Midwest Student Conference on Atmospheric Research
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MIDWEST STUDENT CONFERENCE ON ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH CONFERENCE PROGRAM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN OCTOBER 7TH - OCTOBER 8TH, 2017 WELCOME TO THE MIDWEST STUDENT CONFERENCE ON ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH On behalf of the entire conference committee, we welcome you to the 2017 Midwest Student Conference on Atmospheric Research (MSCAR). This conference is designed to create an opportunity for students, both graduate and undergraduate, to present their research to other students in a conference setting. We wish to create a conference conducive to gaining valuable skills in presenting, networking, and problem solving. Marking its first year, MSCAR brings together nearly 100 attendees across 17 departments and institutions. This conference is unique in its ability of providing all attendees the means of giving feedback to each student presenter. We hope that all attendees leave the conference learning a lot about the new, innovative research carried out by students in our field. We are delighted to have Dr. Louis Uccellini and Mr. Tom Skilling accept our invitations as keynote speakers and for co-facilitating a group discussion on communicating natural disaster impacts from an operational forecasting perspective. We would like to thank our faculty advisers and colleagues, who are listed below, for their instrumental support and assistance throughout the entire planning process. Lastly, thank you all for your interest in attending the conference, and we hope that you have a great experience this weekend. Sincerely, Jeff Thayer, Holly Mallinson, Joseph Finlon MSCAR Committee Chairs MSCAR Committee BuDget AgenDa Website Speakers Abstracts Jeff Thayer Holly Mallinson Joe Finlon Joe Finlon Jeff Thayer Holly Mallinson Jeff Thayer Sarah Szymborski Andrew Janiszeski Holly Mallinson Divyansh Chug Paloma Borque Brittany Welch Tzu-Shun Lin Piyush Garg Bryan Engelsen Sid Gupta Randy Chase Dan Stechman Sid Gupta VenDors NetworKing Faculty Advisers Support Staff Geoff Marion Holly Mallinson Jeff Thayer Bob Rauber Tammy Warf Dan Moser Bryan Engelsen Amy Chen Deanna Hence Donna Miller Shichu Zhu Joe Finlon Divyansh Chug Nicole Riemer David Wojtowicz Logo Design Remy Shao Hung Chen Rachel Gutierrez CrowleyFarenga Yu Yao Andrew Janiszeski 1 CONFERENCE SITE INFORMATION ADDress: Natural History Building 1301 W. Green Street Urbana, IL 61801 Construction on Green Street has resulted in road closures near NHB. See the map to the right to view parking availability. Wi-Fi: IllinoisNet_Guest (no password) The Natural History Building The majority of the conference will be held in the newly renovated Natural History Building. This 148,000 square-foot space features modular classrooms and laboratories employed with the latest technology suitable for collaboration among faculty and students. Our visualization studio allows researchers to analyze satellite weather data from NASA mission data to examining the eye of a hurricane. The 300-person auditorium will host the research presentations on both days, while the commons area on the third floor provides ample space for the poster sessions. The Union The Saturday Keynote Dinner and Sunday Keynote Lunch will be held in the Illini Union Ballroom. The Illini Union, located on the north side of the Main Quad, serves as a hub where students can eat and relax. The bottom floor features many restaurants as well as an arcade and a bowling. The Illini Union Hotel is situated on the top levels of the building, making it a convenient location for conference attendees from out of town to enjoy the campus environment. Follow us on Twitter @MSCAR_Illinois 2 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Dr. Louis Uccellini received his Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating in 1977 he began his career at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres as the head of the Mesoscale Analysis and Modeling Section. Following this he joined the National Weather Service as the chief of their Meteorological Operations Division before becoming Director of the Office of Meteorology in 1994. Dr. Uccellini led the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and oversaw seven other centers such as the National Hurricane Center and Storm Prediction Center. Currently Dr. Uccellini serves as the NOAA Assistant Administrator for Weather Services and Director of the National Weather Service. Throughout his career, Dr. Uccellini has published more than 60 academic journal articles. He is arguably most known for his work in co-authoring the two-volume book "Northeast Snowstorms" and creating the "Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale" along with Dr. Paul Kocin. Dr. Uccellini is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and served as the organizations president from 2012-2013. He has received numerous awards including the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1985) and the National Weather Associations Research Achievement Award for Significant Contribution to Operational Meteorology (1996), as well as several Presidential Rank Awards in recognition of his work with the government. Mr. Tom Skilling began his career at the age of 14, first working for a local radio station before joining WLXT-TV in Aurora. In 1970, he began studying journalism and meteorology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and continued working for local radio and television stations. Tom has been with WGN-TV since August 1978. In 2004, Mr. Skilling helped in coordinating the Tribune Weather Center which includes a state-of the-art computer graphics system that allows the WGN-TV weather team to give detailed weather reports for the Chicagoland area. He has been instrumental engaging and educating the public with his Chicago Tribune column "Ask Tom Why”, his hosting of World Environment Day programs in the Chicago area ,and his annual Fermilab Tornado and Severe Storms Seminar. In addition to all this, Mr. Skilling has also created many weather specials over the years including multiple tornado documentaries that have been used for educational and public awareness efforts. Mr. Skilling is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. He is a recipient of the AMS Award for Outstanding Service by a Broadcast Meteorologist and has several honorary doctorates. 3 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7 TIME EVENT LOCATION 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Check-in NHB 2nd Floor West 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM Opening Remarks NHB Auditorium Oral Session I: 9:15 AM – 10:30 AM Remote Sensing NHB Auditorium Urban Envir. & Society 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Coffee Break NHB 2nd Floor West Oral Session II: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM NHB Auditorium Cloud Microphysics (Part I) 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch Break [on your own] Oral Session III: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM NHB Auditorium Weather/Climate Impacts Poster Session NHB 3rd Floor 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM Optional NHB Tours Commons Open Forum: 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM Communicating Natural NHB Auditorium Disaster Impacts 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Break 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Keynote Dinner Illini Union Ballroom SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8 TIME EVENT LOCATION 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM Check-in NHB 2nd Floor West Oral Session IV: 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM NHB Auditorium Cloud Microphysics (Part II) 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM Coffee Break NHB 2nd Floor West Oral Session V: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM Mesoscale Predictability & NHB Auditorium Variability 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Keynote Lunch Illini Union Ballroom 1:00 PM – 1:15 PM Closing Remarks Illini Union Ballroom 4 CONFERENCE SESSIONS Remote Sensing of Mesoscale Systems This session focuses on the applications of remote sensing of mesoscale systems, including but not limited to: • Current and future improvements of datasets to better understand the formation and decay of mesoscale structures • Present state of observing air-sea interactions pertaining to the development of tropical and mid-latitude mesoscale systems • Development of applications for processing, calibrating, assimilating, and analyzing observations Observations of ClouD Microphysics Cloud microphysical research is crucial for refining quantitative precipitation forecasts, reducing uncertainties in cloud-aerosol feedbacks on anthropogenic radiative forcing, and improving understanding of aerosol physics. Abstracts are invited for observational studies on cloud and precipitation physics, cloud chemistry, and cloud-aerosol interactions. Key areas of research include: • Measurement techniques (of cloud and precipitation properties) and uncertainties • Mixed-phase and tropical clouds • Cloud and precipitation chemistry • Cloud-aerosol interactions Urban Environment and Society Rapidly growing population centers pose difficult socioeconomic and environmental challenges. Submissions concerning advances in observational and modeling studies of urban areas can cover local to global scales, including but not limited to: • Urban hydrology and ecology • Pollution and urban geochemistry • Societal, economic, and health impacts of urbanization • Influence of urbanization on weather and climate The Mesoscale: Short-term Predictability and Long-term Variability Advances in mesoscale modeling are essential for minimizing uncertainties and biases in short-term mesoscale prediction and for improving knowledge on the frequency and severity of mesoscale phenomena in a future climate. Abstracts are invited for, but are not limited to, the following topics: • Improving parameterizations for simulating mesoscale processes • Application of data assimilation in model development and performance • Forecasting techniques and tools used in short-term mesoscale