As a researcher and teacher, I
love exploring extreme phenomena on Earth and other planets. I have investigated
a wide
range of
amazing
things:
the transformation
of small benign clouds into intense thunderstorms and extreme precipitation,
the occurrence of strange features in the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter,
and the potential for dangerous dust devils near the landing site of the
2007 Mars Phoenix spacecraft. Throughout my research, I strive to remain
objective to the science and simultaneously allow myself to be awe-struck
by the phenomena. What can I say -- I find extreme stuff fun and exciting
to study.
After
receiving a Ph.D. in Geophysics and Space Physics from UCLA in
1997, I conducted postdoctoral research in Atmospheric Sciences at NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. In February 2000, I
joined the Joint Center for Earth Science Technology (JCET)
faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as an Assistant
Research
Scientist. I served as Adjunct Assistant Professor in Physics at the College
of Notre Dame of Maryland in 1999. I joined Austin
College in
Fall 2000 as a member of the Physics
Department and the interdisciplinary Center
for Environmental Studies.
My teaching interests include traditional
Physics courses as well as interdisciplinary courses in Earth, Environmental,
and Planetary
Sciences. I am especially interested in innovative techniques in learning,
including activity-based Workshop
Physics and Scientific Inquiry Portfolios.
I implement project-based learning in many of my courses. For example,
students
established the Austin College Weather
Station on Austin College's Sneed Environmental Research Area as part
of a Special Topics
course in Physics. This weather station provides students hands-on experience
with environmental issues in North Texas. In addition, I enjoy offering unique
and exciting January Term courses such as Nature's
Wrath? Science and Policy of Natural Disasters, Natural
and Cultural History of Patagonia, and Earth:
Scientific and Cultural Perspectives in the Pacific. Students have walked on moving glaciers,
kayaked with sea lions, hiked on active volcanoes, and rafted in subterranean
caves lit by glow worms.
Austin College recently received a grant
from the Earth System Science Education
for the 21st Century (ESSE 21) program. This program is administered
by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) for NASA. The goals of
our project are to
enhance undergraduate education and to promote public awareness of Earth System
and Global Change Science. As part of this project, we developed activity-based
curricula in Earth System Science for both science and non-science majors.
Public outreach included public Earth
System and Global Change Science Lecture Series and a summer workshop
in Earth System Science for secondary school teachers. The Earth
System Science Design Guide,
an online resource for faculty and administrators interested in developing
Earth System Science courses and programs, highlights many of the innovative
activities associated with the Austin College ESSE 21 program.
My research interests include a wide range
of topics in Environmental Physics and in Planetary Physics. I have conducted
research on the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. In 1999, I
collected meteorological data in the Marshall Islands for NASA's Tropical
Rainfall
Measuring
Mission (TRMM) weather satellite.
With funding from NASA's Solid Earth and Natural Hazards Program, colleagues
at NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center and I have investigated techniques for improved
forecasts of flash flooding. Most recently, I have been a frequent visitor
to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory conducting research on Martian dust devils
and other extreme phenomena in our solar system.
[Austin College][Physics Department] [Center for Environmental Studies][Austin College Weather Station]
