Biography
Howdy y’all my name is Pete Hein. I am undergrad here at Ohio University studying environmental geography as a major and minor in meteorology. Little fun fact about me is that I am from Cincinnati, Ohio area born and rise over the 23 years. The reason I am forecasting this semester is that I love the challenge of predicting what mother nature will have in store for us. If there any question feel free to contact Scalia Lab at any time. I am more than happy to help with any questions. Thank you!
Connor Belak is originally from Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with honors in Geography/Meteorology, a minor in Outdoor Recreation and Education, and a certificate in Geographic Information Science. He completed the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) internship program after his sophomore year (Summer of 2017) by interning at the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland where he researched the quality of snowfall forecasts in the warm sector of low-pressure systems. He also interned at AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania during the Summer of 2018. Throughout Connor’s four years at Ohio University, he was heavily involved with OUCAMS. Connor served as the Event’s Coordinator during the 2018-2019 academic year. He was also an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Ryan Fogt where he studied Antarctic Pressure, which led to his undergraduate honor’s thesis, “A Validation of Antarctic Pressure Reconstructions Using Historical Climate Data.”
After graduating from OU, Connor worked as a Pathways Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in San Diego, CA during the summer of 2019. Connor then went on to Purdue University to obtain his Master’s Degree in Atmospheric Science as a Research Assistant, where he completed his thesis, “Verification of Simulated DSDs and Sensitivity to CCN Concentration in EnKF Analysis and Ensemble Forecasts of the 30 April 2017 Tornadic QLCS during VORTEX-SE.”
Connor now works at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Baltimore/Washington DC, where he leads the Upper Air Observations program.
Chris came to Ohio University after serving in the United States Air Force from 1988-1996 serving is Operation Desert Storm and then working as an Operating Engineer in Alaska from 1997-1998. He received a B.S. in Geography-Meteorology from Ohio University in 2003, and an M.A. in Geography in 2005. He also served as Associate Director of Scalia Lab during his graduate years from 2003-2005. He served as Scalia Labs only Deputy Director from 2005 to 2009 teaching Meteorology, G.I.S., and Geography during a transitional period after the retirement of Dr. Ronald Isaac. He then taught Meteorology, G.I.S., and Climate Change at Bowling Green State University from 2009-2010 in the School of Earth, Environment, and Society.
He now serves at the Columbus Sales Manager and Project Manager for Moody’s of Dayton, Inc. He provides formation analysis and ground water testing for the exploration of drinking water resources. He designs pumping systems for water distribution throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
Connor is a 2013 graduate from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology- Geography. While at Ohio University, Connor was a forecaster at Scalia Lab as well as the Vice President and Events Coordinator for the Ohio University chapter of the American Meteorological Society. His research at Ohio University involved working with the National Weather Service in Charleston, WV to examine a tornado outbreak in southeastern Ohio using a lightning jump algorithm.
Connor graduated with a Master’s in Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) in 2015. At SDSMT, he was a graduate research assistant in the storm penetrating A-10 aircraft research group and developed a surface hail size model to aid mission guidance using NCAR’s TITAN software suite.
Connor completed his Ph.D. at University at Albany, State University of New York and was a Project Research Assistant at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC). His research at the ASRC involved the analysis of dropsonde-derived vertical velocities in tropical cyclones and the design/development of a prototype vertical velocity dropsonde for use in hurricane research. He participated in the 2015 Tropical Cyclone Intensity experiment funded by the Office of Naval Research. His prototype dropsondes were used as part of the 2019 DAWN Lidar verification campaign. While in New York, Connor was an adjunct faculty member at SUNY Schenectady, where he taught College Mathematics.
Connor is currently a Research Associate at the University of Colorado–Boulder in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences department. His current research involves the analysis of convective initiation during the 2018–2019 RELAMPAGO–CACTI project and high-resolution simulations of convection interacting with terrain using large-eddy simulation models.
Outside of work, Connor enjoys traveling with his wife (Brianne–NCAR Associate Scientist), playing with his son (Carter), playing soccer and guitar, watching sports, and, of course, rooting for the Bobcats!
Biography
Gwen is a junior double majoring in meteorology and geology. She is from Buffalo, NY and therefore loves snow, snow-related activities, and wings. In her free time, Gwen likes to explore the outdoors and collect a lot of heavy and largely boring-looking rocks. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in hydrology or paleoclimatology, preferably somewhere that is cold and has a Tim Horton’s.
Hallie Dusselier graduated from Ohio University with a Masters in Meteorology in 2016. During her time at OU, Hallie studied Antarctic climatology under Dr. Ryan Fogt. Hallie was also an active member of OUCAMS during her two years. Shortly after graduation, Hallie started a job at the National Weather Service in Omaha, Nebraska. Since starting with the National Weather Service, Hallie has learned and grown in her first love of operational forecasting, but has also enjoyed the opportunity to begin to step up and utilize her climatological background in the office.
Nate started his educational path at Ohio University when he transferred there during his junior year. After getting involved with the meteorology club his first year, he was elected Outreach Chair. This allowed him to become more involved with the members of the meteorology program, but more importantly, he, along with members of the club, were able to invest time in the community through various outreach activities. After graduating in 2013, Nate received the opportunity to volunteer with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio. Realizing that he needed more experience to begin his career in the NWS, he applied to the Ohio University graduate program. He was accepted and received the Associate Director position for the Scalia Lab.
Under Dr. Jana Houser, he researched the potential role surface roughness and changing elevation might play in the evolution of tornado intensity. After the amazing two-year graduate school adventure, he applied for multiple meteorologist intern positions for the NWS throughout the country. He was fortunate enough to receive a position in Jacksonville, Florida where he continues to progress in his career. He is incredibly thankful for the people and experiences at Ohio University, which allowed him to pursue this path of success. If any student ever has any questions about a career in the NWS, they can reach him at nate.mcginnis@noaa.gov.
While at Ohio University, Marshall served as the Fundraising Chair for OUCAMS his junior and senior years. He received a B.S. in Meteorology/Geography in spring 2017. He is currently pursuing an M.S. in Atmospheric Science at the University at Albany (UAlbany), SUNY. With advisory by Dr. Lance Bosart, Marshall’s thesis research is focused on investigating the large-scale extratropical-tropical interactions that lead to high-impact anomalous dry season Caribbean rainstorms. He is also employed by UAlbany as a teaching assistant during spring and fall semesters, as well as a research assistant during the summer. After he receives his M.S., Marshall will either continue his education or enter the job market with hopes of employment by the National Weather Service—whichever direction the flow of atmospheric knowledge and opportunity carries him.
Marshall enjoys running, playing piano, and cooking in his spare time.
Over my 4 years at OU I spent majority of time studying and participating in OUCAMS. My first two years were semi-involved in OUCAMS, but the last 2 I was a lot more involved. I tried volunteering for as many events as possible, as well as balancing my time spent working at Scalia Laboratory for Atmospheric Analysis. After my first year learning about basic Meteorology, we started to forecast Sophomore year and I fell in love with it ever since. I’ve always been the type of person who was curious and always wanted to know how things worked and why.
Forecasting was one of those things that got me extremely excited and I always looked forward to seeing my predictions fold-out, and why/why-not my predictions happened. I also kept a weather journal for three years. I seemed to have good intuition for forecasting as well, which helped when forecasting for WxChallenge. I participated in WxChallenge for 3 years, got top 200 my 2nd year overall and right around top 100 my last (senior) year overall as well. Junior year I tried applying for the lead forecasting position, and at the time Scalia Lab only had two positions available. The Lead Forecaster and the Web Master. Unfortunately a very good senior forecaster was selected for the Lead Forecasting position, but Dr. Fogt and Nate Mcginnis (Associate Director of Scalia Lab) suggested opening a new position called the “Intern Forecaster”. They asked me if I wanted this position and I was more than happy to accept this role. I’ve never been so grateful for anything at OU as I have for this position and then taking on the role as Lead Forecaster my senior year.
Towards the end of senior year I had some personal issues arise and when senior year ended I took one year off to just work. This Fall/Winter, of 2018, I plan on looking for a Operational forecasting position and/or working for a Private Sector company. I saved up a lot of money to build a PC that I can possibly use for a Remote forecasting position as well. I am leaving my opportunities open for my job position, but mainly looking for a Forecasting position.
