For the week: September 11 - 17, 2006
Did You Know?
At
road games, Georgia Tech fans always attempt to have the PA announcer
page George P. Burdell,
a fictional character enrolled as a prank in 1927.
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Colloquium: There is no Department Colloquium this week. The Department's weekly colloquium schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html The first "Birthday Monday" of the fall semester will take place on Monday, September 11. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to stop by the Meteorology main office (502 Walker) to have some goodies in honor of all those in the Department who are celebrating a birthday in September. GEMS (Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences) Annual Tailgate! Please join the GEMS board members and other EMS alumni, faculty, staff, and students to reconnect and share the Penn State spirit on Saturday, September 16 between 12:30-2:45 p.m. The food is complimentary and no reservations are needed. The location is Beaver Stadium, RV Spot #4054--Grassy area on the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road. Look for the weather balloons flying high above! All Meteorology faculty, staff, and students are invited! [View Flyer] Chi Epsilon Pi will be selling unique Penn State Meteorology items this year to raise funds for activities we plan to hold in the future and spread Penn State Meteo spirit! The two items we will be selling are Penn State Meteorology window clings and magnets. The price is $3 per magnet and $2 per window cling. However, for those interested in purchasing several of each, we will offer a discount of 4 magnets for $10 and 3 window clings for $5. You may purchase these items from Rhonda Spychalski in the main office on the 5th floor of Walker, Zack Byko in 410 Walker, Victor Yannuzzi in 412 Walker, or Jared Lee in 405 Walker. A Chi Epsilon Pi officer will also be at several of the departmental organizational meetings at the start of the semester armed with window clings and magnets for sale as well. Any questions, contact Zack at zmb102@psu.edu. [View images of magnets and window clings.] WxChallenge: As many of you are aware, the National Collegiate Weather Forecasting Contest has suspended operations and the new nation-wide online forecasting contest for 2006-2007 is WxChallenge. Hundreds of meteorology students and faculty around the nation will take part in the contest. I encourage you all to participate because it's a wonderful opportunity to show off your forecasting skills and it is great for your resume. Also, there are many prizes for the top forecasters. The cost is $2.50 for the semester or $4.00 for the year. If you want to sign up for the contest, the only 2 things you are required to do are fill out the sign-up form (and hand it to Andy Hagan) and pay the $2.50 or $4.00 to me. The sign-up form can be downloaded and printed from the WxChallenge website. The website contains all of the rules as well. The contest does not begin until September 25th, however, I would like to have all sign-ups completed by September 15th. Andy will be in the weather station between 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday this week (Sept. 5-9) and Monday through Friday of next week (Sept. 11-15). Save the date, because Sunday, September 10 will feature the annual Chi Epsilon Pi/Meteorology Department Fall picnic. The event will occur from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at Lederer Park. Please join us for burgers, dogs, snacks and refreshments, Frisbee and softball, and great company. The cost of attending will be $3, which covers all the food you can eat and facility rental. If you would like to attend, please sign up on one of the sign-up sheets located outside the 4th, 5th, or 6th floor elevators or on the table on the right as you first walk into the Weather Station AND please see either Zack Byko, Victor Yannuzzi, or Jared Lee to pay. Zack is in 410 Walker, Victor is in 412 Walker, and Jared is in 405 Walker. In order for us to best assess how much food we need to buy, please sign up and pay by noon on Friday, September 8. Directions were communicated in an email from Zack Byko on 8/28/2006. Outreach Scholarship 2006 Conference: Engagement through the Disciplines. This conference sponsored by Ohio State University, Penn State, University of Wisconsin--Extension, and The University of Georgia will be held on October 8-10, 2006 at The Columbus, Renaissance Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Conference information and registration is available at http://www.outreachscholarship.org Beginning on Monday, September 18 and for each Monday for the entire fall semester, forecast discussions will be held in the Weather Station Classroom at 12:30 p.m. These discussions will be informal, last about 30 minutes, and will be lead by a Penn State, AccuWeather, or National Weather Service forecaster. Everyone with an interest in weather forecasting is invited! Feel free to drop in on the discussions whenever possible, whether it is on a weekly basis or just once or twice all semester. It is our hope that the experts giving the discussions can teach us a little more about weather forecasting and the audience engage and question the forecast discussion leader. If you have any interest in leading a discussion, please contact me at zmb102@psu.edu. The Meteorology Department will be phasing in a new required three-credit course, Principles of Atmospheric Measurement, Meteo 440W, beginning in the Fall '06 semester. Meteo 440W will replace the two 1-credit courses, Meteo 445 and Meteo 446, but the total number of credits to graduate (121) will not change. Please view the announcement regarding the prerequisites and who should register for it and when. (This link will open in a separate window.) [440W Course Announcement].
Colloquium: There is no Department Colloquium this week. The Department's weekly colloquium schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html
Earth and Mineral Sciences Film Series: For a list of films to be aired throughout the fall semester, please visit: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/emsl/videoseries.html Buy an EMS Dining Card and support the EMS United Way campaign. Cards cost $10 each and are good for freebies and/or discounts at a variety of restaurants and vendors around town.
Abrams Books, New York, NY, is pleased to announce the publication of Kaleidoscope Sky, (subtitled the ever-shifting versicolor pageant of daylight, rainbows, halos, mirages, aurora and other celestial marvels) in fall 2007. It is the first book on atmospheric optical phenomena designed for a general audience and the popular market. As such, it presents the science behind the displays in nontechnical terms, and is richly illustrated with 130 full color photographs. To further encourage popular interest in our fascinating sky, each chapter includes tips for understanding, locating, observing, predicting, interpreting, photographing, investigating and analyzing the wondrous light show. The publisher is seeking photo contributors and their expertise in helping to assemble the best possible collection of stunningly dramatic and striking photos for the book; please email the author to request a list of the required subjects and directions on submission. Submission deadline is September 20, 2006. Tim Herd, author 2572 Mountain Road, Bath, PA 18014 610-837-6225 herd@naturenewswatch.com. Tim Herd ('78 B.S.) is a Penn State Meteorology alumnus. Conference Room Calendar Change: The 529 and 511 Walker conference room calendars are now "view only" due to a scheduling issue. If you'd like to reserve one of these rooms, the staff in the main office will be glad to make the reservation for you. IN THE NEWS: Craig Bohren addresses the controversial topic of global warming in the August 7 issue of the USA Today in an article titled "How to get to the bottom of the global warming debate." [View article] On August 14, Millersville University PR Newswire published an article titled "Millersville University Professor Works to Make Sailing Safer," which features alumnus Todd Sikora ('90, '92, '96) and research collaboration with George Young. [View story] An August 9, 2006 article in Penn State Live titled, "To the Point, Penn State professor on effects of Alaska oil field shutdown," features Andrew Kleit. [View story]. A May 2006 PNL web publication in the Atmospheric Science & Global Change Division titled "Sharing Space for the Sake of Science," discusses collaborations with Anne Thompson's and Bill Brune's research teams. The article also includes quotes from PNNL scientist and Penn State alumnus, Jim Mather ('86, '90, '94). [View article]. Alumnus Henry Margusity ('90 BS), senior meteorologist for AccuWeather, and Prof. Michael Mann are interviewed for an article titled "A hurricane here could spell trouble" that appeared in the Hazelton Standard Speaker on July 16, 2006. [View Article] Geoff Cornish was interviewed for a story appearing in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com on July 9, 2006 titled "Where's the Most Perfect Climate" [View Story] A 2002 Penn State Meteorology alumnus, Manajit Sengupta, was featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal on June 27, 2006. The article, titled "Under a Cloud" is about the daunting backlog of visa applicants and the logistics and time involved in getting a long-term visa. [View Article]. Fred Gadomski is featured in a Penn State Live article on June 21, 2006 about the summer forecast. [View Article] Research done by Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcom Hughes was in the spotlight in most national newspapers last week. For instance, visit, "Study: Earth 'likely' hottest in 2,000 years" from CNN.com. On May 29, The Toronto Star published an article titled "Weather matters to Wall Street," which discusses the increasing opportunities for meteorologists in financial markets. Andy Kleit was interviewed for the story. [Full Story] A story titled "Climate change responsible for increased hurricanes," featuring Michael Mann, was published in the May 31, 2006 issue of Penn State Live. [Full Story] Archived News: The weekly news is archived. See the link at the bottom of the page to access the archives.
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Colloquium: There is no Department Colloquium this week. The Department's weekly colloquium schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html The first "Birthday Monday" of the fall semester will take place on Monday, September 11. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to stop by the Meteorology main office (502 Walker) to have some goodies in honor of all those in the Department who are celebrating a birthday in September. Dr. Andrew Kleit, along with Dr. Anthony Kwasnica at the Smeal College of Business, will be running markets for weather this fall. The sites for these markets will be the same as those in the WxChallenge. The first market will be for the high temperature and precipitation amount in Orlando, Florida on September 25. This market will open for business on September 18. So if you want to make some money on your weather forecasts, please go to http://lema3.smeal.psu.edu/prediction/ and click on the "New User" link. (Don't worry, we give you the money for you to work with.) GEMS (Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences) Annual Tailgate! Please join the GEMS board members and other EMS alumni, faculty, staff, and students to reconnect and share the Penn State spirit on Saturday, September 16 between 12:30-2:45 p.m. The food is complimentary and no reservations are needed. The location is Beaver Stadium, RV Spot #4054--Grassy area on the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road. Look for the weather balloons flying high above! All Meteorology faculty, staff, and students are invited! [View Flyer] Save the date, because Sunday, September 10 will feature the annual Chi Epsilon Pi/Meteorology Department Fall picnic. The event will occur from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at Lederer Park. Please join us for burgers, dogs, snacks and refreshments, Frisbee and softball, and great company. The cost of attending will be $3, which covers all the food you can eat and facility rental. If you would like to attend, please sign up on one of the sign-up sheets located outside the 4th, 5th, or 6th floor elevators or on the table on the right as you first walk into the Weather Station AND please see either Zack Byko, Victor Yannuzzi, or Jared Lee to pay. Zack is in 410 Walker, Victor is in 412 Walker, and Jared is in 405 Walker. In order for us to best assess how much food we need to buy, please sign up and pay by noon on Friday, September 8. Directions were communicated in an email from Zack Byko on 8/28/2006. WxChallenge: As many of you are aware, the National Collegiate Weather Forecasting Contest has suspended operations and the new nation-wide online forecasting contest for 2006-2007 is WxChallenge. Hundreds of meteorology students and faculty around the nation will take part in the contest. I encourage you all to participate because it's a wonderful opportunity to show off your forecasting skills and it is great for your resume. Also, there are many prizes for the top forecasters. The cost is $2.50 for the semester or $4.00 for the year. If you want to sign up for the contest, the only two things you are required to do are fill out the sign-up form (and hand it to Andy Hagan) and pay the $2.50 or $4.00 to me. The sign-up form can be downloaded and printed from the WxChallenge website. Andy will be in the weather station between 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday this week (Sept. 3-9) and Monday through Friday of next week (Sept. 10-16). The website contains all of the rules as well. The National Academies has announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2007 sessions of the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program in Washington D.C. For more information, please visit: http://www.met.psu.edu/Jobs/Fellowships/fellowships.html Beginning on Monday, September 18
and for each Monday for the entire fall semester, forecast
discussions will be held in the Weather Station Classroom
at 12:30 p.m. These discussions will be informal, last about
30 minutes, and will be lead by a Penn State, AccuWeather, or
National Weather Service forecaster. Everyone with an interest
in weather forecasting is invited! Feel free to drop in on the
discussions whenever possible, whether it is on a weekly basis
or just once or twice all semester. It is our hope that the
experts giving the discussions can teach us a little more about
weather forecasting and the audience engage and question the
forecast discussion leader. If you have any interest in leading
a discussion, please contact me at zmb102@psu.edu. Call for Papers: Tenth Annual High Plains Conference, 4-6 October 2006, Dodge City, Kansas. Abstract deadline is 8 September 2006. For more info visit: http://www.highplains-amsnwa.org/10HPC/10HPC_CallForPapers.html. The Chi Epsilon Pi web page has been updated and includes a current roster of members and a new link to the NASA Space Place. This is an article written by a NASA Scientist that describes some of the latest research that NASA is involved in. The new Graduate Minor in Computational Science has been formally approved by Penn State. More information about this minor can be found at http://www.ics.psu.edu/minor.html. Deadlines and Important Dates: Sept. 5 Tues. - Sept. 14 Thurs.—Drop/Add
Period FALL 2006 COURSES
Colloquium: There is no Department Colloquium this week. The Department's weekly colloquium schedule can be viewed by visiting: http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/events/MeteoColloq.html The first "Birthday Monday" of the fall semester will take place on Monday, September 11. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome to stop by the Meteorology main office (502 Walker) to have some goodies in honor of all those in the Department who are celebrating a birthday in September. Dr. Andrew Kleit, along with Dr. Anthony Kwasnica at the Smeal College of Business, will be running markets for weather this fall. The sites for these markets will be the same as those in the WxChallenge. The first market will be for the high temperature and precipitation amount in Orlando, Florida on September 25. This market will open for business on September 18. So if you want to make some money on your weather forecasts, please go to http://lema3.smeal.psu.edu/prediction/ and click on the "New User" link. (Don't worry, we give you the money for you to work with.) GEMS (Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences) Annual Tailgate! Please join the GEMS board members and other EMS alumni, faculty, staff, and students to reconnect and share the Penn State spirit on Saturday, September 16 between 12:30-2:45 p.m. The food is complimentary and no reservations are needed. The location is Beaver Stadium, RV Spot #4054--Grassy area on the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road. Look for the weather balloons flying high above! All Meteorology faculty, staff, and students are invited! [View Flyer] Congratulations to Marcus Walter has recently been accepted into the Schreyer Honors College for the Fall 2006 semester. Marcus is a junior majoring in Meteorology with an option in Weather Forecasting and Communications. The 2006 National Weather Association (NWA) David Sankey Minority Scholarship in Meteorology has been awarded to Cho Hin (Richard) Lam of Wilmington, Delaware. This $1,000 scholarship will assist Richard with expenses throughout his junior year at Penn State in the Department of Meteorology. Richard was selected to receive this scholarship from a pool of outstanding applicants at seven different colleges/universities. Congratulations Richard! WxChallenge: As many of you are aware, the National Collegiate Weather Forecasting Contest has suspended operations and the new nation-wide online forecasting contest for 2006-2007 is WxChallenge. Hundreds of meteorology students and faculty around the nation will take part in the contest. I encourage you all to participate because it's a wonderful opportunity to show off your forecasting skills and it is great for your resume. Also, there are many prizes for the top forecasters. The cost is $2.50 for the semester or $4.00 for the year. If you want to sign up for the contest, the only two things you are required to do are fill out the sign-up form (and hand it to Andy Hagan) and pay the $2.50 or $4.00 to me. The sign-up form can be downloaded and printed from the WxChallenge website. Andy will be in the weather station between 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday this week (Sept. 3-9) and Monday through Friday of next week (Sept. 10-16). The website contains all of the rules as well. Chi Epsilon Pi Tutoring Services: For every undergraduate meteorology class and Math 140/140G and Math 141, a tutor has been selected who has extensive background in the topic. The idea is that this is a person you can contact if you feel you need more assistance with a course than the instructor and TA can provide. Most importantly, this service is completely free of charge! If you are struggling with a class this fall, please use Chi Epsilon Pi's tutoring services. The best way to contact tutors is via email, even though an impromptu visit to a tutor's office may be fruitful on some occasions. The tutoring list can be viewed at http://www.met.psu.edu/dept/courses/tutoringlist.html Incoming Undergraduate Students: Please respond to the "first year student survey" by September 15. NOTE CORRECTED DATE: A Co-op Information Session will be hosted by the Eberly College of Science on Wednesday, September 13 at 6:30 pm. in 110 Wartik Building. Meteorology students who would like to find out more about Co-op opportunities are welcome and encouraged to attend this session. Save the date, because Sunday, September 10 will feature the annual Chi Epsilon Pi/Meteorology Department Fall picnic. The event will occur from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at Lederer Park. Please join us for burgers, dogs, snacks and refreshments, Frisbee and softball, and great company. The cost of attending will be $3, which covers all the food you can eat and facility rental. If you would like to attend, please sign up on one of the sign-up sheets located outside the 4th, 5th, or 6th floor elevators or on the table on the right as you first walk into the Weather Station AND please see either Zack Byko, Victor Yannuzzi, or Jared Lee to pay. Zack is in 410 Walker, Victor is in 412 Walker, and Jared is in 405 Walker. In order for us to best assess how much food we need to buy, please sign up and pay by noon on Friday, September 8. Directions were communicated in an email from Zack Byko on 8/28/2006. Beginning on Monday, September 18 and for each Monday for the entire fall semester, forecast discussions will be held in the Weather Station Classroom at 12:30 p.m. These discussions will be informal, last about 30 minutes, and will be lead by a Penn State, AccuWeather, or National Weather Service forecaster. Everyone with an interest in weather forecasting is invited! Feel free to drop in on the discussions whenever possible, whether it is on a weekly basis or just once or twice all semester. It is our hope that the experts giving the discussions can teach us a little more about weather forecasting and the audience engage and question the forecast discussion leader. If you have any interest in leading a discussion, please contact me at zmb102@psu.edu. Call for Papers: Tenth Annual High Plains Conference, 4-6 October 2006, Dodge City, Kansas. Abstract deadline is 8 September 2006. For more info visit: http://www.highplains-amsnwa.org/10HPC/10HPC_CallForPapers.html. DEADLINES AND IMPORTANT DATES: Sept. 5 Tues. - Sept. 14 Thurs.—Drop/Add
Period 2007 Student Career Experience Program positions at the Meteorological Development Lab located in Silver Spring, MD. Please visit the following website for details about this COOP opportunity: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/mdl/coop/coop.htm The Chi Epsilon Pi web page has been updated and includes a current roster of members and a new link to the NASA Space Place. This is an article written by a NASA Scientist that describes some of the latest research that NASA is involved in. Penn State Meteorology student and Schreyer Honors scholar, Zachary Lebo, has garnered a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2006-2007. Zachary is one of three students (one an honorable mention) to be recognized with this scholarship from Penn State and among only 323 recipients nationwide for the 2006-2007academic year. The scholarship was created by Congress to honor Sen. Barry M. Goldwater and to promote the study of the sciences, mathematics and engineering. Congratulations Zack! For more information visit: [Barry M. Goldwater Scholar Press Release] [Penn State Live Press Release] Plan Ahead for Meteo 414! I thought I would give you some advanced notice concerning our plans for Meteo 414, Mesoscale Meteorology. By Spring '07 we are planning to schedule the course in a newly renovated room on the first floor of Walker that will have a maximum capacity of 36 students. This spring we were able to accommodate 40 students in the course, but we will not be able to do so in the future. If you were planning to take the course in Spring '07, but could take it in Fall '06, then please do so as there are currently spaces available. We wish to make the course available to each of you who wants to take it, but to ensure that you are able to register for the course, we ask that you plan ahead and take it at the earliest possible time in which there are openings in the class. Sincerely, Professor Shirer Become a student member of the AMS: http://www.ametsoc.org/memb/generalrecruitnew2005.pdf FALL 2006 COURSES
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MATH/CSE 551: Numerical Solutions of Ordinary Differential
Equations (Xiantao Li) 
Now available for students, faculty, staff, and alumni!
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Visit the weekly news ARCHIVES [click here].