"Don't do anything stupid" is Kim Elmore's mantra, taken from a placard on the instrument panel of an airplane. He has logged over 1,000 hours as a pilot and owns a 1946 Cessna 140. Flying is one of his passions, and so is the weather. "Flying in a light aircraft," he says, "is a good way to experience good seat-of-the-pants meteorology."

Kim considered being an engineering physicist like his dad, or even an aerospace or electrical engineer. But he has always loved the weather, and especially the thunderstorms he experienced while growing up in Tulsa. He went to the University of Tulsa for two years as a physics major, then transferred to OU where he earned his B.S. and M.S. in meteorology. Kim then worked at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO on projects ranging from JAWS (Joint Airport Weather Studies) and windshear to winter icing, polarimetric radar, and aviation weather products for non-meteorologists.

While at NCAR Kim met his wife Pam Wilson -- in a pig pen. Pam's father, a colleague at NCAR, had invited Kim to his home for dinner and a look at some newly-weaned pigs. Pam was asked to show Kim the pigs, and the rest is history. Kim moved back to Oklahoma in June of 1995. He was hired by NSSL to do a review of a microburst prediction radar, then worked on a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project predicting thunderstorm behavior around airports. This naturally lead to his next area of focus, ensemble forecasting with cloud models, which became the topic he would study during the pursuit of his life-long dream--a Ph.D. Kim says he owes NSSL a debt of gratitude for their support during his three-year quest. He graduated from OU in the spring of 2000, having fulfilled that dream. Kim is now the group leader for FAA MOU work, and has been working on ensemble forecasting with the SPC for their spring program.

Kim is passionate about many things including weather, flying, amateur radio and playing the violin. A new passion he has added to the list is his children (ages 2 1/2 and 9 months). Personally, Kim wants to raise good kids and be a good dad and husband. Professionally he wants to "do good research," and to shepherd others into good research and science. In general, Kim aims to not "do anything stupid." By Susan Cobb