NEWS FROM DAS

Prof. Greg McFarquhar wad recently cited in the New York Times regarding his participation in the Department of Energy Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC), which is part of a larger program involving NASA, NOAA, university, and international participation.  A link to the article (login required) may be found here.

Assistant Professor Steve Nesbitt was awarded a New Investigator in Earth Science grant to use NASA satellite measurements to map and quantify the the uncertainties in the estimation of orographic precipitation across the globe, and to use satellite estimates and reanalysis data to investigate our current theories governing the global distribution of orographic precipitation as a function of dynamical flow regime. As part of the project, he will also be participating in an education outreach field campaign in partnership with Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. The program will take place in the Jemez Mountains in Northern New Mexico, and will involve deployment of a high-resolution rain gauge network to validate satellite precipitation measurements during the monsoon wet season.

DAS Professors Donna Charlevoix, Atul Jain, Greg McFarquhar, Steve Nesbitt, Eric Snodgrass, and Bob Rauber as well as Teaching Assistants Andy Vanloocke, Amanda Wisdom, and Tom Workoff were cited by the University of Illinois Center for Teaching Excellence as being rated excellent by their students.  The full list of instructors campus wide may be found here.

Lecturer Eric Snodgrass was voted Outstanding Professor of Freshmen by students in the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society at the University of Illinois. With this honor comes a cash award and a commemorative plaque.

Research Scientist Brian Jewett was recently awarded the 2008 Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence (CAPE) Award for his outstanding contributions to the Education, Research and Service missions to the University of Illinois. This is the highest award the university offers to its academic professional staff.

Prof. Atul Jain awarded NASA funding to study biogeochemical consequences of land cover and land use changes (LCLUC) in the Monsoon Asia region (South, Southeast, and East Asia, SSEA). This research will focus on the spatial and temporal dynamics of LCLUC in SSEA and its impact on the net CO2 exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and atmosphere, and biogenic emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other tracers, including black and organic carbon aerosols. The grant award was in the amount of $907,371 for three years.

Prof. Greg McFarquhar and colleagues will be heading to Alaska this spring to participate in a field campaign aimed at understanding the properties of mixed-phase clouds at high latitudes. An intensive cloud and aerosol observing system will obtain airborne measurements during the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) at the Department of Energy North Slope of Alaska locale in April 2008. Taking place during the International Polar Year, many ancillary observing systems will be collecting data to allow synergistic interpretation of ISDAC data.

Prof. Schlesinger continued his debate with anthropogenic climate change skeptics on the topic of global warming. Debate surrounds the effort by climate change skeptics to attribute this winter's observed global "cold snap" as evidence that anthropogenically-forced climate change is not significant. Schlesinger maintained that this effort was, at best, a waste of time.

See the article here by New York Times science writer Andrew Revkin (login required).

DAS was a major presence at the American Meteorological Society's Annual Meeting in New Orleans this January. We had a DAS booth at the Student Conference, and we also held our first alumni reception during the meeting, which was a great success.

Seventeen members of our department were at the meeting, including ten graduate students. See photos of our student attendees in New Orleans here. Graduate Students Wendi Kaufeld and Nicole Schiffer were awarded AMS Travel Fellowships to attend the meeting. Faculty also chaired four sessions during the meeting. DAS looks forward to seeing you at next year's meeting in Phoenix!

Dr. David Kristovich, Adjunct Associate Professor in DAS and Senior Scientist at the Illinois State Water Survey, received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study urban effects on lake breezes and interactions between convective storms and marine boundary layers over the Great Lakes.

Professor Don Wuebbles has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Congratulations to Don for his outstanding achievements that have been recognized by the AAAS.

DAS alumna Prof. Susan Avery will become the director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Falmouth, Mass. Avery received her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois in 1978. Avery has been a member of the faculty of the University of Colorado at Boulder since 1982, most recently holding the academic rank of professor of electrical and computer engineering. Her research interests include studies of atmospheric circulation and precipitation, climate variability and water resources, and the development of new radar techniques and instruments for remote sensing. She also has a keen interest in scientific literacy and the role of science in public policy. She is the author or co-author of more than 80 peer-reviewed articles.

A recent survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked faculty at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois seventh out of all atmospheric sciences programs in the nation using many metrics of faculty productivity. This is an accomplishment not only of the faculty, but also the staff and students who are integral parts of of the research we do. More details on the results may be found here. Congratulations!

Professors Bob Rauber and Don Wuebbles were recently awarded the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Annual Science Advocate Award. Their awards were in recognition for exemplary service in helping our field gain recognition in Congress. As part of the award, Bob and Don were awarded 'Hollywood Stars', and pictures of their reception of the awards can be found here and here.

We are proud to announce that four University of Illinois Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) Faculty, Professors Atul Jain, Michael Schlesinger, John Walsh, and Don Wuebbles, and four Department Research Scientists, Natalia Andronova, Katharine Hayhoe, Ken Patten, and William Chapman, served as authors, reviewers, or contributors of reports by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). All DAS faculty played leadership roles in the preparation of the IPCC reports, and with the DAS research scientists share in Nobel Peace Prize with their IPCC colleagues around the world.

The Nobel committee cited the IPCC's two decades of scientific reports, saying they have "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming." The IPCC, a group representing over 180 governments, operates under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. It commissions assessments of global climate change by hundreds of scientists who are experts in the field.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Nicole Riemer will be joining the faculty in January 2008. Welcome Nicole!

The Department will participate in the National Weather Service-Lincoln Open House on Saturday, September 29 from 9 am to 4 pm. More details may be found here.

Bill Chapman was interviewed in an August 10, 2007 article commenting on the remarkable retreat of the Arctic Ocean ice sheet this summer.

Thanks to final approval by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students may now offically major in atmospheric sciences. The full course schedule is expected to be offered commencing in Fall semester 2008.

Prof. Atul Jain, as part of a team of researchers across departments at the University of Illinois, was awarded $535,000 to study the impacts of biofuel production on land use and the carbon cycle.

Prof. Donna Charlevoix, Director of Introductory Courses in Atmospheric Sciences, was awarded $10,000 from the Provost's office to develop online curricula for blended learning in severe weather courses.

Prof. Don Wuebbles and colleagues at several institutions were awarded NSF funding to attack an outstanding issue in the field of climate change research: how to obtain statistically robust projections of future climate change at regional to local scales. The grant award was in the amount of $1.1 million for three years.

Graduate Student Xiaojuan Yang, advised by Atul Jain, was awarded a Department of Energy graduate fellowship to work with scientists at Argonne National Laboratory in the summer of 2007, and also received full financial support to attend the NCAR 2007 ASP Summer Colloquium on Regional Biochemistry.

In its May meeting, the U of I Board of Trustees approved the proposal for a new Undergraduate Major in Atmospheric Sciences. Final approval by the Illinois Board of Higher Education is slated at their August meeting in Springfield.

Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in Atmospheric Sciences have had to use the college Independent Plan of Study (IPS) until now. With the coming of the new undergraduate major, future students will all graduate directly with Atmospheric Sciences degrees. Hilary Minor, featured above, is the last student to graduate through IPS. Congratulations, Hilary!

Prof. Somnath Baidya Roy's research concerning the effects of deforestation on weather in Brazil's Amazonia was featured by the University of Illinois in its annual report in 2006-07. It also appears on the web site Science Daily.

Prof. Steve Nesbitt was awarded a grant from NASA to study aircraft, passive microwave, and radar observations of winter storms taken during the January 2007 Calipso CloudSat Validation Project (C3VP) project which occured in January near Barrie, Ontario.

Prof. Mankin Mak will retire this May from DAS after 37 years of teaching, research, and service at the University of Illinois. He will become an Emeritus Professor and will remain active as an author and researcher.

Prof. Kerry Emanuel from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be giving the Distinguished Ogura Lecture at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, May 2 in the NCSA Building Main Auditorium. His lecture will be entitled, "Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes." All are invited.

Prof. Steve Nesbitt was awarded $285,000 by NOAA's Climate Prediction Program for the Americas to study the measurement and predictability of precipitation in the southwest US and northwest Mexico using satellite and ground-based observations as well as operational numerical weather prediction models.

DAS Teachers Donna Charlevoix, Eric Snodgrass, and Bob Rauber and Graduate Students Justin Hampton, Wendi Kaufeld, and Mike Wilson were cited on Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students in Fall 2006

A recent article coauthored by Prof. Don Wuebbles published in Environmental Science and Technology was cited by the American Chemical Society publications website as a 2006 Most Cited Article based on citation data from Thomson ISI.

27 April 2007 : DAS FALL 2007 courses announced

Our class schedule for fall semster 2007 is now available on our web site. Click here to view available courses.

26 April 2007 : graduate student eric meyers awarded ams graduate fellowship

Eric Meyers, who will be a graduate student at DAS this fall, was awarded an AMS graduate fellowship to pursue his graduate studies with Prof. Greg McFarquhar.

30 March 2007: atmospheric sciences undergraduate major approved by faculty senate

The DAS undergraduate major came one step closer to reality when it was recently approved by the Faculty Senate. The final steps, approval by the Board of Trustees and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, are expected to occur by Fall 2007.

30 March 2007: PROF. bob rauber receives the campus award for excellence in graduate and professional teaching

Prof. Bob Rauber was selected to receive the Chancellor's award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching, and will be given the award at the Celebration of Teaching Excellence on 2 May 2007.

30 March 2007: PROF ATUL Jain's research featured as research highlight in both nature and geophysical research letters

A new GRL study by Prof. Atul Jain, DAS graduate student Long Cao, and Carneige Institution scientist Ken Caldeira showed that ocean acidity is increasing largely independent of climate change. These findings were highlighted by the American Geophysical Union, the UK journal Nature, and was picked up by United Press International and highlighted in several newspapers.

30 March 2007: PROF. DONNA charlevoix highlighted by campus publication for use of technology in the classroom

Prof. Donna Charlevoix was recenty featured in the "Faculty Showcase" of the Spring 2007 Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services (CITES) Education Technology Newsletter for her use of state of the art technology in DAS undergraduate classes.

30 March 2007: PROF. Don Wuebbles invited to speak in front of house science and technology committee on the future of aviation

Prof. Don Wuebbles testified at a special hearing of the US House of Representatives on March 9 regarding Aviation and its potential impact on climate change. He was also invited to join the FAA's Research, Engineering, and Development Advisory Committee.

24 Feb 2007: PROF. Don Wuebbles to lead an assessment of the potential impacts of climate change on the city of Chicago

Prof. Don Wuebbles is the lead scientist on an assessment of the potential impacts of climate on the city of Chicago that is being done at the bequest of Mayor Daley's office.

23 Feb 2007: Emeritus Prof. Yoshi Ogura boosts endowment

Emeritus professor and department founder Yoshi Ogura has generously increased his endowment to support the "Distinguished Ogura Lecture Series" and to establish "Ogura Awards" for outstanding graduate and undergraduate students within the department. We thank Prof. Ogura for his continued and long standing support of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

23 Feb 2007: Emeritus Prof. john walsh makes initial donation to department unrestricted endowment fund

Emeritus professor John Walsh kicked off the new department unrestriced gift fund by contributing his entire earnings from teaching ATMS 120 in the fall semester 2006. We hope his generous donation to the department will be the start of an fund that will allow the department to create opportunities to enhance our scholarship and support student excellence.

20 Feb 2007: Prof. Peter Snyder awarded NSF grant

Prof. Peter Snyder was awarded NSF funding for a study to put terrestrial ecosystem changes and the climate response into a global context where the changes are likely to affect the entire planet. The focus will be on changes in ecosystem carbon storage in the Arctic and the global implications of ecosystem changes through modification of the Northern Hemisphere general circulation. The proposed project is motivated by the consideration of the potential, but previously not quantified, impacts that climate-driven change in Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are likely to have on the global climate.

18 Feb 2007: research scientist brian jewett receives award

Dr. Brian Jewett was recently awarded the LAS Academic Professional Excellence Award by Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf.

15 Feb 2007: Prof. Greg McFarquhar named Chief scientist for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Aerial Vehicle Program

Greg McFarquhar has recently received a grant from the Department of Energy to act as Chief Scientist for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programs's Aerial Vehicle Program (AVP). As part of this award Prof. McFarquhar will be working on the upcoming Cloud Land Surface Interaction Campaign (CLASIC) in Oklahoma in June 2007 and the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) in Alaska in April 2008.

9 Feb 2007: Spring 2007 Graduation Info

Graduation information is now available at the following link.

3 Feb 2007: Prof. Michael Schlesinger to be a member of the just-formed Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group

Michael Schlesinger, UIUC Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, has been invited by Governor Rod Blagojevich to be a member of the just-formed Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group. The charge of the ICCAG by the Governor is to consider "the full range of policies and strategies to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions in Illinois and to present its findings and recommendations to (him) by the end of June." The first and second meetings of the ICCAG will be 14 February in Chicago and 3 April in Springfield.

1 Feb 2007: Prof. Larry Di Girolamo awarded $514000 in NASA funding for MISR research

Professor Di Girolamo’s latest award continues the research his team of scientists and graduate students carried out from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) mission. MISR is a meteorological instrument on-board NASA's EOS-Terra satellite that was launched in December 1999. The research is toward continued development and validation of the methods used to derive cloud properties from MISR measurements that are subsequently used in climate research. More information on MISR can be found at http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/.

1 Feb 2007: Graduate Student Marile Colon-Robles wins $6400 NCAR ASP graduate fellowship

The purpose of Marile’s study will be to study the role of clouds in modifying the aerosol distribution in the trade winds. She will be studying the evolution of complete aerosol spectra through these clouds from sub-cloud air, through cloud processing, and until the aerosols are detrained into the clear air between clouds. Marile will be using observations taken from the NCAR C-130 during the 2004-2005 Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean (RICO) campaign. These observations include sub-cloud thermodynamics and aerosol size spectra, the concentration of activated cloud droplets and cloud updrafts. She will also be examining aerosol in the clear air between clouds including both recently detrained air and air that has was detrained some time earlier. She plans to calculate the cloud processing of the aerosols using a parcel model with an advanced condensation scheme capable of treating both concentrated salt solutions (giant aerosols and sulfate aerosols below cloud base)!