Mountain Weather Research and Forecasting Recent Progress and Current Challenges

Fotini (Tina) Katopodes Chow  is an associate professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Her current research interests are in performing large-eddy simulations of atmospheric boundary layer flows, with a focus on flow over complex terrain and development and testing of new turbulence models and boundary conditions. She and her students have worked on applications to mountain meteorology, urban dispersion, wind energy, and land-atmosphere coupling, among others.  She received an NSF CAREER award in 2007 and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2011.
Stephan F. J. De Wekker  is an associate professor in Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on the investigation of atmospheric boundary layer processes over complex terrain using a combination of field studies, data analysis, and numerical modeling techniques. He seeks to apply his expertise to problems in a multi-disciplinary context such as found at the interface with ecology, air quality, and hydrology. He received an NSF CAREER award in 2012. Bradley J. Snyder is currently Head of Science Transfer and Training at the Pacific Storm Prediction Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is responsible for coordinating forecaster training and acts as liaison between operations and research groups. His focus is on mountain and marine meteorology.  He worked as an operational forecaster for 15 years at various locations across Canada and has undertaken research in radar, lightning, and air quality meteorology. He has also been involved in field studies, including forecasting during the Mesoscale Alpine Programme.