Pedro Valente is a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio University. He is from Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, and also a researcher of Polar and Climatic Center (Brazil). He works with polar and mid-latitude climatology. He aims to understand how specific sectors of Antarctica, such as the Amundsen, Bellingshausen, and Weddell Seas, are influencing and changing extreme precipitation and temperature events in southeastern South America.

Pedro is also a writer, currently writing his fourth book. Loves reading, biking, records and b movies (especially horror genre).

Dr. Dillon Blount is an Assistant Professor in the Geography Department at Ohio University. At OHIO, he teaches several meteorology courses including an introductory course, synoptic meteorology, mesoscale meteorology, and radar meteorology. Prior to this position, Dr. Blount received his B.S. degree in Meteorology from the University of South Alabama and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Atmospheric Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Dr. Blount’s research focuses on mesoscale meteorology. His doctoral dissertation research examined the contributions of convectively generated gravity waves, line-end vortices, and environmental flow to mesoscale convective system (MCS) rear inflow using numerical modeling. Currently, he is interested in supercell-squall line mergers and how the merger affects the mesoscale dynamics of the rear inflow. Additionally, he is interested in how MCSs interact with terrain in the Appalachian Mountains and how this influences mesoscale dynamics with the MCS rear inflow.

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Blount is a member of the American Meteorological Society, and he actively volunteers with several committees of the AMS. He currently serves as Chair of the Board on Student Affairs, member of the Annual Meeting Oversight Committee, and member of the Overall Planning Committee. Personally, he enjoys the outdoors, hiking, playing pickleball, and cooking.