Applied Meteorology at the Prescott Campus
If you want to know what’s hot with the weather these days, you might ask Joffre Lander. As part of the first class to graduate in May from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in applied meteorology Lander, an All-American wrestler and pilot would know.
For starters, there’s all the hot equipment. “Have you been on the roof yet?� he asks, referring to the top story of the campus complex that houses the department of meteorology and its high-tech equipment. There you’ll find a weather radar like those used by real-world aircraft, as well as a weather camera that feeds data to the department’s web site. Downstairs is the weather center where students can practice radar and satellite interpretation from weather radars around the country, and a supercomputer that offers up mesoscale weather models. But for Lander, meteorology is hot because it fits well with his passion for flying. He was recently awarded a pilot’s slot in the Air Force and hopes to fly B1B “Lancers� as a career officer. Having a degree in applied meteorology and the weather expertise it offers is an obvious asset, he said.
Another pilot who agrees that meteorology is hot is Peter Grey. Grey is also set to graduate in May but with a double major in Applied Meteorology and Aeronautical Science. Grey hopes to be a civilian airline pilot and has already been accepted by Embry-Riddle as a flight instructor, having logged 350 Hours. A member of the university’s National Champion Golden Eagles flight team, Grey chose a double major with the idea of job security. “I just thought of what would happen if I couldn’t be a pilot. I’d need a back up plan,� he said. “Meteorology is a good career field. There’s so much we don’t know about weather and how things work together. It’s a very dynamic field of science,� he said.
Although the university only began offering majors in applied meteorology in 2004, the classes, and notably the instructors, come highly recommended by their students. “It’s not like a typical college where there are three hundred people in a class taught by a TA (teaching assistant) and the professor is locked away doing research,� Grey said. Lander adds that Department Chairman Mark Sinclair might even teach one of your first classes. “The instructors really show an interest in you. They’ll definitely give you all the support you need,� Lander said, referring to some hurdles he had to overcome with calculus.
“We are a teaching-centered faculty,� affirms Sinclair, and he stresses the faculty-student relationships that develop at Embry-Riddle are one reason for its reputation as the premier aeronautical university in the nation. “Our doors are always open and we are here to help students succeed,� he said.
Along with faculty colleague Dr. Dorthea Ivanova, Sinclair said applied meteorology is a hot career track for women, noting the current shortage of weather officers in the Air Force as well as excellent opportunities in other areas of meteorology. About a third of the students in applied meteorology at the university are women, he said. A woman going into the field can expect to be “very much in demand,� Ivanova said. However, “anyone going into applied meteorology can look forward to an intriguing field of study and (they) will have fun doing it,� Sinclair said, adding that the university concentrates on the “applied� aspect of the degree, with many hands-on projects and opportunities such as launching and tracking weather balloons, and inter-collegiate forecasting competitions Also, with the growing awareness among the general population of global warming and climate change, Sinclair notes there will be more money available for grants for those going into research. “Global warming will certainly keep meteorology in the public eye,� he said.
It appears the forecast for those with degrees in applied meteorology from Embry-Riddle continues to be “hot�.
To contact Embry-Riddle, call 800-888-3728 or 928-777-6600. You can email the Office of Admissions at pradmit@erau.edu.