Drew Hickok
Drew completed his B.S. (with Honors in the Major) in spring 2024. His undergraduate research obtained an updated climatology of overland tropical cyclone intensification and maintenance, and we are preparing a manuscript derived from this research for submission in summer 2024.
Collin DeYoung
Collin completed his M.S. in spring 2024. The title of his thesis was, “An Assessment of the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh Model’s Ability to Resolve the Great Lakes Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Lake-Breeze Front,” and we are preparing a manuscript derived from this research for submission in summer 2024. This fall, Collin will begin employment as an Instructor of Meteorology at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, MI.
Michael Vossen
Michael completed his M.S. in spring 2021 and reached dissertator status at UWM in fall 2023 before pausing his Ph.D. studies to begin his career. The title of his M.S. thesis was, “An Investigation into the Thermodynamics of Overland
Tropical Cyclone Intensity Change in Weakly/Non-Baroclinic Environments,” and we are preparing a manuscript derived from this research for submission in fall 2024. Michael is currently employed as a scientist by the Antea Group in St. Paul, MN.
Ari Tickner
Ari completed his M.S. in spring 2024. The title of his thesis was, “Predictability of the Overland Reintensification of North Atlantic Tropical Storm Erin (2007),” and we are hoping to be able to submit a manuscript derived from this research in late 2024. Ari is currently employed as the Mitigation and Recovery Coordinator for Cumberland County, Maine.
Dr. Kevin Prince
Kevin completed his M.S. in fall 2018 and Ph.D. in summer 2022. Dr. Prince’s M.S. research developed a climatology of intense cold surges in South America, while his Ph.D. research focused on convective-scale processes during the interaction of a tropical cyclone with the midlatitude jet. He published three papers on his research, one each in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (2018), Monthly Weather Review (2020), and Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (2022). Dr. Prince is currently a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Naval Research Lab in Monterey, CA.
Michelle Spencer
Michelle completed her M.S. in fall 2021. The title of her thesis was, “The Influences of Sea-Surface Temperature Uncertainty on Cool-Season High-Shear, Low-CAPE Severe Weather Event Predictability in the Southeast United States,” and a manuscript derived from this research is in revision for resubmission to Weather and Forecasting in summer 2024. Michelle is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Meteorology under the supervision of Drs. Elizabeth Smith and Petra Klein at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK.
Anna Prince (née: Kaminski)
Anna completed her B.S. in spring 2021. Anna’s first undergraduate research project, a thirty-year climatology of northeastern United States atmospheric rivers, was the recipient of 2021’s American Meteorological Society’s Father James B. Macelwane Annual Award in Meteorology. This research was published in January 2023 in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. Anna completed her M.S. in Meteorology from Florida State University in summer 2023 and is presently employed as a Research Scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, CA.
Giorgio Sarro
Giorgio completed his B.S. in spring 2020. As an undergraduate research fellow, Giorgio completed an investigation of post-transformation intensity, structural, and timing extremes for extratropically transitioning tropical cyclones. The paper summarizing his findings received 2020’s American Meteorological Society’s Father James B. Macelwane Annual Award in Meteorology and was published in November 2022 Monthly Weather Review. Giorgio is presently a Ph.D. student and NASA FINESST fellow working with Prof. Noboru Nakamura at the University of Chicago in Chicago, IL.
Jesse Schaffer
Jesse completed his M.S. in spring 2019. The title of his thesis was, Using Evolutionary Programming to Generate a Tropical Cyclone Intensity Model, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in May 2020 in Monthly Weather Review. Jesse completed a Master of Education (M.Ed.) at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA in 2022 and is presently employed at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA.
Aidan Kuroski
Aidan completed his M.S. in summer 2018. The title of his thesis was, An Investigation of the Conditional Practical Predictability of the 31 May 2013 Heavy-Rain-Producing Mesoscale Convective System. Aidan is presently employed as a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI.
David Nevius
David completed his M.S. in spring 2018. The title of his thesis was, The Influence of Vertical Advection Discretization in the WRF-ARW Model on Capping Inversion Representation in Warm-Season, Thunderstorm Supporting Environments, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in December 2018 in Weather and Forecasting. David is presently employed by Delta Airlines in Atlanta, GA.
Dr. Caitlin Crossett
Dr. Crossett completed her M.S. in spring 2017. The title of her thesis was, An Examination of the Dynamics of a Rear-Inflow Jet Associated with an Idealized Mesoscale Convective System, and a manuscript derived from this research is currently in preparation for submission to the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. Crossett completed her Ph.D. in Hydrometeorology at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT in 2022 and a postdoctoral fellowship at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2023, and is presently employed as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science at UNC-Asheville.
Alexandra/Alli Kelly (née: Keclik)
Alli completed her M.S. in spring 2016 and was jointly advised with Prof. Paul Roebber. The title of her thesis was, The Influence of Assimilated Targeted Observations Upon Ensemble Forecasts of Convection Initiation, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in December 2017 in Monthly Weather Review. Alli is presently employed as the National Weather Service Central Region Impact-Based Decision Support Services and Warning Coordination Meteorologist Program Manager in Kansas City, MO.
Bryan Burlingame
Bryan completed his M.S. in spring 2016 and was jointly advised with Prof. Paul Roebber. The title of his thesis was, The Influence of PBL Parameterization on the Practical Predictability of Convection Initiation During the Mesoscale Predictability Experiment (MPEX), and a manuscript derived from this research was published in June 2017 in Weather and Forecasting. Bryan is presently employed as a data scientist by SocialSweet in Milwaukee, WI.
Caleb Grunzke
Caleb completed his M.S. in spring 2016. The title of his thesis was, Predictability and Dynamics of Warm-Core Mesoscale Vortex Formation with the 8 May 2009 “Super Derecho” Event, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in March 2017 in Monthly Weather Review. After beginning his career as a Research Associate with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, Caleb is presently employed as a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen/Twin Cities, MN.
Juliana Karloski
Juliana completed her M.S. in spring 2015. The title of her thesis was, Seasonal Influences upon and Long-Term Trends in the Length of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in January 2016 in the Journal of Climate. Juliana is presently employed as an Educational Instructor with Space Center Houston at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.
Alex Manion
Alex completed his M.S. in spring 2014. The title of his thesis was, A Preliminary Evaluation of Advanced Dvorak Technique-Derived Intensity Estimate Errors and Biases During the Extratropical Transition of Tropical Cyclones Using Synthetic Satellite Imagery, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in August 2015 in Weather and Forecasting. Alex is presently employed as a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiac, MI.
Dr. Brock Burghardt
Dr. Burghardt completed his M.S. thesis in spring 2013 and was jointly advised with Prof. Paul Roebber. The title of his thesis was, Assessing the Predictability of Convection Initiation Using an Object-Based Approach, and a manuscript derived from this research was published in April 2014 in Weather and Forecasting. Dr. Burghardt completed his Ph.D. at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX in 2017 and is presently employed by Synoptic Data PBC in Salt Lake City, UT.