Group in backyard

Postdocs

Chenhong Rao

Chenhong Rao

Ph.D. Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Chenhong's research focuses on the predictability of extreme precipitation events over the Catskill Mountains. She is investigating how forecast skill depends on lead time, modeling system, and weather-event type (e.g., atmospheric rivers), using a combination of multi-year analyses and case studies. Her Ph.D. research focused on predecessor rain events associated with tropical cyclones.

Graduate Students

Nicholas Johnson

Nicholas Johnson

B.S. University of Alabama in Huntsville

Nicholas's research seeks to understand processes that affect tropical cyclone intensity, such as ventilation: the injection of cool, dry environmental air into sheared storms. A combination of observations from aerial reconnaissance and satellites, along with simulations from operational models, are used to examine these processes. Nicholas participated in NASA's Convective Processes Experiment - Cabo Verde field project and the Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program. He is also a Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology fellow.

Emily Lucy

Emily Lucy

B.S. and M.S. University at Albany

Emily's research focuses on tornado-scale vortices in the eyewall region of tropical cyclones. She has been using a large-eddy simulation to understand the dynamical mechanisms associated with the formation and intensification of these tornado-scale vortices. In the past, Emily has done research on terrain influences on convective storms in central Argentina.

Luis Hernandez

Luis Hernandez

B.S. Florida International University

Luis' research focuses on understanding different tilt and alignment behaviors in moderately sheared tropical cyclones. He is investigating cases of interest using the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System. Luis is a fellow of the NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology.

Stefano Giove

Stefano Giove

M.S. University of Bologna

Stefano's research seeks to evaluate how environmental conditions and mesoscale processes affect tropical cyclone strength and track during downshear reformation, when a secondary storm center forms downshear and takes over as the new low-level storm center. He aims to understand how the new center development is governed by relevant factors employing Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) real-case simulations and Cloud Model 1 (CM1) idealized simulations.

Jake Vile

Jake Vile

B.S. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Jake's research focuses on understanding ventilation pathways into tropical cyclones using satellite and airborne observations, focusing on storms in past NASA field campaigns. Jake has previously been involved in multiple field projects, including PERiLS (Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms) and MITTEN-CI (Maritime to Inland Transitions Towards Environments for Convective Initiation).

Chris Gilberti

Chris Gilberti

B.S. University at Albany

Chris research on the hydrometeorology of extreme precipitation events over the Catskill Mountains of New York. His focus has been on an impactful event in Dec. 2020 that resulted from the combination of significant snowmelt and rainfall. Additionally, he has investigated a broader set of events to study the variability of hydrometeorological factors that lead to high streamflows.

Group in Berkshires

Research Group Alumni

Postdocs

Chau-Lam (Chris) Yu

Ph.D. Penn State University

Graduate Students

Jannetta Richardson

Ph.D.: "Influence of Cloud-Radiative Forcing on Tropical Cyclone Development in Moderate Vertical Wind Shear"

Emily Lucy

M.S.: "Misoscale Vortices in the Eyewall Boundary Layer of a Tropical Cyclone in a Large Eddy Simulation"

Nathalie Rivera-Torres

M.S.: "Examining Downshear Reformation in Tropical Cyclones"

Rachel Eldridge

M.S.: "Examining the Performance of the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh Model During Clear, Isolated, and Widespread Convective Days in the New York State Capital Region"

Emily Paltz

M.S.: "It Takes Two to Tango: Understanding the Processes That Lead to Simultaneous Changes in Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Size and Communicating the Associated Hazards to Emergency Managers"

Brennan Stutsrim

M.S.: "A Mechanism for Upscale Growth of Convection in the Complex Terrain of the Northeast U.S"

Casey Peirano

Ph.D.: "The Influence of Upper-Tropospheric Troughs on Tropical Cyclone Intensity Change and Structure: Observational, Reanalysis, and Idealized Numerical Modeling Perspectives"

Josh Alland

Ph.D.: "Synergistic Effects of Midlevel Dry Air and Vertical Wind Shear on Tropical Cyclone Development"

Michael Fischer

Ph.D.: "Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification in Environments of Upper-Tropospheric Troughs: Environmental Influences and Convective Characteristics"

Pamela Eck

M.S.: "Evaluation of Lightning Jumps as a Predictor of Severe Weather in the Northeastern United States"

Matt Vaughan

M.S.: "An Analysis of High-Impact, Low-Predictive Skill Severe Weather Events in the Northeast U.S."