ESSIC Director Antonio Busalacchi, along with a contingent of ESSIC/AOSC faculty members, helped to provide a UMD presence at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) held in Austin, TX.
The 93rd annual meeting, which convened from January 06-10, 2013, was based on a central theme of “Taking Predictions to the Next Level: Expanding Beyond Today’s Weather, Water, and Climate Forecasting and Projections” according to the AMS website.
Each day of the event featured new exhibits, presenters, and advancements in the current way researchers and meteorological scientists predict and interpret weather and climate forecasting.
Noteworthy ESSIC activities at the meeting included the provision of a table during the event career fair, where ESSIC faculty provided information to both prospective undergraduates (wishing to pursue advanced studies in earth-oceanic sciences) and to recent grads, interested in potential career opportunities.
ESSIC also sponsored a “Meet-&-Greet” reception at the conclusion of the meeting’s second day, which welcomed ESSIC staff, partners, and affiliates. The ESSIC-sponsored reception also served as an informal “reunion” of sorts, according to Center Director Antonio Buslacchi, who found it gratifying that students, alumni, and faculty could reconnect at the event.
For Busalcchi himself, the annual AMS event proved to be both busy and productive.
Busalacchi moderated a well attended “Town Hall” discussion at the event entitled “National Climate Assessment: Further Defining Actionable Information.”
The Town Halll meeting was a continuation of of sorts, from an similar discussion at the October 2011 Open Science Conference of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The goal of the AMS Town Hall session was to enlist the help of practitioners to further define actionable climate information and consider how this information can be delivered and used to better manage risk and guide adaptation. Nancy Colleton, President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) served as meeting rapporteur and also prepared a follow-up session report.
The ESSIC Director also attended his first AMS Fellows Selection Committee Meeting and later met with first-year UCAR President, Tom Bogdan, regarding the development of stronger ties and collaboration between ESSIC and NCAR.
Overall, Busalacchi felt the 93rd AMS meeting was successful. Although by his estimation, there was possibly a slight downturn in attendance, perhaps due to travel restrictions for federal employees.
Some of the ESSIC/AOSC faculty and Science staff in attendance included Professor X-L Liang, as well as Drs. H.Berbery, R.Adler, and S.Rudlosky, from ESSIC’s Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites.
