWIM with previous experience in applied anthropological work at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Northwest Fisheries Science Center where research was conducted on cultural, social, and economic aspects of fisheries management in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Prior to joining the new SSWIM program, Heather was a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. She participated in the 2007 WAS*IS, an experience which continues to inspire and motivate her career.
 Dan Nietfeld
Daniel Nietfeld is currently the Science and Operations Officer (SOO) at the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) WFO in Omaha-Valley, Nebraska, where his primary responsibilities include managing the training and research programs, as well as ensuring scientific and technical quality in NWS products and services.
Mr. Nietfeld was born and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska, and received his B.S. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL) in Meteorology. He entered the NWS in Neenah, Wisconsin as a Meteorologist Intern (May 1991). He has worked in the NWS offices in Grand Island, Nebraska, Topeka, Kansas, Hastings, Nebraska, and became the SOO in the Omaha WFO in May of 2001. In addition to his NWS career, Daniel teaches the “Severe Storms” meteorology class at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL), and also serves as the President-Elect of the UNL Alumni Advisory Board.
Daniel has been a member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) for 17 years, and served on the AMS Board for Operational Government Meteorologists (BOGM) for 7 years (1998-2005), including one year as the BOGM Chair (2003). As BOGM Chair, he served on the AMS Professional Affairs Committee. He currently serves on the AMS Ad-Hoc Committee on Uncertainty in Forecasts. Locally, Mr. Nietfeld was the President of the Omaha-Offutt Chapter of the AMS in 2006-2007, and was the Vice President of the Omaha-Offutt Chapter during the 2002-2003 term. In addition, he has served as the Vice President for the High Plains Chapter of the AMS (1999-2001).
Daniel became highly interested in WAS*IS after serving on two NWS Service Assessment Teams; Hurricane Charley in 2004, and the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak from February 2008. In the summer of 2008 he attended the WAS*IS Workshop, which substantially influenced his career direction and focus. He has since participated in several WAS*IS inspired events and activities, and is in the process of developing weather and society coursework for the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Daniel hopes to continue to become saturated in the societal impacts component of weather and climate, and make the necessary connections with other professionals to pursue additional societal impact avenues.
2009 Summer WAS*ISers' Biographies
 Sudha Arlikatti
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. I have an undergraduate degree in Architecture and a graduate degree in City Planning from my home country India. I worked for eight years as an architectural consultant and lecturer in the Sultanate of Oman and India before getting a doctoral degree in Urban and Regional Science from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University in August 2006. My research to date includes studies on the use of Geographic Information Systems to map environmental disputes; a study of the Texas Gulf coast residents and their accuracy in using hurricane risk area maps to evacuate; households decision to take protective actions against seismic risks in southern California and western Washington; the long term recovery and rebuilding of tsunami affected rural households in coastal India; and mapping recurring unmet needs of evacuating populations using United Way’s 2-1-1 information and referral database. I have published in premier disaster journals including Risk Analysis, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, Earthquake Spectra, and Environmental Management.
The courses I teach in the BS in Emergency Administration and Planning program and the Master of Public Administration at the University of North Texas include, Introduction to EM, Disaster Response and Recovery, International Disaster Management – Study Abroad in Turkey/ Thailand, Special Populations in Disasters, Introduction to Planning, and Environmental Planning and Hazards Management. I anticipate that through my involvement with WAS*IS I will be able to network, learn, and share my research experiences and challenges with a cohort of esteemed practitioners and community stakeholders from interdisciplinary fields. The extended beneficiaries of this workshop would be the 150-175 graduate and undergraduate students I teach and mentor every semester. It is my hope to act as a catalyst in inspiring the next generation to think about issues of climate change, environmental sustainability, and disaster resiliency in the light of integrated weather and social science research.
 Scott Blair
Scott Blair is currently a general forecaster with the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) in Topeka, Kansas. Prior to arriving in Topeka, he served as a meteorologist with the NWS in Goodland, KS. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a Bachelor of Science degree in Atmospheric Sciences. While in Louisiana, Scott was employed by KEDM-FM in Monroe, LA as a broadcast meteorologist, providing daily weather forecasts and on-scene live reports during several landfalling major hurricanes. He was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mr. Blair’s professional areas of interest are focused on storm-scale observational meteorology studies and emerging field and operational technologies to improve communication. He currently is investigating the severe weather vulnerability of motorists and examining how this information can enhance the service, methods, and dissemination of critical information by the NWS and other agencies.
Scott is looking forward to WAS*IS and hopes to gain additional insight and social science theory to integrate operational meteorology, scientific research, and societal considerations in a way that best serves the public.
 Kenneth Blumenfeld
I received a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Minnesota, where I studied the frequencies of severe convective storms, extreme rainfall events, and regimes of climatic anomalies. I currently work as a Research Associate at the U of MN, and am finishing a multi-year, multi-collaborator investigation of the impacts of climate change on Minnesota’s aquatic resources. I also consult for local municipalities, governments and organizations—especially emergency managers—about the likelihood of certain types of weather disasters and what such scenarios might look like. I have taught courses in introductory Meteorology, Numerical Spatial Analysis, and the Geography of Natural Hazards. I am active in the local Skywarn program, and have made several media appearances and given invited talks to numerous local organizations.
I have been following WAS*IS from the sidelines for many years and am absolutely thrilled to be involved in this year’s workshop. I was trained in a department composed of far more social scientists than physical scientists, so I have been exposed to some of the big questions social science can offer the atmospheric sciences. My friends and colleagues have gotten me thinking about uneven access, across the population, to critical weather information, and how existing socioeconomic, technological and political structures may be broadening the information gap between privileged and less-privileged groups. I am hoping this workshop helps begin a new research chapter in my career—one that incorporates social science-based inquiry into my climatological investigations.
 Rachel Butterworth
I have been interested in weather almost all my life; partially due to the changing seasons in my home state, Minnesota, as well as my dad who would always insist that we “check the radar” before going on a family bike ride or car trip. My interests led me to pursue a meteorology degree at Iowa State University, which I obtained in 2008. Now, I have completed my first year as a master’s student at the University of Oklahoma. I am pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in communication and meteorology. I am a research assistant for the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA), a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. I am studying how broadcast meteorologists portray weather information, and I am looking at how new forms of media (e.g., blogs and NWS Chat) are influencing the way weather information is gathered and presented. I would also like to determine the best practices that are developed through a broadcasters’ prior experience covering severe weather, and how new radar technologies such as dual-polarimetric products may be implemented into weathercasts and/or severe weather coverage in the future. Finally, I am gathering insight from broadcasters about the feedback they would like from the public regarding communicating weather information. I look forward to developing collaborative ideas with other WAS*IS participants as well as gaining insight on how the weather community can improve communication among disciplines. I am honored to have been chosen to participate in the 2009 WAS*IS workshop!
 Zachary Byko
My interest in weather started when I was only 4 years old, and some of my fondest memories growing up in southern New England include historic winter storms, such as the March 1993 Superstorm and the January 1996 Blizzard. I pursued my passion for weather by enrolling in Penn State University’s meteorology program, graduating with both a B.S. and M.S. in meteorology in spring 2007. While at Penn State, I was heavily involved in the student-run Campus Weather Service and Penn State Branch of the American Meteorological Society (PSUBAMS). As a graduate student, I regularly appeared as a student forecaster on the department’s nightly magazine show, Weather World. My graduate research was on severe local storms, the result of which are detailed in an article published in Weather and Forecasting entitled “Descending reflectivity cores in supercell thunderstorms as observed by mobile radars and a high-resolution numerical simulation.”
After graduating, I began my career as a Commercial Research Manager at Mars Snackfood U.S. My role is two-fold; to provide weather forecasts relevant to agricultural and energy commodities and formulate fundamental supply and demand analyses for several commodity markets. This position is definitely not a classical meteorology job, but rather a hybrid between that of a meteorologist and an agricultural economist. Since working at Mars, my interest in applications of meteorology to other disciplines has grown exponentially, which is central to why I am looking forward to participating in WAS*IS. My hope is that my WAS*IS learnings enable me to become a better interdisciplinary researcher and that my shared personal experiences benefit of the entire group. In addition to Mars, I have worked as a freelance broadcast meteorologist at WYOU-TV in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I have been a member of the American Meteorological Society since high school and am also a member of the National Weather Association.
 Allan Curtis
For as long as I can remember, I have always had an interest in weather. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, snow, you name it, I liked it. Even with such a strong interest in weather, I did originally attend college to pursue a Meteorology degree. In fact, I began out as a Civil Engineer and it was not until I took an introductory meteorology course did I consider changing majors. After some debate, I did switch to meteorology, and this past May (2009), I graduated with my Bachelors of Science degree – with Honors - in Meteorology/Climatology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This coming fall (2009) I am beginning a Masters program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well, pursuing research more in line with Climate Interactions and/or Change.
As an undergraduate meteorology major, I kept very busy. I was an active member of the AMS Chapter for 3 years (as my first year was spent as a Civil Engineer) and President of the student chapter my senior year. My specific interests are far reaching. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has allowed me to both pursue my interests in meteorology and climatology. Interning at the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) allowed me to further understand the climate side and understanding many of the caveats that come with working with metadata. I have done research projects looking at forming a climatologically based classification system for airports to be used by amateur pilots as well as an El Nino/Southern Oscillation project examining its effects on Midwest/High Plains severe weather – specifically tornadoes and hail. To keep with the mixed theme of Climatology and Meteorology, I am also participating in a portion of VORTEX-2 in the summers of 2009 and 2010 – unmanned aircraft.
During my stint as an intern with the HPRCC and as an AMS student member, I participated not only in research, but also extensively in outreach. Taking automated weather stations to events, working activities for kids, and being able to work with the public, both young and old in general showed me how important it really is to bridge the gap between the meteorology and climate fields and the public. I know the WAS*IS workshop will help me be able to better communicate my knowledge and research, as well as help direct my career in the future.
 Greg Dobson
As a trained Geographer, my research interests are varied and many. I enjoy both the physical and human components of Geography, utilizing GIS, Remote Sensing, and other Geospatial techniques as tools for studying the various multi-disciplines of Geography. After completing a B.S in this field with an emphasis in GIS, and some experience working as a GIS Technician, my focus in graduate school pursuing a Masters degree also in Geography focused on integrating GIS with other physical processes, especially flooding and flood models. Specifically, my research examined the sensitivity of elevation data and other parameters to hydraulic models, running these models in both GIS and traditional hydro model frameworks.
Since Graduate School and for the past three years, I have worked as GIS Research Scientist/Coordinator for the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) and the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC-Asheville Engagement Center, two research centers on campus at the University of North Carolina – Asheville. My research has included GIS 3D visualization techniques, landuse and landcover analysis, flood modeling, and data integration. Being located in Asheville, I have the opportunity to work closely with the National Climatic Data Center and our local NWS office. A common theme with all of my research, as well as for my Center colleagues, is converting scientific data and information into useful and meaningful decision support tools, and disseminating this through innovative education and outreach. My focus specifically has been accomplishing this is in a Geospatial environment utilizing GIS and other Geospatial techniques, such as Geospatial MashUps and other web-based interactive technologies. Most recently, I have begun integrating more weather, climate, and societal data into these Geospatial decision support tools for such local and regional decision makers as Community Planners, Emergency Operations personnel, Meteorologists, and the general public. In addition to my research, I also enjoy teaching “Introduction to GIS” and a new class that I have developed titled “GIS in Meteorology”.
I am very excited to be attending the 2009 WAS*IS Workshop so that I can communicate and learn much more about the integrated processes of combining weather and societal research with a group of others with varied backgrounds whom are also interested in these same ideas. Hopefully this will lead to new and exciting collaborations.
 Mariana Felix
Mariana Oliveira Felix is a graduate research assistant pursuing a masters degree in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH). Mariana is currently conducting research on mesoscale convective systems in south eastern South America to better understand their environments. Mariana earned a bachelors degree from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Earth Sciences with an emphasis in Meteorology and another in Journalism and Mass Communications with an emphasis in Telecommunications. While at UNC, Mariana conducted research through both the McNair Scholars program and Colorado State University's Research Experience for Undergraduates. She was also the president of UNC's AMS Chapter.
 Andy Foster
I have enjoyed 15 years in the National Weather Service (NWS) and currently serve as a senior forecaster at NWS Weather Forecast Office Springfield, Missouri. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Meteorology in 1993, my journey in the NWS has provided me the opportunity to work at very interesting locations with respect to meteorology and geography including Helena, Montana, Salt Lake City, Utah, Medford, Oregon, and now the Ozarks of southern Missouri. I enjoy weather forecasting, severe weather warning operations, and serving our customers through innovative products and services. I am actively involved in outreach activities including storm spotter training and the local “NOAA in the Neighborhood” project which aims to reach specific user groups. As the public service team leader at NWS Springfield, I enjoy innovation and facilitate the development of enhanced products and services to meet the needs of our customers. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are also of great of interest to me, and I am a strong proponent of the use of GIS in operational meteorology. This interest has provided me the opportunity to lead the NWS Central Region GIS team and participate on the NWS Google Earth Training team. Taking my interest in weather and GIS, I have led the development of the Flash Flood Risk Analysis Project (FFRAP) with the goal to better understand flooding the Ozarks, support the emergency management community and issue more effective flash flood warnings. By attending WAS-IS, I hope to better understand weather impacts and services in relation to social science. Understanding gained through the expertise from a variety of disciplines could be implemented to enhance NWS forecast and warning operations, build stronger partnerships with agencies and user groups, and provide more effective weather information to decision makers and the public.
 Carrie Furman
Dr. Carrie Furman is an environmental anthropologist with a focus in the applied aspects of political ecology, with a particular focus on sustainable agriculture and water resource management. While a doctoral student at University of California, Riverside Furman conducted research in Totora, Bolivia among indigenous farmers and focused on water rights and local farming practices. Presently, she is a post-doctoral research associate with the Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC) at the University of Georgia. The SECC is a Regional Integrated Science and Assessment program, funded by NOAA and USDA, to develop and disseminate climate-based information and decision support tools for agriculture and natural resource management in the Southeast U.S. The SECC relies largely on the Cooperative Agricultural Extension Services as its primary outreach mechanism. This has meant that the SECC information has largely targeted large-scale, conventional farmers, who are the traditional clientele of extension. Other groups, such as minority and organic farmers, have not equally benefited from the SECC products because the small-scale, part-time, diversified nature of their operations makes them less likely to be reached by extension. As part of the SECC assessment team, Furman has worked to redress this imbalance and make the SECC programmatic agenda more responsive to underserved users.
Furman is currently conducting research among organic farmers in Georgia. The study combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including online surveys and open-ended interviews, to explore the ways in which these farmers utilize, share, and interpret weather and climate information and how this information informs their climate risk management strategies. A research proposal for NOAA Climate Program Office’s Sectoral Application Research Program was recently accepted and focuses on minority farmers in Georgia. This project aims to develop a weather and climate information system to foster drought preparedness among minority farmers in the southeastern U.S.
The workshop will make a significant contribution to her professional knowledge and skills by connecting her with practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders who work in applied climate and weather science. At the same time, the experience Furman has conducting research among indigenous Andean communities and with underserved farmers in the American South will greatly contribute to discussions at the workshop and to the initiatives and networks that will result from it.
 Harrison Hove
Somehow I was lucky enough to combine a few different passions and call it a career. I’m currently a meteorologist for the Ohio News Network based out of Columbus, OH. I cover the weather during the weekend. We have a very progressive severe weather philosophy. I am on the air live when a tornado warning is issued for any of Ohio’s 88 counties. During the week, I hit the road and report on unique environmental stories across the entire buckeye state. The environmental stories are part of a regular segment called “Green Ohio.”
Previously, I worked at KLFY-TV, the CBS affiliate in Lafayette, LA. I did weekend weather for a nine parish area, part of a unique region called Acadiana. It was a wonderful place to learn about hurricanes and see firsthand the effects they have on entire communities. I was also able to cover live events, festivals, and do some feature reporting. I spearheaded an effort called the Live Doppler 10 StormReady Project to increase severe weather awareness in Acadiana. A partnership was created between KLFY-TV, parish emergency management offices, and the NWS Lake Charles Office. Working together, we hosted the largest storm spotter training session in Acadiana’s history and parishes earned the stormready designation.
My work has earned me some recognition from my peers. I have received awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists. In 2008, I earned the “Certified Broadcast Meteorologist” designation from the American Meteorology Society. I have bachelor’s degrees in meteorology, telecommunications, and political science from the University of Florida and Florida State University.
I interact with people every day. Communicating science can be a tremendous challenge. I feel it is my responsibility to be as knowledgeable as possible on scientific topics that are changing our world that in part is what led me to apply for this unique opportunity.
 Darone Jones
Darone is the Societal Impacts Meteorologist for the National Weather Service Western Region Headquarters.
 Kerry Jones
I am currently the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) at the NWS Forecast Office in Spokane, WA, a position that I have held since June 2006. As the primary focal point for external relations, I truly enjoy building new and strengthening long-standing relationships with key partners and working closely with emergency management officials and local media to coordinate effective weather awareness and warning programs.
Prior to relocating to Spokane, I spent nearly 12 years following my passion for weather in my home state of New Mexico. I served as a forecaster at the NWS office in Albuquerque, NM from 1994-2006. Although I am a self-described weather geek with an affinity for thunderstorms, I grew up on the arid southeast plains close to Texas where snow was always mysterious. I have vivid childhood memories of hearing forecasts of “heavy” snow only to end up experiencing blowing dust. Consequently, growing up, it was as much about what did not happen weather-wise, as what did, that motivated me to pursue a career in operational meteorology and to migrate to higher latitudes.
After completing my undergraduate degree in meteorology at The University of Oklahoma in 1992, I completed a two year internship program at NWS offices in Norman, OK and Oklahoma City, OK where I gained invaluable experience during an exciting period of modernization and transition within the NWS. Following an educational hiatus during the mid- to late 1990s, I enrolled part-time in an interdisciplinary, professional degree program at the University of New Mexico in 2001. I graduated with a Master of Water Resources degree in 2007 and it remains one of the best investments and most rewarding experiences of my professional career.
Being a WCM is about people, relationships, and ensuring critical weather information is effectively and efficiently communicated. In recent years, I have been drawn to the challenge of expanding outreach and better understanding the requirements of our specific needs populations (e.g. deaf and hard of hearing). To that end, we in the NWS can learn a great deal from our colleagues in social science fields to better understand how weather information is used and/or processed and how the resultant impacts vary across the human-user spectrum. Understanding these connections and relationships are paramount to effective NWS operations going forward. I very much look forward to learning from my fellow WAS*IS’ers and sharing ideas as to how WE can better approach the above mentioned area and many more.
 Angelyn Kolodziej
I graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May 2007 with a B.S. in meteorology and minors in math and hydrologic science. I am currently pursuing a Masters in meteorology and working for the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). I have worked with NSSL since I started as a student researcher for the Severe Hazards Analysis and Verification Experiment (SHAVE) in summer 2006, where we focused primarily on remotely building an accurate hail dataset for the entire United States. In 2007, as the SHAVE Operations Coordinator, I supervised the SHAVE students and analyzed radar data. My research is primarily using storm types to automatically determine probabilistic hazard information for that storm. I have had the unique opportunity to be involved with the Experimental Warning Program (EWP) and have learned about the development of new warning techniques and products. When considering any new products, it becomes a necessity to understand societal needs and behaviors. As the science of meteorology becomes more precise and better able to anticipate severe weather, it is of special importance to me to determine improved ways of educating the public about severe weather safety. I have volunteered many hours giving tours of the National Weather Center to hundreds of people in order to educate them about the science of meteorology and severe weather safety. When I have free time, I also enjoy photography, music, playing the trumpet, traveling, and being with family and friends.
 Cedar League
I received my Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sociology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and recently graduated from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs with a MA in Applied Geography. Working under the direction of Prof. Eve Gruntfest, my thesis investigated flood videos posted on YouTube, asking people what they were thinking as they drove through flooded roads (results show most people were not!). Currently I am a researcher for the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA), a National Science Foundation funded project developing low-cost networks of Doppler radars operating at short range. I am working with emergency managers in Oklahoma getting their feedback on the new CASA data, with the ultimate goal of building end-user needs into the end-to-end system design. I am attending WAS*IS to join a unique group of people interested in integrating societal impacts into the weather enterprise and am looking forward to meeting professionals from a variety of backgrounds. I hope to share the knowledge I’ve gained in this field through the lens of a social scientist, while learning even more from and collaborating with my fellow WAS*IS colleagues.
 David Letson
I am a professor of Marine Affairs and Economics at the University of Miami, where I have worked since 1995. My research focuses on natural resource economics, with particular emphasis on the economics of extreme weather and climate variations. I have a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
I do science policy research on weather and climate. The WAS*IS community can greatly inform the work I do as a researcher and administrator at the University of Miami. Most people I have worked with over the last decade or so have been natural scientists needing to document the societal value of their contributions. While that may seem (and is) a peculiar existence, it does make for steady and arguably important work. We need to do research on research, as Roger Pielke Jr. has noted, to make sure we get our priorities right. But getting our priorities right requires that we escape from the short-sighted and narrow conceptions of the human relationship to the natural environment that have prevented nations like the U.S. from reducing losses from natural hazards. As an economist who does science policy, I am working to change those views. The research tools and relationships offered by the WAS*IS community will help me a great deal.
 Elizabeth Lunde
I began my career while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.S. in Atmospheric Science, 2006), working as a SCEP at the National Weather Service Offices in La Crosse and Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI. Soon after graduation, I made the journey south and joined the team at NWS-Topeka, where I started as an intern, and have now worked as a general forecaster for the past year and a half.
My primary work responsibilities focus on the creation, dissemination, and communication of the forecast, especially with emphasis on high impact weather situations. Specialized work activities and research I’ve participated in the past few years, and plan to continue to pursue in the present and future have been focused upon: 1. the relationship of the NWS with the public of northeast Kansas (highlighted by striving for improved storm spotter training and other outreach programs, as well as researching their reactions to our warning operations), 2. improving communication with partners in Emergency Management, the media, and businesses, and 3. researching severe weather impacts to travelers.
I’m thrilled to be part of the 2009 WAS*IS class not only because of the team already in place, and to have the opportunity to foster new partnerships and discussions across the country about current warning systems, and communication between forecasters and the public.
 Bernard Meier
I was always interested in weather growing up, but I was unsure if I wanted to get into the field. I took a few weather classes my first year of college and I was hooked after that. While I was going to school, I was able to work for a private weather service company, which gave me valuable forecasting experience. After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2000 with a bachelor’s degrees in Atmospheric Sciences, I began my career in the National Weather Service in Glasgow, MT as an Intern Meteorologist. The following year I was promoted to a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Great Falls, MT. Shortly after arriving in Great Falls, I was giving the opportunity to be an Incident Meteorologist (IMET) in 2002. An Incident Meteorologist (IMET) provides on-site meteorological support to incident management teams to support mainly for wildfires, but also oil spills and other major incidents. My IMET duties have taken me to many wildfires across the western U.S. In addition to all the wildfires, last year I provided on-site weather support for the Democratic National Convention. By being on-site, I have been able to see firsthand some of the impacts the weather and weather forecasts have. After spending 6 years in Great Falls, I obtained my current position as Lead Forecaster a with the National Weather Service in Boulder, CO. By participating in WAS*IS, I hope to better understand the social impacts of weather, weather forecasts and weather warnings have on the public.
Growing up and going to school in North Dakota and then working in Montana, I have lived most of my live in the northern U.S. The winters are usually long and harsh. The summers are nice but short. Since moving to Colorado I have been adjusting to the beautiful weather, which hasn’t been too hard. The weather my first year of college in Grand Forks was extremely harsh. The winter consisted of eight blizzards, which caused classes to be canceled many times. With all the snow, flooding was a huge concern the following spring. Classes were again canceled during the spring to fight the flood, but nothing was able to hold the Red River back. The entire town of 50,000 people was evacuated and the last three weeks of school were canceled, including finals. This experienced showed me firsthand the social impacts of entire city being flooded and forced to evacuate. Outside of meteorology, I enjoy most sports and outdoor activities. My main hobbies of interest are fishing, golfing, softball and running.
 Mike Moritz
Professional Experience
- Senior Meteorologist, National Weather Service, Hastings, NE (since 1994)
- Graduate Assistant, University of Wyoming (1992-1993)
Television Weathercaster, KOLN/KGIN-TV in Lincoln, NE (1991-1992)
- Student Research Assistant, National Severe Storms Laboratory (1990)
Select research and background information
- “On Issues of Tornado Damage Assessment in Rural Areas”, Theodore Fujita Symposium, 2003 American Meteorology Society (AMS) Annual Conference, Expert Panel Member and Oral Presentation
- “Weatherwise 101, An Inside Look at the Operations of the National Weather Service”, 11th Conference on Education at the 1998 AMS Annual Conference, poster presentation
- Weatherwise 101 was a formal training program for local Emergency Managers and Educators. The program was awarded the Hammer Award for government innovation.
- NWS Central Region Climate Services Team. (2005-2006)
- Responsible for developing regional NWS policy regarding climate related outreach
- NWS Hastings Office Outreach Team Leader. (2005)
- Instructor, Meteorology Special Topics Course, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (2002)
- Developed entire 3 hour course for graduate and undergraduate students.
- Instructor, Fire Weather Forecasting, S-190, S-290 and S-390 courses
- Developed course materials for Fire Weather training to various groups.
- NOAA Facilitator Training. (1998 and 2004)
Professional Affiliations and education
- Alumni Advisory Board Member, Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006 to present
- Member, American Meteorological Society
- Member and past President of the High Plains Chapter of the AMS and National Weather Association
- B.S., Meteorology and Climatology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 1992
- Graduate School, Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 1992-93
Why am I coming to Was*is?
After 15 years of telling and asking people about the weather, I want to know if it’s doing any good.
 Justin Nobel
The day after graduating Duke University, with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Earth & Ocean Sciences, I traveled to the Peruvian and Bolivian Altiplano, where I helped climatologists take mud samples from high altitude lakes and core trees on the slopes of volcanoes. Later, I lived in a tent near the Mexican border while studying endangered plants for California’s Bureau of Land Management. I also assisted on a research cruise in the Pacific Ocean that deployed instruments to measure underwater earthquakes. Four years ago, I enrolled in Columbia University’s Earth & Environmental Science Journalism dual master’s program and spent a summer studying bird diversity in a village in western Kenyan. After graduating, I reported for a year at the Point Reyes Light, an offbeat weekly newspaper located just north of San Francisco, before traveling to Nunavik, an Inuit territory in northern Canada, to report about climate and cultural change. This autumn, I plan to travel to the Federated States of Micronesia to report on similar issues. My writing on science and culture has appeared in Audubon, Plenty, Meatpaper, Gourmet.com, The Smart Set and the Philadelphia Inquirer and my photos have appeared in Bay Nature and been picked up by the Canadian Press and AP.
As a boy, I tracked nor’easters across placemats of the United States using cereal and spent nights outdoors during blizzards. I continue to be fascinated by meteorology, and am particularly interested in meteorological fringes, which is often where weather and society seem to clash most. Many of the topics I write about and photograph are related to this clash.
 Heidi Recksiek
With a background in public policy, coastal management, and social science, I have been with NOAA's Coastal Services Center since 2001. I am part of our Human Dimensions Program, which provided products and services that foster recognition, understanding, and consideration of the social, cultural, and economic aspects of managing natural resources along the nation's coasts. In 2006, I joined our new Gulf Coast Services Center; I am based in Florida but work across the five Gulf States. Before joining NOAA, I worked briefly for the Division of Emergency Management in North Carolina, and spent three years at the Florida Coastal Management Program in Tallahassee.
I have been interested in using social science to help people since my undergraduate days, and my professional experience has involved exploring ways that social science data and tools can improve public health, coastal and marine resource management, and coastal community resilience to hazards. It is my work in this final area that attracted me to the Weather and Society*Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) program.
I believe that integrating social science and meteorology has the potential to improve the resilience of both individuals and communities to episodic events such as hurricanes as well as chronic hazards. With the increasingly dire predictions about climate change impacts, I am more interested than ever in finding ways that social science can improve how we communicate risk, how we foster more resilient behaviors, and how we take care of vulnerable populations.
 Toni Rosati
Toni Rosati earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 2001 and has been a professional photographer for over 10 years. Her company, Orchid Photography, has photographed over 150 weddings across the US. This year has been especially exciting! She opened a gallery in Downtown Los Angeles displaying her abstract art pieces and her photographs were officially published as the cover art for a Cengage Learning textbook.
Toni has always said that photography is a wonderful blend of art and science. In recent years, her need for science has grown. In January 2007, she returned to school and began working toward graduate degree. It wasn’t until she found a COMET module by Eve Gruntfest that she truly understood where she belonged – blending psychology and meteorology! Since then, she has been a student member of NWS and AMS, a volunteer data collector for CoCoRahs, a Skywarn Spotter, amateur tornado chaser, and a student volunteer at the 2009 AMS meeting in Phoenix.
Toni is attending WAS*IS because she strongly believes in the universal value shift that WAS*IS stands for. Without strong and understandable communication across disciplines, we are all weakened. Toni understands this and wants to incorporate the ideology of WAS*IS into her studies as soon as possible.
 Krissy Scotten
Currently, I am a General Forecaster for the National Weather Service Office in Memphis, Tennessee where I am heavily involved in the outreach and climate programs. My career in weather began at the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama where I was a SCEP and eventually a forecaster. I am a graduate of the University of South Alabama (Bachelor’s Degree) and Mississippi State University (Master’s Degree). While at Mississippi State, I conducted research on “Dixie Alley” which is a Tornado Alley within Alabama, the Dixie State. This research has been expanded to include much of the Southeastern United States as this area is not typically considered a part of Tornado Alley, but generally experiences tornado outbreaks year round. As a National Weather Service meteorologist, my main area of interest lies within public outreach and getting out of the office to meet our customers.
My interest in the WAS*IS program stems from living and working in the highest tornado fatality region in the country which was very evident during the Super Tuesday Outbreak in February 2008. The Midsouth has its share of significant tornadoes even though it’s technically not in Tornado Alley. There is a significant increase in the number of deaths across this region due to several reasons including more nighttime tornadoes, fast moving storms, tree lined and hilly terrain, and other factors. My hope with WAS*IS is to learn about weather and societal impacts and gather ideas with the goal of getting the public to act quickly and intelligently during dangerous severe weather to mitigate the loss of life.
 Jennifer Spinney
In 2008 I began my graduate degree in Anthropology (socio-cultural) at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. My research area focuses on the impacts of severe weather for the residents of a remote, Arctic Canadian community. During my field work in the Arctic I hope to learn how residents of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, both Inuit and non-Inuit, define, interpret, and respond to severe weather. At the time of this workshop, I will have just returned from this trip, and I am excited to share with all WAS*ISers my practical experience of integrating weather, and weather knowledge, with the perspectives of various community members in Pangnirtung. More importantly, this workshop will be a wonderful opportunity to meet several people involved in meteorology and social science from across the United States. I look forward to learning from all of the experts in the field who attend.
 Jennifer Sprague
I am a policy analyst in the National Weather Service Office of Strategic, Planning and Policy. My educational background is in law, political science and international affairs. While I do not have a meteorology degree, it was my childhood dream to be a meteorologist. I went to Florida State University with the intention of receiving my meteorology degree, however, once there, I realized my strength was not in solving scientific algorithms, but rather in the study of human groups and individuals. I excelled at history, political science and international affairs and from there created a career out of the study of social science. It is incredible to me that after a number of years in the legislative and governmental sectors, I have come full circle and now work at NWS where I am able to combine my social science talents and my passion for the weather.
I believe that by participating in the WAS*IS Summer Program I will not only develop further relationships with those in the meteorology and social science sectors, but that I will come away with a better understanding of how the inclusion of human dimensions and societal impacts can better serve the weather and climate enterprise. I am interested in hearing from other participants as to what social science methodologies have been successful in positively affecting weather information services and what has not been effective. Furthermore, it is my hope that my unique insight into the legislative, legal and public policy will broaden the perspective of other Workshop participants.
 Ray Tanabe
Current Position and Duties
Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM), April 2007 - present
National Weather Service, Weather Forecast Office Honolulu HI
I serve as the principal interface between the Weather Forecast Office (WFO) / Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) and its local, regional, and international partners and customers who use our products and services.
- Ensure the products and supporting the local WFO’s functions and the office’s national center responsibilities in hurricane, marine, aviation, and climate are useful, timely, and accurate and recommends adjustments for service improvements as necessary.
- Responsible for planning and executing education programs designed to increase public awareness of local and regional natural hazards.
Prior Work History
Senior Forecaster, WFO Honolulu, June 2006 - April 2007
General Forecaster, WFO Honolulu, February 2003 - June 2006
General Forecaster, WFO Los Angeles/Oxnard, July 2001 - February 2003
Meteorologist Intern, WFO Los Angeles/Oxnard, August 2000 - July 2001
Student Intern, WFO Honolulu, May 1999 – August 2000
Education
M.S. Meteorology, University of Hawaii, 2000; B.S. Meteorology, University of Hawaii, 1997
Background
Born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, I consider myself an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, free-diving and surfing. This background has given me an intimate knowledge of weather affecting the State of Hawaii and the impacts to residents and visitors alike. I have extensive experience in local, national, and international aviation weather policy and operations, and in public, marine, and fire weather forecasting. In addition, I have four years experience as a hurricane specialist with the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
Reason for attending WAS*IS
I am completely sold on the integration of social science into the NWS forecast and warning process and feel it will increase our ability to fulfill the NWS mission. I also needed to see first hand what Julie Demuth has been up to these past few years and give her some swim lessons.
 Mark J. Widner
Joseph “Mark” Widner currently works for the City of Independence, Missouri as the Emergency Preparedness Manager and responsibilities of Acting Deputy Fire Chief of Administration. He is involved in developing the City’s many Public outreach programs and instrumental in developing the City’s Citizen Corp’s volunteer programs rated as one of the top 5 in the country. Mark has over 30 years of direct experience in the fields of Emergency Management, EOC Design and Testing, Emergency Medical Services & Education, Public Safety, Broadcast Engineering, Satellite Communications, Business Aviation, Corporate Marketing/Finance and Health Benefit Administration. He is the past chair of the Metropolitan Emergency Management Committee (Kansas City Area) and the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee’s Planning Group (Kansas City Region).
In 1997 he was awarded Firefighter of the Year – Western Missouri. Mark has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Finance and Economics. Previously, he worked in Kansas City, Kansas as the Emergency Program Coordinator, managing grant programs and developing risk assessment and community alert programs. He also worked for Kansas City Missouri Office of Missouri Emergency Management designing and building their EOC complex. Mark is a certified instructor of many safety professions, including firefighting, underwater recovery, paramedics and hazmat.
 Cory Wolff
My education in atmospheric science began after a transfer to the University of North Dakota in 1997 after I realized that studying computer science wasn’t for me. I graduated from UND with a B.S. in Atmospheric Science in 2000. While pursuing that degree I worked as a student forecaster for a private company that provided weather forecasts and road condition reports to users via cell phone as well as to Department of Transportation employees to aid with decision making.
In 2002 I received a M.S. in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University and went on to a job at NCAR in the Research Applications Laboratory, where I am currently employed. My main focus has been on developing algorithms for diagnosing and forecasting aircraft icing. These products are used by forecasters, dispatchers, and pilots to aid in avoidance of icing conditions. Every year in-flight icing brings down multiple aircraft, and our goal is to provide information to decision makers that will help to decrease these incidents. However, we don’t have a lot of say in how the products are used and how well they are understood. By attending WAS*IS I hope to gain a better perspective on how we can help make our products more useful and make sure the right people are using them correctly. I feel it is important that product end users have the best information available to them as well as a good understanding of what that information is telling them.
My group has also recently become involved with a project to study and forecast high ice water content conditions that can cause jet engine flameouts. No one knows exactly when and where these conditions occur at this point. Our job is to create a product to forecast these conditions where an aircraft is likely to get into trouble, and we have two upcoming field projects to hone our skills and develop these products. I have also become involved with ELDORA, which is an aircraft-mounted dual-Doppler radar. Last fall I spent a month in Guam aiding in data collection for a field program studying typhoons.
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