Dr. Maria J. Molina

Assistant Professor

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I am an Assistant Professor within the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland and an Affiliate Faculty with the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). I am also affiliated with the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and am an Adjunct Assistant Professor within the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University. I am Vice-Chair of the AMS STAC Committee on Artificial Intelligence Applications to Environmental Science, serve on the WCRP Scientific Steering Group for the Earth System Modelling and Observations (ESMO) Core Project and the US CLIVAR Predictability, Predictions, and Applications Interface (PPAI) panel, and am a member of the AMS Board on Representation, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Diversity (BRAID).

Dr. Manuel Titos

Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher

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I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Signal Processing, Telematics, and Communications at the University of Granada. My current work focuses on characterizing, quantifying, and assessing source parameters of wildfires and explosive volcanic eruptions for operational simulations of contaminant dispersion. Additionally, I am developing quantitative Probabilistic Volcanic Hazard Assessment (PVHA) methods to evaluate the impact of ash-forming eruptions on air traffic and advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and signal processing (SP) techniques to describe and characterize volcano-seismic signals. My main research interests include AI techniques and computational intelligence for remote sensing signals, particularly in short- and long-term geoextreme hazard assessments and air quality conditions.

Jhayron Steven Perez Carrasquilla

AOSC PhD Candidate

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I’m a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland’s Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Department, originally from Colombia. My research focuses on Earth system dynamics and atmospheric predictability using machine learning and data-driven approaches. I work with Dr. Maria Molina and contribute to the WCRP Fresh Eyes on CMIP initiative and the AMS Committee on AI Applications to Environmental Science. As an ASP Graduate Visitor at US NSF NCAR (2024), I explored how global warming affects the mid-latitude large-scale circulation and surface extremes. My broader interests include extreme weather events, and climate variability and change. I use tools like tree-based models, deep learning, explainable AI, and causal discovery with Earth system models and reanalyses. I hold an engineering degree and a master’s in water resources from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. I enjoy sports, music, movies, and reading in my free time.

Emily Faith Wisinski

AOSC PhD Student, NSF GRFP

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I am a first year Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at The University of Maryland. I received a Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Science and Meteorology with a Mathematics minor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in May 2023. At UAH, I was a Student Specialist at the UAH Earth System Science Center where I collaborated with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Applied Sciences Disasters Program. I worked on creating a 20-year hail and wind damage swath event database that spanned across the Great Plains and Midwest for impact analysis and future applications. For my PhD, I am hoping to explore ENSO dynamics, teleconnections and impacts. There will be an emphasis on investigating how machine learning techniques can aid in answering questions surrounding ENSO. In my free time I enjoy drinking coffee, thrifting, and hiking!

Dean Calhoun

AOSC PhD Student

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I am a first year PhD student and Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. I received my Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in May 2024, with a major in Applied Mathematics and a minor in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. My research interests include extreme weather events, large-scale dynamics and variability of the atmosphere, and social impacts of climate change. I am also interested in making science as equitable, open, and accessible as possible. In my free time, I enjoy biking, photography, and writing poetry.

Kyle J. C. Hall

AOSC PhD Student

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I am a first-year PhD student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at UMD. Previously, I worked as an associate scientist with the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory developing NOAA's Unified Forecast System Mid-range Weather and S2S applications. Prior to that, I served as a Data Engineer and Software Developer for Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate & Society. I received my MA in Climate & Society from Columbia University in 2021, and my BS in Computer Science, Math and Economics from The College of William & Mary in 2018. I am the primary maintainer of XCast, an open-source climate forecasting library. At UMD, I hope to apply AI/ML methods to explore interannual-to-interdecadal coupled earth system dynamics like ENSO, NAO, and PDO and their impacts on global hydroclimate predictability. In my spare time I hike, camp, read and drink coffee!

Jonathan David Starfeldt

AOSC PhD Student

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I am starting the PhD track at the University of Maryland's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science in the fall of 2024. I received my Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the spring of 2024 with a double major in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Data Science with a certificate in Computer Science. My undergraduate thesis, with Greg Tripoli, was on connections between Indian Monsoonal outflow and intensifying African Easterly Waves. During my PhD, I hope to build machine learning tools that give us information about how weather extremes, like urban heat and hurricanes, are being altered in our changing climate. I also want to focus on how we can better communicate this information to communities who need it most. Some of my hobbies are board games, hiking, and playing Spikeball.

Sunny Sharma

AOSC MS Student

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I am a first year Masters student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOSC) at the University of Maryland. I received my BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and my MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My research interests are in applying Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence techniques to improve accuracy and predictability of climate and extreme weather events. In addition to research, I serve as a Teaching Assistant in AOSC. Outside of school, my interests are hiking, listening to music, cooking, and watching basketball!

Luke Wichrowski

AOSC and CS Undergraduate (Co-advisor: Jhayron S. Perez Carrasquilla)

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I am a senior studying Computer Science and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. I am interested in the application of Machine Learning techniques to study weather and climate patterns to further our understandings of our climate and how it is changing. I am hoping to get experience in the intersections of these fields during the coming year as I work on my senior capstone. Outside of the classroom I enjoy hiking, climbing, and playing the piano and guitar.