Paul Markowski  Understanding severe thunderstorms and devising ways to predict their behavior is what drew me to atmospheric science. And I'm not convinced that you can study a phenomenon rigorously unless you've experienced it firsthand. Thus, my group is heavily involved in field work (driving near tornadoes with automobile-borne instruments, launching balloons while dodging 3-inch-diameter hailstones, and criss-crossing wind-shift lines beneath growing cumulus clouds are among my favorite pastimes). We also use analytical and numerical models to obtain physical interpretations of the observations and suggest possible fruitful avenues for further exploration. More information.

George Young Meteorology is about knowing what the atmosphere does, while dynamics is about understanding why.  The two are linked as one, the weather providing an endless string of fascinating problems and dynamics the tools to solve them.  From this wealth, I choose to study the interaction of mesoscale phenomena with the boundary layer, terrain, and convection.  My tools of choice are observations, models, applied mathematics, and fluid dynamics.  More information.