The NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M II) was well represented at the 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting offsite link. The annual meeting convened thousands of professionals including researchers, academics, and students for presentations, professional development, and networking opportunities under the theme of “Living in a changing environment.” NCAS-M II took full advantage of the opportunity to provide students experience in science communication, one of the core competencies of NCAS-M II student training, and engage in important conversations about the Center’s research priorities.
Twelve current NCAS-M II cohort students and two NCAS-M II postdoctoral fellows participated in AMS, along with principal investigators, faculty, staff, and professionals from the Center. In total, NCAS-M II-affiliated students gave 26 presentations. One of the undergraduate fellows, Stephanie-Ortiz Rosario of the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, was awarded offsite link an honorable mention for her oral presentation, "Environmental moisture influence on African mesoscale convective systems."
The presentations exemplified NCAS-M II’s commitment to student training in the center’s thematic areas offsite link, which emphasize collaboration and interdisciplinary research. “Our training and research activities involve NCAS-M II faculty members, students, NOAA scientists, and subject matter experts, as well as colleagues from other CSCs," said NCAS-M II Director Sen Chiao, Ph.D. offsite link "We strive for excellence, continuously improving our alignment with the NOAA mission."
NCAS-M II presentations also stood out at AMS because they reflect the Center’s concerted effort to integrate the study of social and behavioral sciences, communications, and economics into atmospheric science research. Terri Adams, Ph.D. offsite link, NCAS-M II Deputy Director and Howard University professor of sociology, noted the significance of showcasing this effort at AMS. "We know that weather isn’t only instruments and models and forecasts," said Adams. "Weather is also people and communities and perceptions. It’s important that the Center continues to integrate and promote social science research to the forefront of conversations about weather and climate, and that’s exactly what our students and researchers did at AMS this year."
In addition to showcasing NCAS-M II’s student training and research, the Center’s representation at this year’s AMS Annual Meeting demonstrated NCAS-M II’s primary goal of producing highly trained candidates for the future NOAA mission enterprise workforce. NCAS-M graduates will contribute to building a more resilient nation in the face of increasing vulnerability to weather extremes and other environmental threats.
A selection of NCAS-M scholar and faculty presentations at AMS 2024
Names in bold are NCAS-M students and staff.
- An observational and HYSPLIT modeling study on the impacts of recent Canadian wildfire smoke on air quality across the United States, Lauryn Smith.
- Understanding the large-Scale environment impacts on tropical cyclone rapid intensification in a warming Climate, Alrick Green, Xuejin Zhang, Sen Chiao.
- Mitigating wildfire and smoke risks, David Hogg, Mariana Goodall Cains, Shadya Sanders.
- Long-term trend and variability of rain on snow and weather extremes on Mount Washington, Myah Rather.
- Assessment of long-term variability on rainfall distribution and extreme flash flood events in the semi-arid region of El Paso, Texas, Nakul Karle, Sen Chiao, Jason Laney, James Barham, Greg Lundeen.
- Peering beyond the storm: Emergency manager decision-making during severe weather, Donald Long.
- Toxic air: An examination of the social and economic determinants of air quality, Ibrahim Onafeko, Terri Adams, Rita Adams.
- Novel approaches to building a Weather Ready Nation, Susan Jasko, Barry S. Goldsmith, Shadya Sanders.
- Facing new threats: Impact of risk perceptions, informational sources, and experiences on protective actions, Terri M. Adams, Michelle Dovil, Rebecca Hackett, Daphne LaDue, Lara Mayeux
