About Me
Welcome! I am an assistant research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University. I study atmospheric convection, specifically deep convective clouds using observations from weather radars and lightning mapping array. I am currently working on disentangling the role of background meteorology and aerosols on deep convective updrafts as part of the DOE TRACER field campaign. As part of my Ph.D. dissertation at Purdue University, I worked on identification and tracking of polarimetric fingerprints such as differential reflectivity (ZDR) and specific differential phase (KDP) columns in tornadic storms. I also utilized ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) radar data assimilation to study cold pool-lightning covariability while simulating these tornadic storms.
Research Interests:Weather radar polarimetry, Lightning meteorology, Deep convective processes, Severe storms dynamics and microphysics, Spatio-temporal statistics and causal inference.
Recent News:
October 2024:
Major career update: I have been promoted to Assistant Research Scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Texas A&M University, effective October 2024.
September 2024:
A proposal led by Dr. Christopher Nowotarski, with me as a Co-PI, has been selected for DOE ASR funding. In this project, we will expand on my postdoctoral research to investigate the relative importance of background meteorology and mesoscale initiation mechanisms on the convective life cycle. Our study will begin by tracking isolated convective cells observed during the TRACER field campaign in a subtropical environment, then comparing them to cells initiated in the mid-latitude environment over the ARM BNF site. You can find the public abstract here and the list of other PIs and funded projects in this ASR call here.
August 2024:
The first paper from my postdoctoral research has been accepted for publication in the AMS Monthly Weather Review. In this study, we analyzed radiosonde observations to examine the meteorological conditions that serve as inflow to isolated deep convective cells. This research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, focuses on the evolution of isolated cells in maritime and continental air masses across sea and bay breeze fronts in southeast Texas. Our findings show that mesoscale heterogeneity across these frontal boundaries favors maritime air masses with greater thermodynamic instability, leading to shallow convection with larger composite reflectivity and deep convection with greater cell area throughout their life cycle. You can access the paper here.
I’m excited to announce that I’ve joined the AMS education newsletter, Weather With A Twist, as a scientific reviewer. Under the leadership of Aaron Price, I’m part of a team of four passionate science communicators dedicated to sharing the latest and most exciting research in weather, water, and climate from around the world. The first issue I reviewed is now online and can be accessed here.
July 2024:
An overview paper led by Dr. Anita Rapp, summarizing the TAMU TRACER field campaign and co-authored by me, was published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The paper discusses the mobile field data collection by the radiosonde and aerosol teams at Texas A&M University during the TRACER IOP from June to September 2022. These mobile observations enabled the TAMU team to sample the mesoscale heterogeneity in the thermodynamic characteristics and aerosol concentration across the sea breeze fronts in southeast Texas. You can access the paper here, which also contains the link to all open-access radiosonde and aerosol data collected during the field campaign.
June 2024:
A paper led by Dr. Katia Lamer from Brookhaven National Laboratory, which I co-authored, was published in Nature Scientific Data. The paper presents a value-added observational dataset on planetary boundary layer depth across the Greater Houston metropolitan region. The data collection for these spatially distributed observations was made possible by the Department of Energy’s TRACER field campaign conducted over 2021-22 in southeast Texas. You can access the paper here.
May 2024:
I received two research awards from the TAMU College of Arts & Sciences: the Travel Program for Postdoctoral Researchers and the Research Proposal Development Award. I will use the travel grant to cover my expenses for the NOAA HWT-SFE trip in Norman, OK, and the proposal development award to support the submission of an NSF proposal.
April 2024:
I am excited to share that a paper based on my Ph.D. dissertation has been accepted for publication in the AMS Monthly Weather Review. This paper delves into the observational analysis of radar and lightning signatures in nonclassic tornadic storms in the southeast U.S. Titled ‘Investigating Temporal Characteristics of Polarimetric and Electrical Signatures in Three Severe Storms: Insights from the VORTEX-Southeast Field Campaign,’ it offers valuable insights into the cloud microphysical processes and their role in storm electrification. Stay tuned for the EOR link!
I will be attending the 2024 NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Forecast Experiment hosted by the Storm Prediction Center and the National Severe Storms Laboratory next month at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA.
March 2024:
I’ve been selected for the 2024 American Meteorological Society Early Career Leadership Academy. I’ll join a group of early career leaders in water, weather, and climate science in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in June.
January 2024:
I started my tenure as a regular member of the AMS Weather Analysis and Forecasting committee. In the near term, I will work with the implementation planning, AMS glossary, and Mitchell Award subcommittees.
November 2023:
I’ll be giving an invited talk on “Exploring Thermodynamic Variability and Storm Lifecycle Across Southesat Texas Sea Breeze Fronts” at the Southern Regional Climate Center annual meeting in Houston, TX.
September 2023:
I’ll be attending a two day “COLDEX Early Career Researcher Workshop on Building Leadership and Team Skills for Professional Success” at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR.
August 2023:
I’ll be presenting TAMU TRACER results at the 40th AMS Conference on Radar Meteorology in Minneapolis, MN. [Talk]
I’ll be giving an invited talk on “Regional variability of thermodynamics/sea-breeze” at the ARM/ASR meeting during the breakout session on ‘Building Collaborations Around TRACER Science Objectives’.
I’ll be presenting a poster on TAMU TRACER results at the 2023 Joint ARM/ASR PI meeting in Rockville, MD [Poster pdf]. I will also be delivering a tutorial on “Enhancing Geoscientific Computational Skills with Project Pythia” in the breakout session on Open Science.
July 2023:
Dr. Nowotarski presented a poster on our TAMU TRACER research at the AMS joint 32nd Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, 28th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction and 20th Conference on Mesoscale Processes. [Poster pdf]
June 2023:
Attended Project Pythia Cook-off 2023 at the NCAR Mesa Lab, Boulder, CO, USA. Contributed example workflows to radar cookbook.
Received the Texas A&M College of Arts & Sciences postdoc travel award ($1000) to present research at the AMS radar conference.
May 2023:
Served on the program committee of the 40th AMS Radar Conference, held in Minnesota, MN. Reviewed abstract submissions.
Presented preliminary analysis of TAMU TRACER radiosonde and thunderstorm tracking data across sea-breeze fronts at the TRACER Science Workshop in Houston, TX.
January 2023:
Presented results on thermodynamic variability across sea-breeze fronts during the TAMU TRACER IOPs at the 103rd AMS Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. [Talk]
Co-chair for the 11th Conference on the Meteorological Application of Lightning Data - Session on Lightning and Cloud Processes: Microphysics, Electrification, Thunderstorm Kinematics, Dynamics, and Lightning I.
October 2022:
Won 3rd place in the student poster presentation competition at the AMS 30th Severe Local Storms conference in Santa Fe, NM. [Poster pdf]
August - September 2022:
Forecaster for ARM TRACER field campaign and led radiosonde deployments for the TAMU TRACER field campaign.
August 2022: Joined Dr. Anita Rapp and Dr. Christopher Nowotarski’s research group in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University.
July 2022:
Defended my Ph.D. dissertation at Purdue University. [Dissertation link]
April 2022:
Received the Purdue EAPS Outstanding Graduate Student Award.