Climatology
Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Jeffrey A. Andresen
Associate Professor
Lifeng Luo
Assistant Professor
Nathan Moore
Assistant Professor
Julie A. Winkler
Professor
Sharon Zhong
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. Lifeng Luo is an assistant professor of Geography at Michigan State University. He joined the faculty in August 2009. His research interests are primarily in the field of hydroclimatology, a multidisciplinary field with strong links to hydrology, climate science, water resources, and even ecology. More specifically, he is interested in understanding how the land and atmosphere interact through hydrologic processes and how this interaction affects the variability and predictability of the climate system at different spatial and temporal scales. Understanding the processes that govern land-atmosphere interactions, developing the ability to predict the variation in the hydrological processes, and determining their usefulness for resource management are the fundamental science priorities of his research.
Dr. Nathan Moore is an assistant professor of Geography at Michigan State University with a joint position at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. He received a Bachelor's in Physics from the University of Virginia and a Master's in Physics from the University of Oregon. His Ph.D. in Earth and Ocean Sciences from Duke University focused on the effects of irrigation on precipitation in the Texas High Plains. Prior to his doctoral study, Dr. Moore worked at the USGS in Reston VA, and served in the Peace Corps. Dr. Moore's teaching spans courses on introductory meteorology, climate modeling, and interdisciplinary research. His research focuses on integrating climate research with land use, remote sensing, and human geography with a focus on regional climate change. Current and past research topics have focused on Great Plains irrigation, East African crop yields under a changing climate, deforestation impacts in the Amazon, and (more recently) land use change in China. Dr. Moore's unique joint international position provides an opportunity for the study and comparison of climates, land use, agriculture, and human systems.
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 a professor of Geography at Michigan State University. She came to MSU from University of Houston where she was an associated professor and helped to establish the atmospheric sciences program. Prior to joining academia, she was employed for a decade by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy, initially as a post doctoral research fellow, later a research scientist and senior research scientist. She received a Ph.D. and M.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Iowa State University, a M.S. in Atmospheric Physics from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a B.S. in Atmospheric Physics from Nanjing University. Dr. Zhong's research interest lies primarily in atmospheric boundary layer and mesoscale processes with an emphasis on those induced by topography and landscape heterogeneity, the transport and dispersion of air pollutants especially smoke from prescribed and wildland fires, and regional climate and climate change with a particular emphasis on the Great Lakes region. Dr. Zhong's teaching spans courses on introductory meteorology, dynamic meteorology and weather and climate modeling.