Spring 2008

A newsletter published for

the MeteorologyAlumni of Penn State

Volume 8 No. 1

State of the Department – William Brune

M A P SIn this Issue: State of the Department.............................................1Faculty Profile: Arthur A. Small, III............................2MAPS Steering Committee........................................2Undergraduate Scholarships: The Key to Recruit-ment and Retention...................................................3Thomsons Endow Distinguished Graduate Fellowship................................................................4Establishing the Levenia Adom Memorial Graduate Award........................................................5Penn Staters Connect in the U. S. Military................6The Student Corner New!......................................8The Weather Station Complex Renovation Project................................................................10John G. W. Kelley Receives GEMS Alumni Acheivement Award...............................................12Recent Graduate Honored with Inaugural GEMS Diamond Award.....................................................12Meteorology Faculty and Students receive EMS Wilson Awards................................13Alumni Achievements..............................................14Department Philanthropy.......................................15

Department Weather Station to undergo

Major Facelift

MeteogramGreetings. As I enter my 10th year as Department Head, I look back with satisfaction on our successes and look forward with anticipation to even more successes in the future. In the meantime, we are busy bridging between the past and the future. This is an exciting time for Penn State Meteorology.

Our faculty is changing. With the impending retirements of several of our outstanding faculty members in the next year or two, we began a search for new faculty members last fall. Replacing a quarter of the faculty in a year or so is a monumental task, but that is what we are doing now. We are proud to announce that one of the candidates – Dr. Fuqing Zhang – will join our faculty in September. Dr. Zhang is an expert in mesoscale meteorology and data assimilation. We are glad to have him join us.

Our research and teaching horizons are expanding into weather and climate risk management. This program weds the understanding and prediction of weather and climate with the understanding of economics and business. The common skill is quantitative analysis; the common goal is to use weather and climate information in economic decision-making. We have a new option in Weather Risk Management for undergraduates, two NSF research grants, and a great interest from students and companies. We are only just beginning to realize the potential that this interdisciplinary research holds and are pursuing a range of interesting opportunities.

Our undergraduate curriculum is evolving as meteorology and atmospheric science evolve. To prepare students for future careers, the faculty has made the first major revision to the undergraduate curriculum in at least 15 years. The result is a curriculum that has more flexibility, better inte-gration, fewer required courses, more technical electives, and increased learning in statistics and computer pro-gramming. We have accomplished these changes without losing any of the rigor for which a Penn State Meteorology degree is known.

The Weather Station on the 6th floor of Walker will soon be transformed into a learning and social center for the future. Starting in May, the demolition of the old Weather Station See the plans and read all about it

on pages 10-11.continued on page 2

2 Spring 2008

and the construction of the awesome new Weather Sta-tion will begin. Our goal is to create a facility that will keep the qualities that our students, faculty, staff, and alumni so cherish and yet will serve the students and department well for the next thirty years and beyond. This renovation will be costly. If you would like future generations of Penn State meteorologists to have the friendships and shared experiences that the Weather Station gave you, please contribute to the Weather Station renovation.

Finally, I want to call your attention to the generosity of Professors Dennis and Joan Thomson, who have en-dowed a Distinguished Graduate Fellowship of Meteorol-ogy. This fellowship will help us recruit even more excep-tional students into our graduate program. The Thomson’s generous gift, we hope, is just the first of many from the Penn State Meteorology family.

Arthur Small is the most recent addition to the Penn State Meteorology faculty, ac-cepting a position as Associ-ate Professor. Prof. Small is an economist whose particu-lar interests lie in developing quantitative financial models of carbon, climate, and other environmental risks for use in derivative pricing, asset valuation, trading, and risk management. He came to Penn State from Columbia University where he worked as an Assistant Professor in the School of International &

Public Affairs since 2000. In 2005, he also held tandem positions as Senior Research Coordinator of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change and Associate Research Scholar in the Earth Institute. Prior to his post in the School of International & Public Affairs, he held an As-sistant Professorship in Finance and Economics in the Graduate School of Business.

Small’s scholarship on the economics of biological re-sources was recognized by his colleagues in 2001 with an award for Quality of Research Discovery from the Ameri-can Agricultural Economics Association. He has published numerous scholarly articles in outlets including the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Manage-ment, and the Elsevier Handbook of Environmental Eco-nomics. He has also served as a reviewer or consultant to numerous government agencies and private concerns, and has lectured widely at many universities, research institutes, and professional conferences. Since 2003, Dr. Small has served on the Editorial Council of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

His educational background began in 1987 at Columbia University where he received an A.B. degree in Mathemat-ics followed in 1990 by an M.S. degree, also in Mathemat-ics, from Cornell University. In 1994, he moved to the west coast and pursued two degrees from the University of California at Berkeley--an M.S. and Ph.D. in Agricultural & Resource Economics in 1994 and 1998, respectively.

Prof. Small’s favorite pasttime is spending time with his wife, Dawn Amsberry, a librarian, and their daughter Zoe, age 8. All are enthusiasts for Irish music and cul-

FACULTY PROFILEture: Dawn is learning to play the tin whistle, while Zoe is becoming proficient in Irish step dancing. Coming from New York City, they find themselves pleasantly perplexed to confront a yard surrounding their house. (“How do you know which one is a weed?”). Overall, though, they are delighted by the friendliness and charm of State College.

Arthur A. Small, III

State of the Department continued from front page

MAPS Steering Committee Members

We’ve had a few members retire from service on the MAPS Steering Committee and added a few new members to the group. Feel free to contact any of these alums if you have information or ideas to share with the Department.

Zachary Byko*, MARS Snackfood USKevin Crupi, NWS, Marquette, MIJoel Gratz*, ICAT Managers, LLCJamison Hawkins, Lockheed-MartinJohn Hussey, The Aerospace CorporationJon Nese, Penn State, Department of MeteorologyMichael Pavolonis*, NOAA/NESDISJon Porter, AccuWeather, Inc.Ken Reeves, AccuWeather, Inc.Glenn Schwartz*, NBC 10 in Philadelphia, PAHeidi Sonen, TFI ForecastSarah (Thomas) Bedka*, University of WisconsinBernadette Woods, WJZ in Baltimore, MD

*denotes a new member

Arthur A. Small, IIIAssociate Professor of Meteorology

Spring 2008 3

You may have heard that Meteorology’s undergraduate program is, on average, over 300 students strong, but did you know that only about 13% of them receive meteorol-ogy scholarships each year? Most of these students receive $500 or less per semester—this is barely enough to cover their books!

In fact, in a College of EMS survey conducted of prospective undergraduate students, the primary reason that they listed for choosing another institution over Penn State was the cost. Surprising also is that about half of our undergraduate students come from out-of-state. Factor in Penn State’s high tuition (and it’s rising again this fall), and you can see that from a recruiting standpoint, some students who really want to come to Penn State, just aren’t able.

We really need your help with undergraduate scholarship support. Over the years, several generous alumni have come forward and donated significant funds for Department of Meteorology scholarships.

• Dr. Charles Hosler and his late wife, Anna, endowed a scholarship which generates approximately $13,700 in scholarship dollars each year.

• Dr. Joel Myers has pledged scholarship support over ten years. This scholarship, already in year eight, provides approximately $11,000 in scholarship support per year.

• The Chelius Family Scholarship in Meteorology generates approximately $5,500 in scholarships each year. • Mrs. Robert Cole donates $2,500 in scholarship support each year in memory of her husband.• The Hans A. Panofsky endowment provides $11,300 in distributable scholarship funds per year. • Mr. Douglas Kruhoeffer has an endowed scholarship which generates approximately $1,500 in scholarship funds per

year. He has also already funded an annual scholarship for $25,000 over the course of five years. • The Donald and Ellen Eberly Endowed Scholarship in Meteorology provides approximately $2,500 in scholarship

support per year. • Mr. Jim Meyer and his wife, Joan, have established a Trustee Matching Scholarship that provides approximately

$5,000 in undergraduate support each year.• Mr. Addison Sears-Collins provides an annual book supplement award of $500.

This list does not include those alumni who have pledged funds for undergraduate support as part of their estate plans or have made a commitment for future giving. These include Warren and Mary Wash-ington and Paul and Rebecca Tag.

Although we have many more alumni who have pledged or donated funds for very important goals

(e.g. graduate fellowships, lectureships, alumni activities, student travel, undergraduate research, and student/faculty interac-tion), we are still concerned specifically about our level of undergraduate scholarship support in the coming years. We want to attract and retain the brightest and most passionate students to Penn State Meteorology, but without adequate scholarship funding, we will lose many promising students to competing institutions that have lower tuition, that can offer them more financial assistance, or both.

Please, sincerely consider supporting undergraduate student scholarship in Penn State Meteorology. You may make a donation to a scholarship already in place, but a pledge of just $50,000 will create a new scholarship either in your honor or in the memory of someone special to you. You can even contact a fellow alumnus(a) and pool your resources to reach the $50,000 level. Your commitment definitely makes a difference to the students.

UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS The Key to Recruitment and Retention

If you are interested in establishing a scholarship in the Department of Meteorology, or have general questions about giving, please contact one of the EMS development staff members directly by calling 814-863-2289, or send your questions to development@ems.psu.edu. The EMS Development Office will be happy to assist you.

“Since I was paying out-of-state tuition rates, depart-mental scholarships alleviated some of the financial stress I had each year. It was also great to be recognized for my efforts in the classroom.” — Jeff Grabon, Class of 2007

“Receiving a Meteorology departmental scholarship played an essential role in financing my college education. This scholarship program not only ensures that dedicated stu-dents are rewarded for their accomplishments, but more importantly prevents our graduates from leaving Penn State with enormous debt.” — Zachary Byko, Class of 2007

4 Spring 2008

Thomsons Endow Distinguished Graduate Fellowship

Dennis and Joan Thomson, both Penn State faculty members since 1970, have long been known for their commitment to students. For example, they’ve opened their home for holiday and class-related dinners to more than 350 undergraduate and gradu-ate students. Now they’ve taken their com-mitment a major step further, and endowed a distinguished graduate fellowship in the Department of Meteorology in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

The Thomsons said they hope the fellow-ship will call attention to the importance of having special resources available to attract and support graduate students who have exceptional academic records and the po-tential to make unique contributions to the advancement of the atmospheric sciences.

Dennis Thomson is a professor of meteo-rology and former department head, and Joan Thomson is a professor of agricultural communications. The fellowship will bear their name in recognition of their generosity.

“Outstanding atmospheric science and meteorology programs have outstanding graduate students. Competition for these students is intense,” said William Brune, Head of the Department of Meteorology. “In this environment, graduate fellow-ships help Penn State recruit and retain the most capable, creative, and innovative advanced-degree candidates. We’re deeply grateful for the Thomsons’ commitment and the wonderful example they’ve set for other faculty members, and alumni as well.”

Annual income from the Thomson Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Meteorology may support the recipient in the form of tuition aid, a stipend, and health insurance. Distinguished graduate fellowships require a minimum endowment of $250,000 and when fully funded at this level, Penn State through the Graduate School and the fellowship’s affiliate col-lege, will match the endowments annual spendable income in perpetuity.

The Thomsons grew up in rural southwestern Wisconsin, where they still maintain close ties and are involved in philan-thropic endeavors, especially the conservation of prairie lands. Between them, they hold six undergraduate and graduate degrees in their respective science and communications fields from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The University of Wisconsin School of Human Ecology has honored Joan Thomson as a Distinguished Alumna.

At Penn State, the Thomsons have also won recognition for special service contributions to the University and their re-spective academic and professional communities.

Drs. Thomson pictured at their farm home in Halfmoon Township west of State College.

The Department of Meteorology has only one other Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, which was pledged by Dr. Al Blackadar and his wife, Betty, as part of their estate plans. If you are interested in establishing a Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in the Department of Meteorology, you may contact one of the EMS development staff members directly by calling 814-863-2289, or send your questions to development@ems.psu.edu. The EMS Development Office will be happy to assist you.

Spring 2008 5

In January 2007, the Department of Meteorology lost a very special graduate student to colon cancer. Levenia Adom was quiet and reserved, but passionate about pursuing her M.S. degree in weather forecasting and com-munications. During the fall semester of 2006, she worked for Jon Nese as a teaching assistant for Meteorology 201. Levenia was just 25 years old and within a semester of graduating when she passed away. Through the efforts of many in the Meteorology Department, she was awarded her M.S. degree posthumously in May 2007.

Most of the Department had no idea that Levenia was waging a courageous battle with cancer in addition to focusing on her studies. Her passing came as quite a sur-prise and left everyone with a heavy heart—but it also left several people wondering how they could honor Levenia’s memory.

Among faculty and graduate students who were particu-larly fond of Levenia, a consensus evolved that the best way was to establish an endowment that would provide summer funding for a graduate student who shared Lev-enia’s passion for weather forecasting and communica-tions. Graduate students with this research interest are somewhat rare and that makes this endowment particu-larly special. The endowment will bear Levenia’s name in perpetuity, and that also makes it special to her family and friends.

The department has a few donors who have already stepped up to the plate, but university guidelines have set a limit of a $20,000 pledge for this type of gift before the endowment can be established and start providing income.

Levenia Adom, M.S. May 2007

We realize that there are some of our alumni who share Levenia’s passion and who also have the financial means to make this endowment a reality. Just a few donors who can make a significant contribution to reach the $20,000 level are needed. Of course, any donations for this endow-ment are helpful no matter what their size, but significant gifts will bring us to the goal quickly.

Speaking of reaching the goal quickly, we’re pleased to announce that just recently, a generous donor has come forward offering a “donor challenge” for this special award. He’d like to match dollar-for-dollar all monies given from April 15, 2008 through April 14, 2009 up to the level of $2,500. This means that we can turn $2,500 into $5,000 if enough donors come forward throughout the coming year. If we can reach the $2,500 for the match, and add it to another generous pledge of $5,000 that we have already received, it will bring us halfway to the $20,000 goal!

If you’d like to contribute to The Levenia Adom Memorial Graduate Award, please contact the Earth and Mineral Sciences Development Office (814-863-2289, develop-ment@ems.psu.edu ) or Lynn Persing in the Department of Meteorology (814-863-8568, persing@ems.psu.edu) and specify The Levenia Adom Memorial Graduate Award as the purpose of your contribution.

A fund-raising “thermometer” will be displayed on the Department’s scholarship page (http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/scholarships) if you’d like to track the progress of this initiative.

We really hope to hear from you.

Establishing The Levenia Adom Memorial Graduate Award in Meteorology

L E V E N I A A D O M M E M O R I A L G R A D U A T E A W A R D “ D O N O R C H A L L E N G E ”A generous anonymous donor has come forward with a challenge to jump start this award. He will match dollar-for-dollar all funds received for this award from April 15, 2008 through April 14, 2009 up to a level of $2,500.

So, now’s the time to “get the most for your money” so to speak. Let’s turn a potential $2,500 into $5,000!

6 Spring 2008

Major Patricia Vollmer (‘95 B.S.)

Patricia Vollmer is a Major in the Air Force Reserve serving at the 953rd RSPTS in Norfolk, VA .

My first duty assignment in 1995 was Fort Polk, Louisiana, which seemed a million miles away from the comforts of Penn State and my roots on the Eastern Seaboard. Yes, I am an Air Force officer, and yes, Fort Polk is an Army base, but that didn’t stop the Air Force from sending me there to help provide weather forecasting support to their training ranges. About a year later, my husband David was able to join me, also a Penn State Meteorology grad, and 2nd Lieutenant performing weather support du-ties. (As an aside, David and I had to drive through the Blizzard of ‘96 right after his January 8th graduation from PSU to our home in DeRidder, LA. But that’s another story...) So there we were, two Penn State weather weenies —unable to catch any football games on TV since we lived in the heart of SEC country—and feeling as though many of the things we’d come to love about Penn State would remain just memories. The other lieutenants in our weather flight were Florida State grads...welcome to the South! About two years passed and one day, in early 1997, Dave and I were driving our Penn State decal-clad Saturn north on U.S. 171, the main north-south route through western Louisiana, which connects Lake Charles with Shreveport. Behind us was an approaching vehicle that moved into the left lane as if to pass us. It pulled along side of us, started beeping, and the woman in the passenger side of the car rolled down the window and was waving frantically at us. What was going on? Did we leave our gas cap cover open? Were we driving on a flat tire? It turned out they were shouting things such as “Go PSU!” and “We Are...Penn State!” out of their win-dow to us! After we exchanged a few words about when we graduated from PSU—all the while driving down the highway—they passed us and we noticed that the back of their Nissan Pathfinder is just as Penn State decal-clad as ours. It was unbelievable the excitement we felt about that strange encounter! You’d have thought we just won money or something! And I thought that was that—but it wasn’t.

A couple of days later I received a phone call in my office from a Captain Rob Wor-sham (now Major Rob Worsham, U.S. Army, ‘92 BS Secondary Education, AROTC). While Dave and I didn’t notice the Army stickers on their car that day, Captain Wor-sham had noticed the Air Force stickers on our car, and had seen our car around Fort Polk at other times. There were only a couple numbers you needed to call to find Air Force people on Fort Polk, and apparently Rob had called my unit looking for the Penn State alums. Since Dave and I bled blue and white all over the unit, anyone in my unit who answered the phone, would have known who Rob was looking for!

So we got our families together and we became great friends! Rob’s wife, Sherry Stover Worsham (‘91 BA Liberal Arts), is also a Penn State graduate, and they knew one other alum on post, Major Francesca Santarsiere McFadden, U.S. Army, (‘93 Biology). So between the five of us, we deemed ourselves the Fort Polk Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association! We had a fun summer picnic and visited on other occasions, but it was definitely too bad there was no way to get those football games in Louisiana...if only there was satellite TV back then. It’s been ten years since that freak encounter and our families still exchange pictures and Christmas cards, throughout all of our world-wide assignments and deployments. Sherry even proofread this story and refined the details!

Many Penn State alumni, including meteorologists, take advantage of the opportunities available to them in the U.S. Military and use their Penn State education on a daily basis to defend our nation. The popularity of a story we included in a previous issue about Penn Staters on TV prompted us to try a similar story about Penn Staters in the military, but with a slightly different twist. These stories are written by our alumni about their experiences, their Penn State pride, and the connections they made with other Penn Staters while in the service.

Although it’s now ten years later and the Worshams and Vollmers have different cars, both families are still displaying their Penn State pride.

Penn Staters Connect in the U. S. Military

continued on page 7

Spring 2008 7

(From left) Major Shawn Moore, ‘91 Architecture and ‘98 Architectural Engineering (AFROTC), Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Gulden, ‘88 Aerospace Engineeriring (AFROTC, ZBT), and Lieutenant Colonel John Diercks ‘89 Meteorology (AFROTC) pose in front of “The Rock” at Ali Al Salem Air Base Kuwait. The three were Air Force ROTC alums and were reunited while on temporary duty to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Major Moore was the US Central Command Air Force’s Chief of Construction for Kuwait and was permanently assigned as the Chief of Base Planning for the HQ Pacific Air Forces, Installations and Mission Support Directorate at Hickam AFB, HI. Lieutenant Colonel Gulden was the 386th Deputy Maintenance Group Commander and was permanently assigned as the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander at Whiteman AFB, MO. and Lieutenant Colonel Diercks was the Operation’s Officer of the 737 Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and is now assigned as the Chief, Readiness Systems at The Pentagon.

Lieutenant Colonel John Diercks, USAF

I graduated from Penn State with a degree in Meteorology in May 1989, and at the same time, received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. My Father spent 26 years in the Air Force; most of his career was in Air Weather Service. After retiring from the Air Force, he taught Meteorology at Penn State and is now retired from this job as well. My decision to join the Air Force was influenced by my Dad’s military career and his dedication to his country. Even though my job differs, as a pilot I still use the information I learned during my college years. My first assignment in the Air Force was at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona where I attended pilot training. I graduated from pilot training in March 1991 and was assigned to fly C-130s. The C-130 is a four engine transport aircraft which is used to haul cargo, medical evacuees, and passengers. Recently, I completed a four-month deployment. I spent roughly 60 days at Ali Base, Iraq and 60 days at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait. While at Ali Al Salem, I saw someone I knew from Penn State—Major Shawn Moore. In addition, about four days before I left Kuwait, I ran into Colonel Macon who I hadn’t seen since 1989 when he was an instructor at Penn State teaching Air Force ROTC. Even though the Air Force has over 300,000 personnel, there are still a lot of “small world” stories. Although I’ve spent all of my time in the Air Force as a C-130 pilot, weather still fascinates me. While in Kuwait, I had frequent conver-sations with the weather personnel who worked down the hall from my office. For now, I’m done with my deployment and am back at my home station -- The Pentagon. My degree in Meteorology and my AFROTC experiences at Penn State have been the foundation for my Air Force career.

Penn Staters Connect in the U. S. Militarycontinued

8 Spring 2008

STUDENT CORNERThe student corner is new to this issue of the Meteogram; an opportunity for students to share their news with alumni.

CAMPUS WEATHER SERVICE by Greg Seroka, Outgoing President

The Campus Weather Service is Penn State's student-run orga-nization that provides weather forecasts for various clients across Pennsylvania. Our organization, with approximately 150 members last year, has several branches: radio, video, newspaper, severe weather, and web. As an example, students can participate in daily CNET shifts, where a three minute and thirty second video forecast is

produced in front of the chromakey and broadcast on CNET, a local government access TV station. Students can also pro-duce a written weather forecast for The Daily Collegian, Penn State's student newspaper.

We are looking for any alumni who have experience in weather forecasting and/or broadcasting and are willing to speak to CWS members about their expertise. Please email the incoming president,Tim Buckley (twb5016@psu.edu), if you are a willing volunteer. We would be very grateful for a professional's insight into the field of weather forecasting.

As with PSUBAMS, the CWS was able to send several mem-bers to the 88th Annual AMS meeting in New Orleans. Any donations from alumni to help support sending our members to future Annual AMS meetings would be greatly appreciated.

With help from you, the Campus Weather Service can con-tinue to provide its members valuable professional experi-ence, as well as provide the public with continued excellence in weather forecasting.

IRVIN HALL by Amy Jo Swanson, Past President

Irvin Hall, the interest house for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, was built in 1925 and is one of the oldest buildings on campus. An interest house is a residence hall which primarily consists of students from one par-ticular college (in this case, EMS) within the University. As active members of the house, students

MY PATH TO METEOROLOGY by Manushkka Sainvil, Department of Meteorology

My name is Manushkka Sainvil and I am currently a rising se-nior in the Penn State Department of Meteorology. For me, the road here did not begin when I was a young child, as seems to be the case for many of my classmates. Instead, it seems that Mother Na-ture systematically left me a trail of clues to follow until I was able to put the pieces together to get the big picture.

I was born and raised in New York and moved to Miami with my parents in 1987 at age 14. After graduating from high school, I attended Miami-Dade College

where I received my AA degree. It was during my enrollment at Miami-Dade that a seed was planted which would spark my interest in the weather. During the early morning hours of Au-gust 24, 1992, I had my first encounter with Mother Nature’s fury when areas just south of Miami were devastated by Hurri-cane Andrew. It was then that I began to watch The Weather Channel regularly. After completing my AA, I attended the University of Florida and received a Bachelor of Arts in History in August 1996. I chose history because I always found it in-teresting, and I knew that I could land a teaching position. Yet I also knew that I would be resigning myself to a job instead of being passionate about a career.

About a year after graduation, I was hired by Delta Airlines and stayed with them for six years, the last three as a flight attendant. It was during this time that my interest in the

continued on page 9

have the opportunity to participate in academic and social activities as well as community service and intramural sports. One of our many academic events is having a coffee hour in the fall semester where we invite EMS professors to Irvin Hall to socialize and enjoy coffee, juice and donuts. To fulfill our community service requirements, Irvin has a two mile stretch of highway located east of State College where we clean the highway twice a semester. House members also attend college sponsored events that enable them to establish close ties with EMS professors – ties that are not ordinarily avail-able to other students of the University.

To find out more information about Irvin Hall you can contact the president, Phil DeCastro (pgd5001@psu.edu). We are also interested in hearing from alumni of the dorm or if you would like to be a guest speaker for our academic activities.

Spring 2008 9

STUDENT CORNER continued

weather blossomed. I began to entertain the idea that this could be an interesting field to study. During the summer of 2001, I was working a flight from Boston to Atlanta on which Weather Channel Severe Weather Expert, Dr. Greg Forbes (‘72 BS) was a passenger. I positioned myself to work on the aisle where he was seated, and when I reached his row, I ca-sually mentioned that I was seriously considering going back to school to study meteorology and asked him which schools he would recommend. He mentioned two: Penn State and Mississippi State (the latter, which he noted, has a popular broadcast meteorology program). I filed that away until the events of September 11 forced me to question not only my job security, but also whether or not I wanted to make a career out of flying.

In October of the following year, I signed a three year leave of absence contract with Delta. My very last flight was on December 27, 2002 and for part of that flight, I was scheduled to fly from New York to Boston as a passenger. As I waited in the terminal to board, I spotted former Weather Channel meteorologist Mish Michaels and leapt at the opportunity to talk to her! In full uniform, I introduced myself, and she invited me to sit next to her so we could talk! I couldn’t have asked for a better cheerleader! She was full of information, advice, and support, and eager to answer all my questions. When I walked off that airplane I had her business card in my purse and a renewed sense of purpose. After I completed my trip, I walked away from Delta and never looked back!

Two weeks later, I enrolled in a pre-calculus class at Miami Dade College and worked my way through the required cal-culus and physics pre-requisites for a meteorology program. When it was time to choose a university with a meteorology curriculum, Penn State was the obvious choice. I have a keen interest in the newest option within the meteorology de-partment called Weather Risk Management. It offers a combi-nation of training in atmospheric sciences, risk, finance and decision-making. I have a year to go, but I am thrilled to be a part of this institution, and I am excited about what lies ahead!

MY PATH TO METEOROLOGY continued

CHI EPSILON PI by Ben Scarino, Outgoing President

Chi Epsilon Pi, the national Meteorology Honor Society, is devoted to the service of the Penn State Meteorology department and its students. We encourage everyone to take part in our many fun activities

such as the department co-sponsored fall picnic, the annual

PSUBAMSby Marcus Walter, Outgoing President

The Penn State Branch of the American Meteorological Society (PSUBAMS) is an integral part of Penn State’s meteorology experi-ence. PSUBAMS had nearly 110 student members in academic year 2007/2008. Through funding assistance provided by PSUBAMS, 17 of these mem-bers were able to attend the 87th and 88th Annual Meetings of the

American Meteorological Society, a major success both academic years.

PSUBAMS serves to broaden students’ knowledge via intro-ductions to careers in meteorology. This is done by sponsor-ing speakers for meetings; recent examples include repre-sentatives from NOAA Corps and The Weather Channel. PSUBAMS also sponsors social events to allow students and faculty to mingle in a more relaxed environment.

What can alumni do for PSUBAMS? We are always looking for individuals in the meteorology field to participate in our speaker series. Please contact the incoming president, Ma-ria Zatko (mcz127@psu.edu) if you would like to join us for a meeting. In addition, given the success in 2007 and 2008 of funding students to attend the AMS Annual Meeting, any donations from alumni in support of student travel to this or other conferences would be greatly appreciated. With your help, PSUBAMS will continue to provide PSU meteorology students with unique educational and professional opportu-nities.

hike up Mount Nittany, and the spring banquet. In addition to these social events, Chi Epsilon Pi is dedicated to help-ing students enhance their education and future careers. Not only do we manage a free tutoring service for all meteorology undergraduates, but we also offer students the opportunity to regularly rub elbows with professionals in our field. With this in mind, we invite experts from AccuWeather, the Na-tional Weather Service, ZedX, and, of course, our own faculty to lead weekly map/forecast discussions. Everyone, alums included, is invited to these informal discussions.

Feel free to contact the incoming president Tyler McCand-less (tcm5026@psu.edu) for more specifics about the weekly discussions and other possibilities for alumni involvement, in addition to any questions or comments you may have. You can also contact secretary/historian Chris Nowotarski at cjn5012 and treasurer Kent Knopfmeier at khk124@psu.edu. Hopefully we will see you around the weather station.

10 Spring 2008

Have you heard the exciting news? We are renovating the Weather Sta-tion complex on the 6th floor of Walker Building! This isn’t just nip-tuck--it’s a major facelift!

It’s been over 30 years since Meteorol-ogy moved into Walker Building and as heavily as the Weather Station has been used for studying, socializing, teaching, and recruiting, it’s definitely time for an overhaul.

The renovated Weather Station will include the following:-- an electronic map wall;-- a large area for student study, group discussions, social interactions, and departmental functions;-- a state-of-the-art classroom; -- a modern computer lab;-- several conference rooms;-- an area for student teams to work on small group projects;-- an office and radio booth for the Campus Weather Service;-- offices for the Weather Station man-ager and the Weather Communications group.

We’d like to keep you up-to-date on this project, so we’ve developed a website (www.met.psu.edu/renovations/) to show you plans, pictures, and provide you with information on giving opportu-nities for this significant overhaul.

Of course, with significant renovation comes significant cost. Although the University and College of EMS will bear a large portion of the renovation costs, we still will fall short of funding for the whole project. Our fund-raising goal is to first meet the costs of the renovation, and secondly to create an endowment that will sustain the weather station facilities and activities in perpetuity.

Introducing....The Weather Station Complex Renovation Project

Spring 2008 11

Introducing....The Weather Station Complex Renovation Project

naming opportunitiesThe weather station renovation, which will already be in progress by the time you read this article, provides the per-fect opportunity to have your name and generosity on display for generations of students and visitors as they use and visit the Penn State Weather Station complex on a daily basis.

We really need enthusiastic donors who remember fondly their own experiences in the Weather Station and know what transforming this space will do to en-hance learning and community for all the students who choose to study meteorology at Penn State.

Perhaps groups of alums (e.g. maybe the past presidents of CWS or alums from a certain graduating class) will work together to name a room after their group or develop their own “mini-campaign” for recognition of their gift.

The decision to give is a personal one, but we hope that some of you are able to make a lasting impact within the Penn State Meteorology family. Please remember that a significant pledge can be distributed over a five-year period.

If you are interested in naming a room, please contact:

Lynn PersingDepartment of Meteorology Email: persing@ems.psu.edu Tel: 814-863-8568)

or

College of EMS Development Office Email: development@ems.psu.edu Tel: 814-863-2289

12 Spring 2008

Recent Graduate Honored with Inaugural GEMS Diamond Award

The GEMS (Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences) Board members sprung into action in 2006 and initiated a new award to honor and recognize a graduating EMS student who showed outstanding all around achieve-ment including involvement in departmental, college, and university activities, and also in the community and in other civic capacities. The first year produced a fair number of deserving candidates, but the winner was Meteorology alumnus, Alexis Phillips (‘06 BS). Alexis graduated from Meteorology in the Fall of 2006 and received the award in the Spring of 2007. She currently works at Risk Manage-ment Solutions in NJ.

Dennis Newton (center) pictured with Lewis Gold, President of the Penn State Alumni Association (left) and Graham Spanier (right), during the Alumni Fellow ceremonies in Fall 2006. Dennis received the Alumni Fellow award for his expertise in the field of aircraft icing. As a result of his award, an Earth and Mineral Sciences museum display was estab-lished honoring the pioneers of aeronautical meteorology at Penn State.

2007 GEMS Alumni Achievement AwardJohn G. W. Kelley

Dr. John G. W. Kelley (‘86 MS Meteo, ‘89 MPA), re-search meteorologist for the Marine Modeling and Analysis Programs at NOAA’s Coast Survey Development Labora-tory was unanimously selected by the Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences (GEMS) Alumni Society to receive the 2007 GEMS Alumni Achievement Award. This award is the highest recognition bestowed on an alumnus by GEMS and is given each year to an individual who exemplifies the ideals of the College.

John was selected for this award because of his extraor-dinary career accomplishments in the development and implementation of several data and forecast systems that have advanced the marine coastal communities’ ability to access and forecast environmental information. He trav-eled to Penn State in October 2007 to receive the award and present a department lecture.

HOUSE FOR RENT FOR PENN STATE FOOTBALL GAME WEEKENDS

Meteorology faculty member offers to rent his house for Penn State home football game week-ends. Walking distance to campus, 2 mi to Beaver Stadium. See: damsberry.googlepages.com.

Interim EMS Dean at the time of photo, Robert Crane (left), pictured with Alexis Phillips (‘06 BS) and alumnus and GEMS Board president, Bob Landis (‘63 BS).Pictured left to right: Bill Brune, Department of Meteorology Chair, son Sean

Kelley, John G. W. Kelley (‘86 MS Meteo, ‘89 MPA) Bill Easterling, Dean of the College of EMS, and Cynthia Kelley. Not pictured is John and Cynthia’s daughter, Maria.

Spring 2008 13

Meteorology Undergraduates Receive College-wide Awards Meteorology students receiving awards at the Wilson Banquet were Steven J. Greybush, Jerome N. Behrmann Award in Mete-orology; Joseph W. Mays, Jay M. and Katherine DeFinis Award for Outstanding Student Leadership; Thomas A. Sabbatelli, Ellen Steidle Achievement Award (Junior Award) and Zachary J. Lebo, Edward Steidle Memorial Scholar Award. More informa-tion about student awards can be found by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/scholarships and http://www.ems.psu.edu/stu-dents/awards.html.

Faculty Mentoring Awards in Earth & Mineral SciencesDennis W. Thomson, professor of meteorology and Andrew N. Kleit, professor of energy and environmental economics.

Wilson Award for Excellence in Research Anne M. Thompson, professor of meteorology, is recognized for her outstanding contributions to the observation and under-standing of global atmospheric ozone and its interplay with climate, air quality, and human activity. Thompson is one of the world’s leading scientists in the field of global atmospheric chemistry. Her scientific impact spans all aspects of scientific activity: contributions to un-

derstanding of global ozone; developing and leading large-scale, multi-investigator observing programs; and playing a pivotal role in the development of international and national programs to address these issues and their implications for society. Thomp-son is internationally recognized for her contributions to the atmospheric sciences and the geosciences community. She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Association for the Ad-vancement of Science. Thompson has received numerous other awards, including the NASA Goddard Science Flight Center Per-formance Award, the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award, the Nordberg Medal from the Committee for Space Research Award, and the Women in Aerospace, International Achievement Award. All of these awards are a testimony to Thompson’s impact on the field of global atmospheric ozone and on the profession of atmospheric science.

Meteorology Faculty and Students Win 2007 Wilson Awards

David R. Stauffer Frederick J. Gadomski

Dennis W. Thomson Andrew N. Kleit

Anne M. Thompson

Recognizing Commitment to Service: The 25-Year Service Award David R. Stauffer, senior research associ-ate and professor of meteorology and Frederick J. Gadomski, senior lecturer.

Steven J. Greybush Joseph W. Mays

Zachary J. LeboThomas A. Sabbatelli

2008-09 Meteorology Scholarship Stats: This year’s meteorology scholarship dollars were distributed to 50 students and totaled approximately $54,000.

Meteorology Department Chair Receives Title of Dis-tinguished ProfessorIn early January 2008, William H. Brune learned that he had been selected to receive the title of Distinguished Professor of Meteorology. This special designation is reserved for those qualified faculty members who are recommended by their peers and the administration for outstanding academic contributions to the University.

14 Spring 2008

Alumni AchievementsHeather (Hauser) Dohan (‘92 BS) wed Douglas Dohan in August

2006. She is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service and received the 2007 NOAA Administrator’s Award. They live in Seattle, WA.

Andrea Bleistein (‘04 BS), Observing Systems Analyst at Itri Corporation, was elected vice-chair of the DC-AMS Local Chapter in May 2007. Her term runs from September 2007 through June 2008.

Michael McEvoy (‘06 BS) is a weekend meteorologist at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, TN. On February 5, 2008, Mike was on air when the Jackson area was hit by an EF-4 tornado that caused severe damage, much of it on the campus of Union University. Amazingly, no fatalities occurred in Jackson. It’s rare that a young alumnus gets to cover such a significant severe weather event, and one of his peers has made note of this worthy accomplishment.

Ronald Hines (‘97 BS), was promoted to Director of Sales in March 2007 at Blue Moon Publishing L.L.C. in Scranton, PA. In this role he oversees and manages all sales operations for the company.

Christine Schultz (‘06 BS) has successfully completed NOAA Commissioned Corps Basic Officer Training at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY. Christine has been assigned as a junior officer to the NOAA ship Ranier, conducting hydrographic surveys on the southern coast of Alaska. The Rainer’s homeport is Seattle.

Megan Syner (‘06) won second place in the 2006 National Broadcast Education Association awards in the Best Meteorologist category.

Maria V. Snyder (‘88 BS) has published a third book in her fantasy saga titled “Fire Study.” Fire Study has made the NY Times Best Selling Novel list! For more information about Maria Snyder’s novels, visit www.mariavsnyder.com.

Paul M. Tag (‘66 BS, ‘68 MS, and ‘77 PhD), Meteorology alumnus and novelist has released a sequel to his thriller novel “Category 5,” which came out in 2005. The sequel is called “Prophecy” and begins not far from Penn State, in Johnstown, just prior to the great Johnstown flood of 1889. For more information about the novel visit www.paulmarktag.com. Paul has also published an article in the December 2007 issue of BAMS titled “ A Meteorological Fiction.”

Jonathan Weaver (‘97 BS) After spending five years as a TV weatherman on WEHT-News25 in Evansville, IN, Jonathan embarked on a new career path as a real estate broker. In November 2006, he defeated the incumbent for the seat of Vanderburgh County Assessor, a position in which he still serves today.

The following awards were presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Meteorological Society in San Antonio, TX in 2007 and in New Orleans, LA in 2008, respectively.

January 2007 in San Antonio, TX

George H. Bryan (‘96 BS, ‘98 MS, ‘03 PhD), won the Monthly Weather Review Editor’s Award “for high-quality and penetrating reviews on a diverse range of topics, and for assisting in deliberations on several controversial manuscripts.”

Linda A. Paige (‘89 BS), won the Award for Excellence in Science Reporting by a Broadcast Meteorologist, “for a detailed scientific exposition of the impact of invasive aquatic nuisance species on the Great Lakes environment.”

Robert E. Hart (‘95 BS, ‘97 MS, ‘01 PhD), won the Banner I. Miller Award, for his paper, “A cyclone phase space derived from thermal wind and thermal asymmetry.”

Warren Washington (‘64 PhD), won the Charles Franklin Brooks Award “for decades of service to the AMS and as a representative of the atmospheric sciences community at the highest levels of policymakers.”

William H. Brune (Head, Penn State Department of Meteorology), Timothy D. Crum (‘74 BS, ‘79 MS), and Ronald J. Stouffer (‘76 BS, ‘77 MS) were all inducted as 2007 AMS Fellows.

January 2008 in New Orleans, LA

Alfred K. Blackadar (former Penn State Department of Meteorology Head), has been honored as an Elected Honorary Member of the American Meteorological Society.

Robert F. Rogers (‘95 MS, ‘98 PhD), received the Weather and Forecasting Editor’s Award “for providing timely and constructive reviews that are beneficial to both the authors and the journal.”

Raymond A. Shaw (‘98 PhD), received the Henry G. Houghton Award “for fundamental advances in understanding ice nucleation and the role of turbulence on cloud droplet growth using theory and innovative observational methods.”

Phillip D. Falconer (‘71 BS) and Morris L. Weisman (‘78 MS, ‘90 PhD) were inducted as 2008 AMS Fellows.

Submit awards or achievements to: persing@ems.psu.edu or fax them to (814) 865-3663 to the attention of Lynn Persing (MAPS Achievements).

Spring 2008 15

Department Philanthropy August 2006 - January 2008

Michael J. AdamsCarl J. AltoeSherwood E. AndersonPatricia Eckert AndersonPeter R. BannonHelen W. Bannon Kenneth BattyStephani Frail BattyMAJ Brian BeitlerLaurie BeitlerAlfred K. BlackadarBeatrice F. BlackadarLarry B. BoyerSheila M. BoyerJames P. BreonEdith McCaleb BreonGary A. BriggsWilliam H. BruneMary Jane BruneRichard P. BurkhartCynthia M. BurkhartGregory P. ByrdMary G. ByrdJames T. CandorLee Ann Hess CandorChristopher C. CassidyBarbra Burgas ChildsMark D. ChildsMAJ Edward J. CiardiDebra Castle CiardiSue Burton ColeJustin L. CookeStephen CorfidiKevin M. CrupiEric A. DetweilerMelissa DetweilerMark J. Deutschendorf Aimee B. DeutschendorfJohn W. DiercksDonna H. DiercksGeoffrey J. DiMegoMindy DiMegoJerry R. DossSylvia A. DossThomas D. FeldmanLois A. FeldmanAlfred F. Ferullo, Jr.Rose Ann C. Ferullo

Gregory B. FishelKathy E. FishelGregory S. ForbesWilliam M. FrankKathleen A. FrankDerrill T. GoldizenLisa S. GoldizenJudith GraySteven D. GreenbergSteven G. HoffertDaniel B. HollandW. John HusseyGail M. HusseyDrew M. JacksonAndrew JohnsonCynthia A. JohnsonJill A. JordanPeter A. JungMr Charles KadinHeidi B. KellerRobert E. KistlerJulia A. KistlerLucinda Murphy KlineJames M. KosarikJeffrey KronDouglas P. KruhoefferLaurie Kmak KruhoefferRobert J. KuligowskiStephen LeytonTheresa LeytonDavid I. LinderRobert LipschutzFrancis LomaxAnn LomaxDavid R. LongtinDale A. LowryCharlotte J. LowryAlexander P. LuitweilerNathan B. MageeDell McDonaldHarriet R. McDonaldCarl McElroyLinda M. ParsonLTC William J. McKechney Valerie J. McKechneyHugh G. McRandal, Jr.George E. McVehil, Jr. Ruth M. McVehil

MAJ Ronald G. MerisMi Ok An MerisJames H. MeyerJoan E. MeyerDavid L. MichaudSusan J. MichaudThomas J. MooreJoen E. MooreLauren Taylor MoroneJohn J. MoroneJoel MyersPeggy MyersNancy J. NortonAmber M. OrtegaSteven G. Perry Katharine Browne PerryBeryl Shaner Pinkerton John E. PinkertonBrian E. PlanzElizabeth R. PriceDavid PriceRussell C. RuhfAnne Cooper RuhfJohn T. SchakenbachLinda SchakenbachFrank E. SchiffmanWendy SchiffmanMarilyn B. ScholzSteve S. SchotzHolly SchotzAddison Sears-CollinsKatharine V. Seelhorst Bradley W. SeelhorstHampton ShirerViola N. ShirerRussell W. SinclairAudrey K. SinclairRussell T. StarkJeanne Shultz StarkDennis StewartPatricia StewartJohn StonitschJeffrey R. StoudtWilliam J. SyrettLeslie Laskos SyrettTerry C. TarbellCarmen H. TarbellBarrett A. Teele

The Department of Meteorology is very grateful to its generous contributors. We have checked this list carefully, but in the event we have made a mistake, please let us know so that we may acknowledge you in our next issue.

Donors who have requested to remain anonymous are not included on this list.

Friends of Algert V. Terry c/o Bruce Terry, IIICol. Andrew J. TerzakisSusan A. TerzakisDennis W. ThomsonJoan ThomsonDennis A. TroutLinda Jo TroutDrew S. Von TishMAJ George Wadagnolo Jr. Julia WadagnoloBarbara McNaught Watson Stephen P. WatsonCarol Corl Wawrzyniak James S. WawrzyniakEdward L. WeaverThomas G. WillsPamela J. WillsMaxine Zook

***Corporate Donors***AccuWeather Inc.AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc.ExxonMobil FoundationMDA Federal The Weather ChannelZedX Inc.Meredith Corporation Foun-dationIFF Foundation Inc./ Matching Gift ProgramLockheed Martin Corporation/ Matching Gift Program

16 Spring 2008

M A P S M E T E O G R A MDepartment of MeteorologyCollege of Earth and Mineral SciencesThe Pennsylvania State University503 Walker BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802-5013

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Partial support for the publication of the MAPS Meteogram comes from the Jon M. and Gwen K. Nese Meteorology Alumni Outreach Fund in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

This newsletter is a publication of MAPS, Department of Meteorology, in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. U.Ed. EMS 08-79. This publication is available in alternative media upon request. The Pennsylvania State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity University.

Contact Us:Ms. Lynn Persing (MAPS)Department of MeteorologyThe Pennsylvania State University503 Walker BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802Tel: 814-863-8568Email: persing@ems.psu.edu

Website: http://www.met.psu.edu/alumni/

Alumni Partings.... James P. Anderson, Jr. (‘53 BS), a computing and information security pioneer, passed away on 18 November 2007 at the age of 77. Please visit http://csdl.computer.org/comp/mags/sp/2008/01/msp2008010009.pdf for a thorough memoir of James Anderson’s career and accomplishments.

George Cressman (‘41 BS) George was one of the first graduates of Penn State Meteorology, although his degree was granted while meteorology was still a division of the Earth Sciences, and not established as a separate major. He studied under the two founding faculty members of Penn State Meteorology—Helmut Landsberg and Hans Neuberger. George was an early pioneer in numerical weather prediction, the eleventh Director of the NWS, and the first Director of the National Meteorological Center (now National Centers for Environmental Prediction). He was an Honorary Member of the AMS, and a Past President.