NWC REU 2025
May 22 - July 30

 

Students & Mentors 2025

 

Funded by the NWC REU Grant

NSF AGS 2050267

Alaina Adderley
Junior Meteorology Major
Plymouth State University


Mentors:
Vanna Chmielewski (NOAA/NSSL)
Sarah Stough (OU/CIWRO)

Research Project:
Lightning in severe weather and operations

More Information & Link to Paper

Miranda Bognar
Environmental Geoscience Major
DePauw University


Mentors:
Xiaodong Chen (OU/SoM & OU/CEES)
Wenjun Cui (OU/CIWRO)

Research Project:
Wildfire risks and their environmental controls over the US

More Information & Link to Paper

Becky Butterfield
Meteorology Major
Millersville University


Mentors:
Jason Furtado (OU/SoM)
Emma Kuster (SC CASC)
Marcela Loría-Salazar (OU/SoM)

Research Project:
Examining Extreme Weather Tendencies in National Parks

More Information & Link to Paper

Annie Carlson
Geospatial Sciences Major
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point


Mentors:
Somer Erickson (FEMA)
Harold Brooks (NOAA/NSSL)
Aaron Treadway (FEMA)

Research Project:
A Comparison of the SPC Tornado Storm Reports to the Final Number of Verified tornadoes

More Information & Link to Paper

Lexi Dooley
Atmospheric Science Major, Climatology Concentration
University of North Carolina at Asheville


Mentors:
Yue Yang (OU/SoM/MAP)
Xuguang Wang (OU/SoM/MAP)

Research Project:
Evaluating the Impact of Vertical Mixing Schemes in the Ocean Surface Boundary Layer on Intensification Forecast of Hurricane Fiona (2022)

More Information & Link to Paper

Ty Gampell
Global Environmental Studies Major
Clark University


Mentors:
Elizabeth H. Marold (OU/CASR)
Daphne LaDue (OU/CAPS)

Research Project:
Development of Decision Tools for Communicating Weather Impacts

More Information & Link to Paper

Pat George
Atmospheric Science & Mathematics Major
Vermont State University - Lyndon


Mentors:
Kristin Calhoun (NOAA/NSSL)
Ben Schenkel (OU/CIWRO)

Research Project:
Investigating the lightning behavior of Hurricane Milton

More Information & Link to Paper

Kelsey Grimme
Meteorology Major
Valparaiso University


Mentors:
Harold Brooks (NOAA/NSSL)
Elizabeth H. Marold (OU/CASR)

Research Project:
Rural region readiness: A historical analysis of tornadoes, social vulnerabilities, and infrastructure in the Appalachian region

More Information & Link to Paper

JD Heaton
Meteorology Major
Metropolitan State University of Denver


Mentor:
Stacey Hitchcock (OU/SoM)
Cole Hartman (OU/SoM)

Research Project:
Aviation Turbulence near Thunderstorms

More Information & Link to Paper

Trey Holiday
Atmospheric Science Major
University of Louisiana Monroe


Mentors:
Kristin Calhoun (NSSL)
Thea Sandmael (OU/CIWRO)
Michael Baldwin (OU/CIWRO)
Harold Brooks (NOAA/NSSL)

Research Project:
Understanding the Quality of Tornado Warning False Alarms

More Information & Link to Paper

Atticus Jolley
Atmospheric Science Major
Indiana University Bloomington


Mentors:
Elizabeth Meister (OU/IPPRA)
Anna Wanless (OU/IPPRA)
Sam Stormer (OU/IPPRA)

Research Project:
Identifying Emergency Manager Workflows for a Variety of Extreme Weather Events

More Information & Link to Paper

Mel Jones
Meteorology Major
Millersville University


Mentor:
Heather Reeves (OU/CIWRO)
Daniel Tripp (OU/CIWRO)

Research Project:
Understanding winter precipitation in urban areas

More Information & Link to Paper

Jacob Peace
Atmospheric Sciences Major
University of Georgia


Mentors:
Aaron Johnson (OU/SoM)
Xuguang Wang (OU/SoM)

Research Project:
Evaluation of flow-dependent biases in convection-allowing models with the Random Forest machine learning technique

More Information & Link to Paper

Ian Shank
Meteorology Major
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte


Mentor:
Aaron Hill (OU/SoM)

Research Project:
Verification of AI-generated Severe Weather Forecasts across North America

More Information & Link to Paper

 

 

 

 

 

Acronym list & web site links to mentor organizations: