I graduated in Chemistry (Honors) in 2006 from University of Calcutta, India. I completed my M.Sc. in Atmospheric science in 2008 from University of Calcutta. I have done research in University of Calcutta on the dependence of onset of Indian Summer Monsoon on the amount of rainfall associated with pre monsoon Thunderstorms in Kolkata and on the dependence of intensity and frequency of tropical storms in North Indian Ocean on the onset of Indian Summer Monsoon. I joined UAF in summer 2009 for my PhD in Atmospheric Science. My current research is related to Climatic Variability in Arctic region. I was born and grew up in Kolkata, India. My hobbies are reading fictions, watching movies and playing cricket.

Peter graduated with a B.S. in Meteorology from Valparaiso University in 2005 and an M.S. in Atmospheric Science from UAF in 2007. He is currently a PhD student in the atmospheric science program at UAF working with Dr. Uma Bhatt. His current research focuses on climate predictability and variability in Alaska. Peter grew up in Detroit, Michigan and his many hobbies include: playing music on the cello, piano, and organ, hosting radio programs on KUAC, and going for walks.

Kelcy is an exchange student with the Western Undergraduate exchange program. She comes from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. She is now an undergraduate in physics with focus on atmospheric sciences. She performs research on wind energy for Interior Alaska and the Poker Flat Research range using WRF data.

Ted will be updating his bio soon.

Oceana graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a BS degree in Physics and Astronomy, and the University of Alaska Anchorage with a BS degree in Civil Engineering, and a MS degree in Civil Engineering. She has eight years in research and five years professional engineering work experience. Her professional engineering experience includes work in consulting and government where she did project engineering and design work in water/wastewater, transportation, civil site, and coastal engineering. She holds a PE with the State of Alaska. Her research work experience includes work in extreme statistical analysis, astrophysics, and atomic & molecular physics. She joined UAF Atmospheric Science department as a PhD student in 2005. Her PhD research focuses on estimating wind and wave engineering design parameters for the Chukchi Sea region through analysis of models, observational data, directional wind wave spectra, extreme events, and historical data to estimate future projections. Oceana Francis was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and has been in Alaska for 13 years. She enjoys traveling, motorcycling, scuba diving, hunting, fishing, camping, gaming, watching Star Trek and hanging out with friends.

I was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, and graduated with honors from West Valley High School in 2006. My freshmen year I went to Lake Forest College in Illinois to play Division III hockey and rugby but decided to come back to Fairbanks my sophomore year. I have been in the physics program at UAF since fall 2007 and am graduating May 2010 as an Honors Thesis Scholar. I am the vice president of the Society of Physics Students and vice president and team captain of the Division II UAF Women’s Hockey team. In December 2007 I was hired as a student research assistant working with Dr. Richard Collins in the atmospheric science department and have been working with him and the LIDAR team ever since. My current research is on Mesospheric Inversion Layers and their relationship to planetary wave activity. After graduating I am taking a year off before going to graduate school to pursue a PhD in either space physics, atmospheric science, or a field closely related. My hobbies include hockey, camping, hiking, traveling, school and science.

I was born and raised in Hyderabad (India) where I received bachelor degree in Civil Engineering. I had my master’s degree in Engineering Geosciences from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (2007). Later I worked as research associate in IIT Kanpur for few months during which I worked on remote sensing data analysis to study the effect on dust storms on atmospheric and oceanic parameters over the Arabian Sea. I entered Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) in 2008, where I worked as lecturer teaching Image Processing and ArcGIS. Presently at UAF, I am heading towards my doctoral degree in Atmospheric Sciences and working with Professor Kenneth Sassen. My research work includes satellite and ground-based data analysis studying cloud parameters. I enjoy reading books, music in my leisure time.

Ketsiri Leelasakultum, Ph.D. graduate student, since fall 2010. Email: ketsiri "at" gi.alaska.edu Ketsiri studied environmental sciences in Thailand and graduated with a MS from the Asian Institute of Technology. At UAF, she examines the impact of the use of fuel with reduced sulfur content on the PM2.5 concentrations in Fairbanks and Alaska.

John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Meteorology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott Campus. He interned for the chief meteorologist, Tom Skilling of Chicago’s WGN-TV in the summer of 2008. In the summer of 2009 he worked with Dr. Israel Jirak, Professor of Meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on the orientation of Mesoscale Convective Systems. John is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Atmospheric Sciences and is currently a research assistant under the guidance under Dr. Javier Fochesatto concentrating on micrometeorology and boundary layers in Alaska. John grew up in Kenilworth, Illinois north of Chicago. He is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, an Eagle Scout, and a student member of the American Meteorological Society. John’s interests include: camping, hiking, exploring, and raquetball.

I completed my undergrad studies in Dec 2009 with a B.S. degree in Meteorology from Universidade Federal de Pelotas in Brazil. During this period, I was part of an education/research group that performed many kinds of meteorology-related activities, was an intern at a state forecasting center (CIRAM) and participated of workshops and congresses (national and international). I started my M.S. program at UAF in Jan 2010 and I’m focusing my research on extreme wind events in the arctic region and working with Dr. Xiangdong Zhang at IARC. I was born and raised in the southernmost state of Brazil, which borders Uruguay and Argentina – a beautiful place to live and travel! My major interests besides atmospheric sciences are traveling, dancing, doing Yoga and learning languages (I’m a French literature/poetry lover!).

Kara will be updating her bio soon.

I was born in the north of Vietnam but grew up in the south. I received my B.S. in environmental science at HCM University of Natural Sciences, 2005, and then received my M.S. in the same field at Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, 2008. Now I am doing my PhD degree under the guidance of Prof. Nicole Mölders in Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks. I am performing investigations on the impact of emissions from wildfires, ship traffic and Alaska anthropogenic sources and of long-range transport of pollutants on air quality and deposition of atmospheric contaminants into Alaska coastal regions. When I am not working, I enjoy reading news, cooking or watching movies with my husband.