REU students spend the summer at NSSL

NSSL hosted one Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) and five Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) students this summer. Coordinated by Lead Principal Investigator Daphne Zaras (CIMMS), REU is an NSF-sponsored grant program is designed to attract talented undergraduates to careers in mathematics, science, and engineering through an active research program and mentorship by people who work in those fields. Most of the students came from small colleges where exposure to meteorological research is minimal.

The students' projects were: "Extratropical Cyclones with Multiple Baroclinic Zones and Their Relationship to Severe Weather" by Nick Metz, mentored by Dave Schultz (CIMMS/NSSL) and Bob Johns (CIMMS/SPC); "A Validation Study of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction's Short Range Ensemble Forecast" by Andy Hamm, Northland College, mentored by Kim Elmore (CIMMS/NSSL); Quality Control of Radar Data to Improve Mesocyclone Detection" by Becca Mazur, Northern Illinois University, mentored by Greg Stumpf (CIMMS/NSSL) and V. Lakshmanan (CIMMS/ NSSL); "Summertime Precipitation Variability and Atmospheric Circulation over the Bolivian Altiplano: Effects of Lake Titicaca and Salar de Uyuni" by Maura Hahnenberger, University of Utah, mentored by Mike Douglas (NSSL), and "Analyzing Statistical Models of Hourly Precipitation Events" by Jenny Esker, Southern Illinois University, mentored by Harold Brooks (NSSL).