National Academies Press: OpenBook

Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services (2004)

Chapter: Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

« Previous: Appendix A: Statement of Task
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×

B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

John T. Snow is the dean of the College of Geosciences at the University of Oklahoma and the director of the Oklahoma Weather Center Programs. Dr. Snow received a B.S.E.E. from Rose Polytechnic Institute in 1968, an M.S.E.E. from Rose Polytechnic Institute in 1969, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1977. His research interests are in dynamics of geophysical columnar vortexes ranging in scale from small dust devils to fire whirls, with a focus on tornadoes; application of laser-Doppler velocimetry to laboratory measurements in experimental fluid mechanics; earth science education at all levels; meteorological measurements and instrumentation, especially surface instruments for weather observations; post-event analyses of tornadoes and tornado-producing thunderstorms; and experimental fluid mechanics as applied to atmospheric problems. He has served on the following National Research Council bodies: the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards Review Committee, the Panel for Assessment of Wind Engineering Issues in the United States, and the Committee on Natural Disasters. Dr. Snow has served in several other advisory capacities, including as chair of the NEXRAD Technical Advisory Committee; ex-officio board member for Weather Decision Technologies, Inc.; chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; member and past chairman of the Board for Oceans and Atmosphere, National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; and commissioner for education and human resources of the American Meteorological Society.

Elizabeth Carter is president of WeatherExtreme, LCC, a consulting company that specializes in atmospheric, environmental, and snow research. WeatherExtreme is a certified contractor with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and is currently working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on establishing a snow-level product

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×

for CalTrans. Previously Dr. Carter was associate professor of mathematics, physics and meteorology at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada. She also was an associate scientist at the Atmospheric Sciences Center at the University of Nevada’s Desert Research Institute. Dr. Carter received her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Nevada.

Dennis L. Christiansen has been a member of the staff of the Texas Transportation Institute for 30 years. He is presently deputy director of the institute and has overall responsibility for research on transportation operations, planning, and economics. The institute is currently undertaking a project to implement intelligent transportation systems to detect weather conditions in rural Texas. Dr. Christiansen has extensive research experience in several areas, including traffic operations, transportation planning, and transit planning. He has specialized in multimodal research with an emphasis on identifying cost-effective approaches to urban mobility concerns. His projects have addressed areas such as roadway operations and design; transportation and energy relationships; the potential role for a system of strategic arterial streets; and urban goods movement. Dr. Christiansen is recognized as an international expert in the planning, design, operation, and evaluation of preferential facilities for high-occupancy vehicles. He is a recipient of the Transportation Research Board’s Fred Burgraff Award. He is presently a member of the Board of Direction for the International Institute of Transportation Engineers. He has also served on the Transportation Research Board’s Committee for the Study of the Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles and currently serves on that board’s Research and Technology Coordinating Committee.

Bradley R. Colman is the Science and Operations Officer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Weather Service (NWS) Seattle–Tacoma Weather Forecast Office in Seattle, Washington, and an associate professor with the University of Washington’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. Colman’s expertise is in operational weather analysis and forecasting, coastal and mountain meteorology, and numerical weather prediction. He has taught extensively within the operational community, particularly through the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET) in Boulder, Colorado. Prior to his current appointment with NOAA/NWS, Dr. Colman was a research meteorologist with NOAA’s Forecast System Laboratory. Dr. Colman has recently co-edited a two-volume Handbook of Weather Cli-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×

mate and Water with Wiley Press. He has served on the Science Steering Team of the U.S. Weather Research Program. Dr. Colman is actively involved with the American Meteorological Society (AMS) where he has previously served as Chief Editor of the Weather and Forecasting journal. He has also served on the AMS Council and Executive Committee, and is currently Commissioner of the Scientific and Technological Activities Commission. He is a Fellow of the AMS. Dr. Colman received his Sc.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Paul J. DeLannoy is the director of natural resource sector services at the Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada. His 30 years of experience in meteorology includes forecasting, teaching, project work, and middle and senior management across all regions of Canada. Mr. DeLannoy is a former manager of the Ottawa Regional Weather Centre of Environment Canada. His specialization for the last eight years has been in the application of meteorology to road and rail transportation. He was on the steering committee for the establishment of the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) Architecture for Canada. He currently is Canada’s representative to and English secretary of the World Road Association’s Technical Committee 3.3 on Winter Maintenance, and he is a member of the Executive of the Standing International Road Weather Commission. He has written and presented widely throughout Canada, the United States, and in other countries on road weather services. Over the last several years he has championed the establishment in Canada of a national integrated open network of road weather information systems jointly funded by Transport Canada and the provinces and territories. Mr. DeLannoy has a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the University of Winnipeg and a graduate certificate in operational meteorology with Transport Canada.

Francis B. Francois (NAE) is a private consultant and retired executive director, of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). His field of interest includes transportation systems in all modes, including the planning, financing, construction, and operation of highways and transit, and the conduct of research on transportation problems. Mr. Francois is particularly interested in intelligent transportation systems, including their technology, planning, management and financing, and related institutional issues. Mr. Francois has also been an elected member of the County Council of Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he was involved in transportation, public works, environmental, and commu-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×

nity development issues. Mr. Francois holds a B.S. in engineering from Iowa State University and a J.D. from George Washington University. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999.

George L. Frederick is the general manager of the wind profiler business unit of Vaisala, Inc., in Boulder, Colorado. He received his M.S. in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Mr. Frederick manages a strategic business unit of Vaisala involved with atmospheric projects that include design, installation, and data processing of atmospheric measurement systems employing both in situ and remote-sensing techniques. He works with government, state, and private industry to better employ remote-sensing technology for enhanced monitoring of atmospheric pollutants, aviation safety, and mesoscale weather forecasting. Mr. Frederick is a fellow and past president (1999-2000) of the American Meteorological Society and a former member of the National Research Council’s Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate.

Frances C. Holt is the chief of the atmospheric research and applications division and director of cooperative research programs at National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). Mrs. Holt received her B.A. in meteorology from New York University and did her graduate work at the University of Wisconsin. At NESDIS she has been a scientist in the Satellite Applications Laboratory, manager of the Satellite Field Services Station in Anchorage, Alaska, chief of the Environmental Products Group, technical adviser and then acting chief of the User Affairs Office, chief of the Physical Science Branch, and chief of the Atmospheric Research and Applications Division. Mrs. Holt has published over a hundred papers on the use of environmental satellite data. She has also participated in or led many domestic and international training workshops and conferences on satellite applications. She is a member of the American Meteorological Society, a charter member of the National Weather Association, and the founding editor of the National Weather Digest. Mrs. Holt is a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and member of numerous program and review boards.

Margaret A. LeMone (NAE) is a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Her primary scientific interests are the structure and dynamics of the atmosphere’s planetary boundary layer and its interaction with the underlying surface and clouds overhead, and the interaction of mesoscale convective with the boundary layer and surface underneath and

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×

with the surrounding atmosphere. Dr. LeMone is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Meteorological Society. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a former member of the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC). She has served on the National Research Council’s BASC Panel on Improving the Effectiveness of U.S. Climate Modeling, and the Special Fields and Interdisciplinary Engineering Peer Committee of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. LeMone received her Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington.

Curt Pape is the Road Weather Information System coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He coordinates activities associated with the installation and implementation of the statewide Road Weather Information System. This role includes developing procedures and training programs, serving as project manager on research projects, and coordinating program activities with field personnel. Mr. Pape represents the department on several state, national, and international committees and has served as the chair of Aurora, an international group engaged in research, development, and implementation of advanced road and weather technology.

Leland Smithson is the Snow and Ice Cooperative Program coordinator for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). He recently retired from the Iowa Department of Transportation, where during his 45-year career he was director of various offices in research, maintenance, planning, and administration. Mr. Smithson has extensive highway maintenance experience and has been active in highway maintenance research, serving on the Board of Directors of the Iowa Highway Research Board. He was a founding member and chairman of the Aurora Consortium, an international group engaged in research, development, and implementation of advanced road and weather technology. Mr. Smithson is currently developing a computer-based training program for an anti-icing, road weather information system for the AASHTO Technical Services Program. He chairs the Research Focus Group for the association’s Highway Subcommittee on Maintenance. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a B.S. degree in civil engineering and an M.S. degree in transportation engineering. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Iowa.

Richard Wagoner is deputy director and program development manager for the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Research Applications Pro-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×

gram. Mr. Wagoner has directed the design and implementation of dozens of weather decision systems around the world, based on advanced science and technology, and has pioneered the system design referred to as Intelligent Weather Systems. He also has been instrumental in diversifying the scope of the Research Application Program’s research and development activities by developing new programs in the areas of intelligent transportation systems, agriculture, and the military. He served with the National Weather Service as deputy chief of the Scientific Services Division in the western region headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, as area manager for Northern California in San Francisco, and as chief of the Operations Division at the headquarters. Most recently he facilitated the design and implementation of three major programs: the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training, the Local Data Analysis and Distribution System, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Weather Research Program. Mr. Wagoner received B.S. and M.S. degrees in meteorology from Texas A&M University. He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.

Staff

Amanda Staudt is a program officer with the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Academies. She received an A.B. in environmental engineering and sciences and a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from Harvard University. Her doctorate research involved developing a global three-dimensional chemical transport model to investigate how long-range transport of continental pollutants affects the chemical composition of the remote tropical Pacific troposphere. Since joining the National Academies in 2001, Dr. Staudt has staffed the National Academies review of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan and the long-standing Climate Research Committee. Dr. Staudt has also worked on studies addressing air quality management in the United States, research priorities for airborne particulate matter, the NARSTO Assessment of the Atmospheric Science on Particulate Matter, and weather forecasting for aviation traffic flow management.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×
Page 167
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×
Page 168
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×
Page 169
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×
Page 170
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×
Page 171
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10893.
×
Page 172
Next: Appendix C: Presentations to the Committee »
Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $41.00 Buy Ebook | $32.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Weather has broad and significant effects on the roadway environment. Snow, rain, fog, ice, freezing rain, and other weather conditions can impair the ability of drivers to operate their vehicles safely, significantly reduce roadway capacity, and dramatically increase travel times. Multiple roadway activities, from roadway maintenance and construction to shipping, transit, and police operations, are directly affected by inclement weather.

Some road weather information is available to users currently, however a disconnect remains between current research and operations, and additional research could yield important safety and economic improvements for roadway users. Meteorology, roadway technology, and vehicle systems have evolved to the point where users could be provided with better road weather information through modern information technologies. The combination of these technologies has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of roadway operations, road capacity, and road safety. Where the Weather Meets the Road provides a roadmap for moving these concepts to reality.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!