Dr. Steve Ackerman-May 1 Colloquium

Research at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies

The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (UW-Madison) has been engaged in a collaborative partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since its foundation in 1980 by Verner Suomi, the father of satellite meteorology. We share the goals of monitoring the earth environment through remote sensing measurements, maximizing their utilization for weather prediction and gaining long-term climate perspectives. This talk will detail an array of research projects supported through the cooperative agreement, including convection initiation, ozone studies, climate change in the Great Lake region, data assimilation, and research on tropical cyclones. Our work has three mission goals: (1) foster collaborative research between NOAA and UW–Madison in those aspects of atmospheric and earth science that exploits the use of satellite technology;  (2) serve as a center at which scientists and engineers working on problems of mutual interest focus on satellite-related research in atmospheric and earth sciences;   (3) stimulate the training of scientists and engineers in the disciplines comprising the atmospheric and earth sciences.

Dr. Ackerman is a Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the UW-Madison. He became CIMSS director in 1992 and for the last 18 months has also served as the Interim Director of the Space Science and Engineering Center, which houses CIMMS. He is Associate Vice Chancellor for Research covering the physical sciences across campus (since 2012). His current research focuses on cloud observations from weather satellites and studies sea-ice leads in the Arctic. Along with Jon Martin, he is known in WI as one of the “Weather Guys” having appeared monthly on a live call radio and writing a column for a southern WI newspaper.