Climatology
Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Jeffrey A. Andresen,
Associate ProfessorJulie A. Winkler,
ProfessorSharon Zhong ,
Associate Professor
Staff
Tracy Aichele
State Climate Office GIS Outreach SpecialistJeanne Bisanz
Research Project Coordinator
Editorial Assistant, Journal of Applied Meteorology and ClimatologyJim Brown
System Administrator, MAWN and Enviro-Weather ProjectHeyley Charney
Editorial Assistant, Journal of Applied Meteorology and ClimatologyPeter Kurtz
State Climate Office Technical SpecialistAaron Pollyea
State Climate Office, Enviro-Weather Technical SpecialistCathy Sernick
State Climate Office Clerical Technical Assistant
Dr. Jeffrey A. Andresen is an associate professor with Michigan State University's Department of Geography and the State Climatologist for Michigan. A native of the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Illinois, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University in the field of meteorology, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in the field of agricultural meteorology/climatology. Dr. Andresen has professional experience as an agricultural meteorologist with the National Weather Service and with the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board in Washington, D.C., where he was involved in international crop/weather impact assessment and production estimation. He currently serves as director of the Michigan Climatological Resources Program and associated extension/outreach activities, including administration of the Michigan Automated Weather Network (MAWN), a network of automated weather stations designed to provide quality, detailed weather data to the state's agricultural industry over the Internet. Teaching responsibilities include courses in agricultural climatology, meteorology, and physical geography. The primary focus of Andresen's research has been the influence of weather and climate on agriculture, especially within Michigan and the Great Lakes Region. Current and past themes include; climatological trends and potential impacts, water use for agricultural irrigation, impacts associated with potential future changes in climate, weather and risk management in agricultural production systems, influence of land use changes on regional climate, winter hardiness and mortality of crops and insects, and the measurement and use of weather data for determination of plant disease risk.
Dr. Julie Winkler is a professor of Geography at Michigan State University. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the University of North Dakota, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Geography both from the University of Minnesota. She also was a CIC Traveling Scholar in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to arriving at Michigan State University, Professor Winkler taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and San Diego State University. She also worked for the National Weather Service Techniques Development Laboratory as a Research Associate and Visiting Scientist. Professor Winkler's teaching responsibilities include introductory meteorology, weather analysis and forecasting, advanced quantitative methods, and physical geography seminar. Professor Winkler is interested in many aspects of geography and climatology including synoptic and applied climatology, regional climate change, and climate scenario development. Current and past research topics include heavy precipitation, nocturnal thunderstorms, low-level wind maxima, airflow within midlatitude cyclones, wildland fire risk, and the possible impacts of potential future climate change. Much of Professor Winkler's research has focused on the Central Plains and Great Lakes region of the United States. In addition to her work in climatology, Professor Winkler has also conducted research on the participation of women in academia. She has been actively involved in the disciplines of geography and atmospheric science. Professor Winkler is currently an editor of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology and previously was an associate editor for the Annals of the Association of American Geographers. She is a past National Councilor and National Secretary of the Association of American Geographers and currently serves as the Commissioner for Education and Human Resources for the American Meteorological Society. Professor Winkler is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Dr. Sharon Zhong is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at Michigan State University. She came to MSU from University of Houston where she served as an associate professor and graduate director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program in the Department of Geosciences. She also worked for a decade as a Senior Research Scientist at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Dr. Zhong received her B.S. degree in Atmospheric Physics from Nanjing University and a M.S. and Ph. D. degree in Atmospheric Sciences from Iowa State University. Dr. Zhong's research interests are in boundary layer meteorology, regional climate change, mountain meteorology, atmospheric transport and dispersion, mesoscale atmospheric modeling, and fire-atmosphere interaction. She served as PI or co-PI for various research projects funded by NSF, DOE, NOAA, EPA, and USDA. Past and current research topics include studies of Great Plains low level jets, sea breeze circulations and coastal boundary layer structure and evolution, cold air pools in basins and valleys, mountain-plain circulations and katabatic flows, air pollution transport and dispersions in mega cities, land-atmosphere interactions, dynamical behavior of wildland fires, climate change impact on precipitation, and influence of the urban canopy on thunderstorm development. Dr. Zhong's research approach is to combine field observations with numerical modeling and theoretical analyses. She was involved in the planning and execution of several major atmospheric measurement field campaigns and has also been actively involved in the efforts of further developing and improving atmospheric boundary layer and mesocale numerical models. Dr. Zhong has served on various professional committees and science advisory boards, has been a reviewer for funding agencies and a wide range of professional journals, and currently is an editor for Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology.