Another successful Career Day!

On Friday, November 2oth, the NIU Department of Geography held its annual "Career Day", an experience that connects the Department's current students with alumni. During this much-anticipated event, alumni make their way back to DeKalb in order to share their career development experiences with students, recruit candidates for positions or internships, and reconnect with friends and colleagues. The Career Day activities started with introductions by Dr. Chris McCord (Dean of LA&S) and Dr. Andrew Krmenec (Geography Chair), followed by Career Break-out Sessions where alumni were able to connect with students in specific subdisciplines, including meteorology.

Argonne scientists, Ms. Jenni Prell and Mr. Mike Ritsche, discuss internship opportunities with Argonne National Lab during the Meteorology Breakout Session.

The following meteorology alumni provided valuable feedback and discussions (listed by graduating class):

Mr. Gilbert Sebenste (1995) - NIU Meteorology Office
Mr. Mike Ritsche (B.S. 1997, M.S. 2001) - Argonne Nat. Lab.
Mr. Mark Russo (1998) - Chesapeake Energy
Mr. Gino Izzi (2002) - NWS-Romeoville office
Ms. Peggy Concannon (2002) - Allstate Insurance
Ms. Vanessa McCormick (2005)
Ms. Joi Kwiatkowski (2006) - URS
Ms. Jenni Prell (B.S. 2008, M.S. 2009) - Argonne Nat. Lab.

Additional MET alumni (not listed) participated in the GIS breakout session.

As part of "Geography Week", Mr. Dustin Oltman (BS in 2006; MS in 2008; AON Reinsurance) stopped by Dr. Ashley's Natural Hazards and Environmental Risk to discuss the reinsurance industry. The NIU MET faculty would like to thank Mr. Oltman for a fascinating talk and ensuing discussion.

Once again, thank you to all the Meteorology Program alumni who visited and shared their wealth of knowledge about classes, internships, jobs, and the state of our profession. We all look forward to Career Day 2010!

NIU MET Attends COD Severe Weather Symposium

Our good friends at the College of DuPage hosted a remarkable gathering of the brightest minds in severe convective storm meteorology the weekend of November 5-7th. About ten undergraduate students, five graduate students, NIU Staff Meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste, and Dr. Ashley attended the symposium at the DoubleTree Hotel in Downers Grove, IL.

The group of NIU students, staff, and faculty at the conference.

The "all star" lineup of speakers included: Dr. Chuck Doswell (CIMMS), Roger Edwards (SPC/NOAA), Dr. Adam Houston (UNL), Dr. Paul Markowski (PSU), Al Pietrycha (NWS), Dr. Erik Rasmussen (Rasmussen Systems Inc.), Dr. Yvette Richardson (PSU), Dr. Roger Wakimoto (NCAR/EOL), Dr. Morris Weisman (NCAR/MMM), and Dr. Josh Wurman (NCAR/CSWR). The symposium included a number of amazing talks and exhilarating panel discussions that focused on: understanding the latest techniques for severe weather forecasting, the use of mesoscale and storm-scale modeling physical processes leading to the development of supercells and tornadoes, the effective use of remote sensing in severe thunderstorm evolution and behavior, and the preliminary results of VORTEX II. The most remarkable experience of the weekend for the undergraduate students was the group's discussion with Dr. Chuck Doswell on Thursday evening. Dr. Doswell spoke with NIU students privately for roughly an hour, providing insight on what it takes to succeed in the profession.

The folks at NIU would like to thank Paul Sirvatka, Matt Powers, and all the other fine folks at COD who put together this amazing event. Thanks! We can't wait for the next symposium!

Tim Marshall – Damage Expert, Storm Chaser, and NIU Alumus – visits NIU

On Tuesday, November 3rd, the NIU Student Chapter of the AMS hosted a joint meeting with the Chicago AMS Chapter. The meeting featured guest speaker Tim Marshall – a 1978 graduate of the NIU Meteorology Program.

Undergrad Tim Marshall posing in front of Davis Hall (circa 1978).

Tim is a professional engineer for Haag Engineering and travels a great deal surveying storm damage across the U.S. He has conducted more than 100 damage surveys of hailstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Some of the famous tornadoes he has surveyed included the F5's at Jarrell, TX (1997; he told the audience at NIU he considers this the worst damage he has witnessed), Bridge Creek, OK (1999), Greensburg, KS (2007), and Parkersburg, IA (2008). Some of the famous hurricanes he has surveyed include Hugo in South Carolina (1989), Andrew in Florida (1992), Katrina in Mississippi (2005), and Ike in Texas (2008).

Tim is also a pioneering storm chaser. During the past 30 years, Tim has filmed more than 200 tornadoes and experienced 17 hurricanes. He is also a participant in the VORTEX2 project, an ambitious field project investigation tornadogenesis in the Great Plains during the 2009-10 severe weather seasons.

Tim spoke about “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” storm chasing experiences he had during the 2008 season. This funny talk provided insight into the meteorology of some of Tim’s biggest storm chasing catches, as well as “busts”, during this eventful season. Thanks Tim for a wonderful talk!

Portions of this post gleamed from Wikipedia.

AMS President, NOAA Climate Services Chief, and NIU Alumnus Visits

This past week, NIU Meteorology had the honor of hosting NIU Alumnus Dr. Tom Karl. Dr. Karl graduated cum laude from NIU’s meteorology program and subsequently earned an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and received a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) from North Carolina State University. Since 1998, Karl has been Director of the National Climatic Data Center, which, as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is responsible for archiving and maintaining the quality of national and international climate data bases. He has been leading all of NOAA’s climate services since early 2009.

In 2007 Karl along with other leading scientists shared in the Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Gore based on findings of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In addition to lead roles in the development of the IPCC reports, Karl has made many significant contributions to research and scholarship in climatology. He has authored and co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, been an editor for numerous journals, and served on various committees of the American Meteorological Society. He is a Fellow of American Geophysical Union and of the American Meteorological Society and serves as President of the AMS.

From 1998 to 2001, Karl worked with the Clinton Administration, providing data used to develop its climate change policy. He was cited as one of the world’s 10 most influential researchers of the 1990s who have formed or changed the course of research in a given area.

This past weekend, Dr. Karl was one of 50 recipients of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Golden Anniversary Alumni Award. The award honors individuals who have distinguished themselves either in professional fields or through involvement in civic, cultural or charitable service. As part of his weekend visit to his alma mater, Dr. Karl discussed climate change and future professional opportunities with NIU Meteorology students and faculty.

Tom Parisi and the NIU Office of Public Affairs contributed to this story.

Spring 2009 Kudos!

Another academic year comes to a close, bringing a long, long list of kudos for NIU Meteorology Program students and faculty.

First, congratulations to our student award winners, which were featured in our “2009 Cookout” blog post. Those honored were Becky Belobraydich for the Liberals Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award in Meteorology; Rachel Dearing and Bethany Norris for the Nancy Wick Award for Outstanding Achievement as Seniors in Meteorology; and Kristina Rohrbach for the Jack Villmow Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Junior in Meteorology. Congratulations Becky, Rachel, Bethany, and Kristina!

At the 62nd Annual Journalism Banquet, Carie Cunningham was awarded the Northern Television Center Weather Reporter of the Year Award. Congrats Carie!

Bethany Norris will pursue a master’s degree in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on a highly competitive teaching assistantship. She will be working under Dr. Larry Di Girolamo quantifying trade-wind cumulus clouds as well as developing climatologies of these clouds for incorporation into global climate models. Bethany also recently completed her honors capstone paper, entitled “Illinois Precipitation Anomalies in 2008,” which examined the unusually high precipitation Illinois received that year at several temporal and spatial scales to determine the frequency and spatial distribution of the precipitation. Congratulations on graduating with University Honors and best of luck at University of Illinois!

During the 2009 spring semester, Erik Janzon wrote an honors capstone paper entitled, "A Case Study of a Wake Low in Northern Illinois and its Numerical Model Prediction." The paper analyzed a wake low-induced severe wind event that occurred last May and the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in the prediction of the low three hours in advance. This summer, Erik will be an intern meteorologist for the North Dakota Water Commission, where he will assist with the ongoing cloud modification experiment there. The goal of the experiment is to mitigate hail production and increase rainfall. Congratulations on graduating with University Honors and good luck this summer in North Dakota!

This past semester, Becky Belobraydich had the honor of being chosen to receive the University Women's Club Scholarship, which is based upon academic merit and personal achievement. She will be spending the upcoming summer at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma as the assistant for the National Weather Center Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Congratulations and good luck, Becky!

Graduate students Tom Walsh and Victor Gensini secured summer internships with Chesapeake Energy. Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the number one independent producer of natural gas in the nation and the most active driller of new wells. Their meteorology division, located in the West Loop of Chicago, monitors weather patterns and climate anomalies to inform their agricultural and energy clients about weather patterns that may affect those respective markets. This summer, Tom and Victor will be assisting Chesapeake with climate research and severe weather forecasting. Congratulations to Tom and Victor! Better dig out those business suits!

Graduate student Jenni Prell will continue a Co-Op placement this summer at Argonne National Laboratory. She will be continuing work assisting with climate model adjustments for modeling increased biofuel production, as well as assisting with routine field measurements made at Fermilab. Jenni will also be assisting researchers working on the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program's newest mobile facility, the AMF2. A recent contract awarded to Argonne by the Department of Energy (DOE) has allowed the laboratory to begin development of this climate research platform that will be able to make observations on both land and ocean, allowing for atmospheric measurements to be made in remote regions. The current AMF is only land-based. Read about the AMF2 here. Good luck Jenni!

NIU graduate Monica Zappa will be leaving NIU to attend the University of Oklahoma in the Fall 2009 where she will work as a research assistant for the new Social Science Woven into Meteorology (SSWIM) program at the National Weather Center. She will also be working on her Ph.D. in the Geography Department and is planning to continue her study into societal impacts from weather disasters. Monica was also the recipient of an Outstanding Women Student Award this spring. The award recognizes the achievements of graduating outstanding women students. Congratulations, Monica! Good luck in Oklahoma!

NIU graduate student Chris Gilson will be attending Mississippi State University this coming fall to pursue a Doctorate Degree in Earth and Atmospheric Science. Chris has obtained a research assistantship and will be working under the direction of Dr. Mike Brown on a hazard mitigation project for Mississippi State University. Good luck Chris!

NIU graduate student Jeremy Spencer has secured an extremely competitive teaching assistantship at Kent State University. Jeremy plans to pursue a Ph.D. at Kent State, researching human vulnerability to weather hazards. Best of luck in Ohio, Jeremy!

2008 NIU MET grad, Hiroyuki Ito, was recently awarded a graduate research assistantship at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. This highly competitive award will fund Hiro to work at the International Pacific Research Center whose focus is on climate variation and predictability in the Asia-Pacific region, including regional aspects of global climate change. Please see this blog entry for Hiro’s amazing journey.

Dr. Walker Ashley was featured as a guest speaker at Tom Silling’s enormously popular Fermi Lab Tornado and Severe Weather Seminar. Dr. Ashley’s spoke on his recent research on tornado vulnerability. You can watch the entire seminar, including Dr. Ashley’s talk, at WGN’s website.

Backstage at the 2009 Seminar: (from l-to-r) Erik Janzon, Tom Skilling, Becky Belobraydich, and Walker Ashley.

Additionally, the NIU Meteorology faculty would like to thank the NIU-NWS Cooperative Observers who diligently took weather observations every morning at 7 am for the past 365 days. Their efforts are not only appreciated by the faculty, but by all of those who utilize these important records in their climate analyses -- from Gilbert Sebenste at NIU to the climate modelers examining global warming at NCAR. First, and foremost, we thank Kevin Nasiatka who performed admirably as the Coop's Weather Director this year. He was assisted by the following students: Trevor Edmonson, Erik Janzon, Kyle McAdams, Ryan Oates, Matias Sich, Rose Sengenberger, Carie Cunningham, Marius Paulikas, Alecia Osborne, and Ian Chang. Again, thank you.

Finally, good luck to our entire graduating senior class! Make sure you stop back by for Career Day ... or any day! Keep your eyes to the sky.

Spring 2009 Cookout

On Thursday, April 30th, about 45 students, faculty, and friends gathered behind Davis Hall to celebrate the end of NIU's 2008-09 academic year. Hamburgers and hot dogs were grilled by head bbq chef (and graduate student), Victor Gensini; furthermore, our outgoing AMS president, Travis Carlson, brought a cake to the event that will make any weather wennie laugh (see below for visual evidence). MET faculty also distributed annual awards, which are listed below. Congrats to those who received these tremendous accolades. Thanks to all who attended – it was fun to gather one last time before graduation!

Even the "Ace of Cakes" would have a hard time surpassing this beauty of a cake! For the nonmeteorologists out there ... that's a supercell!

Annual Awards: During the cookout, several of our AMS members were awarded with honors. Congratulations to all who were honored, including:

Becky Belobraydich for the Liberals Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award in Meteorology;

Rachel Dearing and Bethany Norris for the Nancy Wick Award for Outstanding Achievement as Seniors in Meteorology;

and Kristina Rohrbach for the Jack Villmow Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Junior in Meteorology.

AMS-NWA Election Results: Finally, we have a new NIU AMS-NWA Executive Board!

The 2009-10 President is Chuck Richie (2nd from left). Assisting Chuck will be VP Eddie Wildermuth (center), Secretary Ryan Oates (2nd from right), Treasurer Tierney Manning (right), and Webmaster Rose Sengenberger (left). Congrats to the new Exec Board!

NIU "Met" attends the 13th Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference

Nine undergraduate students, four graduate students, NIU Staff Meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste, and Dr. Ashley attended the 13th Annual Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference in West Des Moines, IA on April 2nd-4th, 2009. This year's conference was held at the West Des Moines Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center and provided three days of exciting talks on all aspects of severe weather.

NIU's contingent at the conference!

NIU students highlighted their own research by presenting three separate posters, including:

• “Radar Morphology of Fatal Convective Straight-line Wind Events” by Joe Schoen (NIU) and Walker Ashley (NIU); this work illustrates preliminary results from Joe’s thesis, which is examining the storm morphology of killer tornado and nontornadic wind events over the past 10-15 years.
• “Human Vulnerability to Lightning in Georgia” by Chris Gilson (NIU), Walker Ashley (NIU), Mace Bentley (NIU), and Tony Stallins (FSU); this poster highlighted Chris’ thesis work, which examined the enhancement of physical vulnerability to lightning due to population expansion in and around Atlanta, GA. The work further discusses how the urban heat island may be augmenting lightning around the city which, in turn, increases risk to the hazard.
• “The Response of University Students to Severe Weather Watches” by Becky Belobraydich (NIU and Univ. of Oklahoma/NWC-REU Program) and Matthew Biddle (OU); this work highlighted Becky’s research from summer 2008's National Weather Center Research Experiences for Undergraduates, where she had the distinct honor to collaborate with Dr. Biddle at OU.

Congratulations to Hiroyuki Ito!

Hiroyuki Ito, who received his B.S. in Meteorology and Certificate in GIS from NIU, was recently awarded a Graduate Research Assistantship at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. This highly competitive award will fund Hiro to work at the International Pacific Research Center whose focus is on climate variation and predictability in the Asia-Pacific region, including regional aspects of global climate change.

Hiro’s hard work in the classroom as well as his internship experience is what earned this graduate research assistantship. During Hiro’s Junior and Senior years, he volunteered to take daily 7am weather observations at the National Weather Service’s Cooperative Weather Station on the NIU campus. He also applied and obtained an internship position in aviation meteorology at ENSCO, Inc. who provides United Airline Operation and Weather Support. Hiro also applied and secured an internship in the GIS and Assessment Office of Whiteside County, Illinois. While a full-time student, each week Hiro would drive 80 miles roundtrip to work at ENSCO and 120 miles roundtrip to work at Whiteside County. These internships gave Hiro a competitive background that placed him above the many other applicants at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Hiro is one of many of our students who have applied for and received funding to complete degrees at the M.S. or Ph.D. levels this year. We've recently received news that some of our students will be attending graduate schools (with tuition waivers and graduate assistantships) at the University of Illinois, Mississippi State University, University of Oklahoma, and Kent State. Congrats and good luck in grad school!

Learning Experiences in Broadcast Meteorology

One of the unique on-campus preprofessional partnerships the Meteorology Program benefits from is with the Department of Communication’s Northern Television Center (NTC). The NTC assists in applying the meteorology students’ knowledge of weather analysis and forecasting in a real-world television studio environment. For many years, NIU meteorology students have participated in daily student-run broadcasts that feature weather segments – what a great experience for those interested in pursuing a meteorology broadcasting career! Students have the opportunity to develop and construct their own weather presentations in front of the studio’s green screen, which is an excellent way for students to practice communicating weather phenomena to a broad audience. In addition, tapes of these broadcasts may be used to illustrate a student’s abilities to potential employers when applying for internships or jobs.

The Northern Television Center studios.

Meteorology students who study and work at the NTC utilize a variety of weather data obtained through the National Weather Service, including sophisticated data from remote sensing tools such as radars and satellites as well as advanced numerical weather prediction models. Using these data, in combination with their forecasting knowledge gathered from classes such as Synoptic Meteorology (MET 320 and 421) and Mesoscale Meteorology (MET 444), students are encouraged to formulate their own five-day forecasts similar to those forecasts found on local and national news broadcasts. The NTC broadcasts are aired daily Monday-Thursday with full news, sports, and, of course, weather coverage! The daily show is broadcast worldwide through the Department of Communication website and through MySpace, as well as on-air broadcast to the student body and local community via the Northern Television Channel. The NIU Northern Television Center and the Meteorology Program is a distinctive on-campus partnership that facilitates the development and honing of professional broadcasting skills in our students!

Current and future Meteorology Students interested in preprofessional experiences at NTC are asked to contact Carrie Cunningham, an undergraduate junior majoring in Meteorology and Journalism. Students interested in Meteorology as a major, as well as meteorology broadcasting internships with local channels in Chicago, Rockford, and the Quad Cities, are asked to contact the Meteorology Undergraduate Coordinator, Dr. Dave Changnon. Students in the Meteorology Program with an interest in broadcast meteorology should investigate completing a Minor in Journalism through the Department of Communication. Dr. Allen May, the faculty coordinator for the NTC, will work with Dr. Changnon to assist Meteorology Program students in the integration of the broadcast minor coursework into their academic program. This minor, much like the GIS certificate, assists students who are looking for internships and employment.

Undergrad Research Experiences: The Case of MET 431 (Applications in Climatology)

NIU’s Meteorology Program strives to develop valuable student “preprofessional” experiences through student participation in a variety of activities, including: faculty research projects through National Science Foundation grants and the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program, forecasting for the campus student newspaper and television station, operating the DeKalb-area National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Station, serving the community as severe weather watchers, conducting weather awareness seminars in local schools, and through internship experiences with the NWS and various weather-sensitive organizations in northern Illinois.

One of the unique “preprofessional” experiences that Meteorology Program students can take advantage of during their tenure at NIU is the annual “Applications in Climatology” course taught by NIU Presidential Teaching Professor Dr. David Changnon. “Applications in Climatology” (MET 431) is a senior capstone course where students work in groups of two to four on applied climate research projects for regional decision makers. Real issues from both the private and public sectors are addressed by student/faculty teams to produce tangible results for the sponsoring organization. Dr. Changnon has published two articles that highlight the uniqueness of this course: "Design and Test of a "Hands-On" Applied Climate Course in an Undergraduate Meteorology Program" (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Volume 79, pages 79-84) and "Improving Outreach in Atmospheric Sciences: Assessment of Users of Climate Products" (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Volume 85, pages 601-606). In addition, a number of projects completed by MET 431 students have appeared in top international research journals over the last ten years. Undergraduate research experiences, like those enabled through courses like MET 431, are a hallmark of the NIU Meteorology Program. Skills learned during these experiences empower our students, helping them gain a “leg up” in the job market.

Below is a summary of the three research projects carried out by student groups during fall 2008’s MET 431 class:

Del Monte Foods:
The student group that included Joe Astolfi, Jonathan Kopczyk, and Matias Sich, worked with Dr. Brian Flood (entomologist) and Mr. Mike Sandstrom (meteorologist) of Del Monte Foods on a project examining the influence of various weather variables on the occurrence of the first major corn earworm (CEW) migration in north central Illinois. The group found that on average (during the 1960-2005 period) the first major CEW migration occurred on approximately August 20, however the date of the first major flight of the growing season varied from August 1 to September 16. Weather factors that were found to occur just prior to a major flight included a southerly wind and precipitation. In some cases, periods of usually warm weather preceded the first major flight. This predictive model successfully forecasted the first major flights for the years 2006-2008. Climatologically, when the first major flight occurred prior to August 20, both the number of warm nights (Tmin > 65°F) and the accumulated number of growing degree days (base of 50°F) were above average. Farmers and food production companies such as Del Monte Foods may find this research useful as they develop methods to protect vegetable crops from pests such as the CEW.

Northern Illinois University:
The student group that included Matt Chyba, Gloria Maleski, and Kevin Nasiatka, worked with Mr. Jeff Daurer (Director of Capital Budget and Planning) of Northern Illinois University on a project developing a wind speed climatology for north central Illinois. Mr. Daurer was interested in understanding the seasonal variations in wind speed both at the surface and several meters above the surface as they look to potentially expand the campus on the western fringe of DeKalb. Examination of wind speed data from Rockford and NCEP-NARR data identified that July (summer) had the lowest wind speeds. Nearly 50% of the time July wind speeds are less than 7 mph, a critical minimum wind speed for wind turbines. The chances of experiencing low wind speeds in other parts of the year are much less. The group found that the lowest wind speed period during a 24-hour period was generally at night between 6 pm and 9 am.

WGN-TV9; Chicago Tribune:
The student group that included Victor Gensini, Erik Janzon, and Zachary Rahe, worked with Tom Skilling of WGN-TV9 and the Chicago Tribune on a project examining the frequency of summer days with Tmax >90°F (i.e., “hot days”) at Chicago Midway during the 1933-2008 period. Initially the students found that the frequency of Chicago hot days had decreased dramatically from the 1930s. The frequency of warm nights (summer Tmin >70°F) was found to be increasing during the period, a signal expected in an urban heat island. Trends of summer hot days, warm nights and the diurnal range was examined at both urban and rural stations across the Midwest. Trends similar to those found at Chicago Midway were found throughout the region suggesting that a regional land-use factor (e.g., changes in agricultural practices from general farming to intensive row cropping) may be altering boundary layer atmospheric moisture levels and thus changing the summer temperature climatology. An increase in low level dew points could have an influence on the frequency and magnitude of summer heat waves as well as heavy rainstorms.

Interested? Students interested in participating in an upcoming MET 431 course should drop by Dr. Changnon’s office in Davis Hall.

Spring 2009 Colloquium Series Announced

The spring 2009 Geography Colloquium schedule was recently released and it includes a number of talks related to the atmospheric sciences. All talks take place in Davis Hall's Room 121 on Friday's at 3-4 pm. Please feel free to join us for this exciting semester of speakers!

• January 23: "How Will Species Respond to Current Climate Changes? Lessons from the Last Deglaciation." by Dr. Jack Williams (University of Wisconsin - Madison)


• February 6: "Geographic Perspective of Railroad Safety in Illinois" by Stephen C. Laffey (Illinois Commerce Commission)


• February 27: "Computer Simulation Responses to Global Change at the Alpine Treeline" by Dr. George Malanson (University of Iowa)

• March 20: "Water Resources and Environmental Issues" by Dr. Mohamed Sultan (Western Michigan University)


• April 3: "Climate-Economic Models and Uncertainties" by Dr. Donald A. Hanson (Argonne National Laboratory)


• April 10: "Woody Vegetation Change, Carbon Storage, and Climate Change Mitigation" by Dr. William Currie (University of Michigan)


• April 17: "Modeling Seasonal Spread of Soybean Rust in North America" by Dr. Scott Isard (Penn State University)


• April 24: "The Biogeography of Forest Change: Crown Fire, Insect Epidemics, and Drought in Ponderosa Pine Forests of the American Southwest" by Dr. Joy Nystrom Mast (Carthage College)