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!