Elisa Murillo Accepted into the ASI-FSCA

Elisa Murillo Accepted into the ASI-FSCA

Graduate student Elisa Murillo has been accepted into the Advanced Study Institute – Field Studies of Convection in Argentina. The ASI-FSCA program provides an opportunity for graduate students from the U.S. to participate in an international research and educational experience during the RELAMPAGO (Remote Sensing of Electrification, Lightning, and Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations) field campaign in Cordoba, Argentina. This fall, Murillo will join other researchers in a 21-day program. Student participants will have all travel expenses covered.

This is a great accomplishment, and Murillo is excited to attend. She told us:

“Participating in the ASI-FSCA program affords me the opportunity to accomplish a multitude of professional and personal goals, including international collaboration of students and more senior scientists, studying severe convection, and being able to be mentored by incredibly talented scientists from a diverse background. I am incredibly excited to go! I hope to learn more about field work operations, severe convection in this region, and anything else that I possibly can!”

Murillo will be defending her Master’s thesis at the end of August and plans to transition to Ph.D. work thereafter. Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Murillo told us that her mother is from Puerto Rico and her father is from Honduras. She first attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe, earning her Bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science in just three years. She said that her OU Research Experiences for Undergrads internship really made her fall in love with OU,

“I applied to OU for my undergraduate career but decided to stay in state to finish faster. With that, I always had OU at the back of my mind as a place I would like to end up. I received the OU REU internship for the Summer of 2015, and loved the entire department. My advisor, however, was the greatest factor in my decision to come here, who I actually met during my REU summer.”

Murillo also said that meteorology has always peaked her interest: “I’ve always been interested in pursuing a meteorology career at a young age like many others. However, after living through Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav and their aftermath, my interest was solidified.”

We are glad Elisa chose the School of Meteorology at OU for her continued education, and we wish her luck in Argentina!