NOAA 03-R289
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carmeyia Gillis
8/4/03
 NOAA News Releases 2003
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NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SUMMER INTERN PROGRAM SUCCESS

College students from all across the country are spending their summer working with the nation’s top climate scientists and weather forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). NOAA is part of the Commerce Department.

For many years, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction has welcomed summer interns into its workforce. “For these students it’s more than a summer job,” said John Jones, acting director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “They are genuinely interested in monitoring and predicting weather and climate events.”

One stellar example is NCEP’s 2003 summer intern Joshua Larson and his mentor Wayne Higgins, Principal Scientist at NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Larson, a junior at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., is completing his fourth summer internship at NOAA. The product of these internships is a manuscript he has written entitled: Characteristics of landfalling tropical cyclones in the United States: Climatology and Interannual Variability, which is based on his research at the Climate Prediction Center. Larson’s paper has been submitted for publication in the Journal of Climate, the world’s leading climate journal.

“Josh’s research, relating landfalling tropical cyclones to El Niño, has significantly improved NOAA’s ability to produce skillful warm season precipitation forecasts for the Nation” said Dr. Higgins.

This year, NCEP’s 15 summer interns are from a variety of programs – the Goddard Space Flight Center Howard University Fellowship in Atmospheric Science (GoHFAS), NOAA Educational Partnership Program, The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) and the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program (REU). Each summer program is managed separately and students must undergo a stringent application and selection process. Program managers make the selection and forward the names and information of the most promising students to NCEP’s Office of the Director.

“Clearly, program managers have selected students with a high propensity to succeed and advance in NCEP’s demanding scientific environment,” said Louis Uccellini, director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “The interns who come to NCEP are poised to be the nation’s next generation climate scientists and weather forecasters and we are glad they are with us,” said Uccellini.

As with summers past, this year’s interns consist of math, science, information technology as well as liberal arts majors who are matched with an NCEP center and supervisor. The supervisor serves a dual role as mentor and colleague. The mentor helps the student choose a project based on agency need and the intern’s skills and interests, and sees the project through to completion.

This year’s interns, according to their host programs, are:

From the GoHFAS program:

  • Joi Copridge, from College Park, Ga, is a physics major at Clark Atlanta University. She works at NCEP Ocean Prediction Center and is participating in a two-year study of extreme ocean storms.
  • Christian Douglas, Eufaula, Ala., is a mathematical science major at Clark Atlanta University. She works in NCEP Hydrometeorological Prediction Center and is investigating quantitative precipitation forecasts using short-range ensembles.
  • Grace Ann Duncan, Reisterstown, Md., is a physics and art major at Howard University. She is working at NCEP Climate Prediction Center and is working on developing verification statistics for the Eta model run for Africa.

From the NOAA Educational Partnership Program:

  • Isha Renta, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, is a mathematics major at the University of Puerto Rico. She is working at NCEP Environmental Modeling Center and is studying thermal dynamics of the sea ice model.
  • Jamese Sims, from Meridian, Miss, is a meteorology major at Jackson State University. She is working at NCEP’s Environmental Modeling Center, studying genetic algorithms to locate the gulf stream from model output so forecasters can predict wave conditions better.

From the ORISE program:

  • Pierrot Chery, from Clinton, Md., is a computer science major from Bowie State University. He works at NCEP Hyrdometeorological Prediction Center and has
    been developing a web based program to track various shift schedules of the
    Center’s employees.
  • Tiffani Claiborne, from Upper Marlboro, Md, is a computer science and commercial art major at Oakwood College. She works with NCEP Central Operations and works on web page development.
  • Marc Dahmer, from Raytown, Mo., is a meteorology major at the University of Missouri. This summer he is at the Storm Prediction Center and is working on an experimental procedure with forecasters to analyze portions of a data base to see how select new modeling systems may improve the forecasting of severe weather.
  • Natalie Gaggini, from East Brady, Pa., is a meteorology major at Millersville University. She is working at NCEP Climate Prediction Center and is investigating a new index for monitoring atmospheric blocking.
    Christopher Hain, from Erie, Pa., is a meteorology major at Millersville University. He works at NCEP Climate Prediction Center and is participating in an ongoing study of Gulf of California moisture surges during the North American summer monsoon.
  • Joshua Larson, from Chevy Chase, Md., is an English major at Williams College, with aspirations of going to graduate school in meteorology. He works at NCEP Climate Prediction Center and is studying the characteristics of landfalling tropical cyclones in the United States.
  • Allen Logan, from St Louis, Mo., is a physics major at Lincoln University. He is working at NCEP Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, and is involved in research with organized convective wind systems, such as bow echoes and derechoes.
  • Wayne MacKenzie, from Pasadena, Md., is a meteorology major at Millersville University. Working at NCEP Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, he is working with others on ways to improve operations through the development of scientific and software tools and displays of meteorological fields and the verification of forecasts.
  • Victoria Sankovich, from Lower Burrell, Pa., is a meteorology major at Pennsylvania State University. She is at NCEP Storm Prediction Center and is working on a research project to determine if a reliable forecast for tornado activity is possible during moderate to strong El Niño or La Niña events.

National Science Foundation (NSF) RUC program:

  • Corey Potvin, Lewistown, Maine, is a meteorology major at Lyndon State College in Vermont. He is at NCEP Storm Prediction Center and is working on an analysis of environments associated with significant severe thunderstorms and tornado events using observed proximity soundings.

The National Centers for Environmental Prediction, literally is Where America's Climate and Weather Services Begin. Virtually all meteorological data collected around the globe arrives at NCEP, where environmental scientists, meteorologists, computer scientists, mathematicians, oceanographers and physicists analyze this information and generate a wide variety of environmental, climate and weather guidance and information for the public. These products and services respond to a plethora of user needs, which serve as the basis to undergird the nation's growing need for the most up-to-date environmental data, news and information.

The Commerce Department’s NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

On the Web:

NOAA Summer programs:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/eeo/StudentResearchOpportunities.htm

NSF’s RUC program: http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/start.htm

NOAA Human Resources: http://www.noaa.gov/jobs.html