University of Oklahoma students, faculty, and staff attended the American Meteorological Society’s 103rd Annual Meeting in Denver in early January. Members of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences presented research on a vast variety of topics, ranging from the validation of boundary-layer height detection techniques to mapping the thermal potential for urban malaria transmission to the use of machine learning to predict forecast skill.
During the meeting, it was announced that DaNa Carlis, Ph.D., will serve as the new director of NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). Carlis is a third-generation Oklahoman and Tulsa native and currently serves as the Deputy Director at NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory. He will be the first African American director of NSSL.
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, invited guests were welcomed to the OU reception at Coors Field, where faculty, staff, students, federal scientists, research managers, program leaders, and alumni were able to meet in person after a long COVID-induced conference drought.
Several individuals representing A&GS and the Norman AMS community were honored for the research and work. Xuguang Wang, Ph.D., Presidential Research Professor and Robert Lowry Chair Professor in the School of Meteorology received the 2023 Distinguished Scientific or Technological Accomplishment Award. Thomas T. Lindley, Science and Operations Officer for NOAA/NWS received the Charles L. Mitchell Award. And Adrienne Wotton, Ph.D., research scientist with the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, received the Editor’s Award from Weather, Climate, and Society.
Additionally, Amy McGovern, Ph.D., Professor in the OU School of Computer Science and School of Meteorology, served as a panelist on the presidential forum, which explored the meeting’s theme of “using data to drive science, inform decisions, and enrich humanity.”
