Emily Case

Emily Case grew up in Shreve, Ohio where she was terrified of all types of weather unless the sun was shining. Her fear of weather turned into a strong curiosity for it and is the reason why she is currently a third-year meteorology student at Ohio University. Emily is heavily involved in the Ohio University’s Chapter of American Meteorological Society (OUCAMS) and is serving as the secretary for the 2024-2025 school year. This past summer, she participated in the Northeast Partnership for Atmospheric and Related Sciences (NEPARS) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). Her research focused on extreme summer heat events during nighttime hours in the Northeast United States. The focus was on the climatological side of extreme heat events rather than the meteorological factors fueling the heat events. At the conclusion of the internship, it is evident that extreme heat events are on the rise. Outside of weather Emily loves hanging out with friends, reading, and drinking coffee.

Jacob Denault

Jacob is a 2nd-year meteorology student at Ohio University from Dayton, Ohio. His passion for the weather started from an early age, which mainly revolved around drawing weather maps, religiously watching The Weather Channel, and observing thunderstorms. Jacob knew he wanted to major in meteorology in college after the historical Memorial Day tornado outbreak of 2019 which occurred in and around the Dayton area and produced many intense tornadoes. His main meteorological fixations include supercells and the science behind them, as well as climate change and concerning trends in our planet’s climate currently being observed by climate scientists. After undergrad school, Jacob plans to go on to obtain a master’s degree in meteorology, after which he hopes to enter a career in operational meteorology with the National Weather Service or another similar career.

Gretchen Hefner

Gretchen Hefner is a 5th-year in Geography-Meteorology with a minor in Aerospace Studies through AFROTC. She was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio, and will be commissioned as a Weather and Environmental Sciences Officer in the USAF this May. She hopes her first assignment is to the Air Force Institute of Technology to pursue her graduate education in Atmospheric Science or Cloud Physics. Besides being active in AFROTC leadership, she is in the university jazz ensemble, when her schedule allows, and participated in the Marching 110 for two years as a trumpet player. Otherwise, her free time is spent playing racquet sports (tennis, pickleball, squash), video gaming, and spending time with family.

Nico Sartori

Nico Sartori grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio where he became fascinated by the weather at a very young age in elementary school. Beginning in August of 2019, he got accepted into The Ohio State University undergraduate program for Atmospheric Sciences. Since becoming a Buckeye, Nico joined the Scarlet and Gray Forecasting Club as a lead forecaster and later as president introducing the area of broadcasting to the club. In the summer of 2022, he gained research experience working for the Center of Western Weather Water Extremes (CW3E) at Scripps in San Diego, California. He worked on a research project on how the Madden-Julian Oscillation System (MJO) has impacted extreme precipitation in a warming climate in the western United States. Through the internship, Nico gained a research interest in climate variability as well as extreme weather such as tornadoes and hurricanes. Nico accepted an offer into the graduate program for Ohio University starting in the fall of 2023 in Atmospheric Sciences as the Associate Director of Scalia Labs. Having graduated with a master’s degree during the 2025 Spring, he plans on entering a career in operational meteorology such as in the National Weather Service (NWS) or the private sector.

Emily Dietz

Emily Dietz is currently a 5th-year working on a Geography – Meteorology major and Geology major at Ohio University. She is involved with the Ohio University Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (OUCAMS) and the club rowing team. Her interests include extreme weather, weather instrumentation, and climate research. In her free time, Emily enjoys hiking, reading, and playing soccer.