Hollings Scholar Summer Research- Matthew Bray

Hollings Scholar Summer Research- Matthew Bray

Students who receive the prestigious Hollings Scholar title are granted many opportunities over the course of their undergraduate careers. This year’s group of seniors has three Hollings Scholars and over the summer they all completed a research project with various weather research and forecasting entities around the country. Matthew Bray completed his research opportunity in Colorado.
“This summer, I was at the NOAA Earth System Research Lab in Boulder, CO working on evaluating the RAP and HRRR models in the Arctic. I got to work with Arctic researchers and members of the model development team to see how well the models are performing in the region and make suggestions for areas where they could be improved,” he told us.
He was able to work closely with weather forecasting models and learn about what goes on behind the scenes.
“I learned all about the technical side of the RAP and HRRR models, and I got to see first hand how improvements to the models are suggested, made, and tested. I also learned a ton about Arctic meteorology and some of the measurement tools used there,” he said.
Working in the Earth System Research Lab gave Bray the unique perspective he needed to guide his decisions for life after undergraduate education.
“Going into the internship, I was already pretty set on research as my future career, and working this summer only strengthened that plan. I really enjoyed going through the research process from start to finish, including all of the roadblocks and rabbit holes along the way. Talking to so many awesome scientists about their work was super exciting, and I can’t wait until I get to do research full time!” he said.
Bray continues to look toward further research after graduation in May. Congratulations Matthew!