Contact: Keli Tarp
(405) -366-0451
Cell (405) 203-4839
Keli.Tarp@nssl.noaa.gov

LOCAL STUDENT PARTICIPATES IN
SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM

Rhinebeck High School graduate Cathryn L. Meyer, a senior physics major at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., was one of 10 students selected to participate in a summer research program at the Oklahoma Weather Center in Norman, Okla. that ends Aug. 4.

The program pairs undergraduate students with government and university weather researchers for 10 weeks to conduct research on a variety of topics including severe weather, tornadoes, numerical weather prediction models and climatology. In addition, students prepare and present papers reporting the results of their research. Their experience is supplemented by tours, field trips, and lectures, all designed to provide students the opportunity to judge whether or not they want to pursue a future career in research.

The students' mentors, who are leading researchers in the field of meteorology, are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and University of Oklahoma (OU) organizations that make up the Oklahoma Weather Center, including NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory and Storm Prediction Center and OU's Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms.

Meyer, who is the daughter of Carl and Mary Meyer of Rhinebeck, N.Y., is working with NSSL research meteorologist Harold Brooks to develop a hazard model for tornado occurrence in the United States. She is creating and running a hazard model designed to generate tornado data that will then be analyzed and compared to reality.

"It's an awesome opportunity to be able to work with some of the top scientists in the field of meteorology," Meyer said.

Students apply for participation in the Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms. The 10 participants were chosen from almost 100 applicants in the fields of meteorology, atmospheric science, physics, engineering, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, physical geography and other disciplines.

The aim of the National Science Foundation is to promote and advance scientific and engineering progress in the United States. Projects supported by the national REU program provide opportunities annually for several thousand undergraduate students to participate in active mathematics, science and engineering research experiences.

Information about the following organizations can be found online:
Oklahoma Weather Center 2001 REU program: http://www.caps.ou.edu/CAPS/reu01
National Severe Storms Laboratory: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov
Storm Prediction Center: http://www.spc.noaa.gov
Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms: http://www.caps.ou.edu
Oklahoma Weather Center: http://owc.ou.edu
University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology: http://weather.ou.edu/~som
National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov