13th Annual Meteorological Symposium hosts meteorologists from around the country on March 25

The Ohio University Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) will host the 13th Annual Meteorological Symposium on March 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Walter 235.

"We have professionals from all sectors of meteorology — broadcast, private, government, military — including a few in careers that are influenced by meteorology, but not direct meteorology careers like ODOT and Delta airlines," said Ryan Fogt, professor of geography in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Scalia Laboratory for Atmospheric Analysis.

"The event is free and open to the public, and always serves as the highlight of the year — a great learning opportunity for students to see how their degree can be maximized when leaving OHIO," Fogt added.

Madelynn Zarembka, president of the AMS student chapter at OHIO, added, "Our Annual Meteorology Symposium is a way for students, even if they are not a meteorology major, to learn more about possible career paths they may be interested in. Since we have a few professionals whose careers are not direct meteorology careers, this will expand our audience to other majors, and not only students, but the community as well."

Meteorological Symposium speakers

• Erik Heden is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morehead City, NC, which covers eastern North Carolina, including the Outer Banks.
• Ryan Wichman has been the morning meteorologist at WTOL 11 in Toledo, Ohio, since 2011, following a first on-air job in Quincy, Illinois. 
• Jeff Shull has been a program manager for Science Systems and Applications Inc. since 2013, having previously served in several roles with the U.S. Air Force
• Luke Walker has been Survey Operations Manager at the Ohio Department of Transportation since 2018.
• Aaron Kennedy is an associate professor at the University of North Dakota Department of Atmospheric Sciences and recently designed a snowflake imager.
• Warren Weston is currently Lead Meteorologist for Delta Air Lines and helps oversee a team of 27 meteorologists in the Operations Control Center at their headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Aaron Piña is a National Program lead for Atmospheric Sciences and Fire Weather at the U.S. Forest Service.

See speaker biographies and abstracts on the Symposium web page.