D4 Hackweek 2024

Dr. Amy McGovern is a Lloyd G. and Joyce Austin Presidential Professor jointly appointed in the School of Meteorology and the School of Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma. Dr McGovern is also the director of the NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography (AI2ES). Her research focuses on developing and applying trustworthy AI and machine learning methods primarily for severe weather phenomena.

Andrea Schumacher is a Project Scientist in the Weather Risks and Decisions in Society research group at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. She works in the interdisciplinary space between atmospheric and social science, and her most recent research focuses on how information use, risk perceptions, and behavioral responses evolve in the days prior to a landfalling hurricane. Previously, she was a Research Associate at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University, where she was the Lead of the Societal Impacts of Weather and Climate Team, tropical cyclone (TC) forecast product developer and satellite liaison. She has a BA in Mathematics/Chemistry and and MS in Atmospheric Science.

Ann Bostrom studies mental models of hazardous processes (how people understand and make decisions about risks) and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to understand risk perceptions, risk communication, and management strategies for environmental and health risks, e.g., from geohazards, extreme weather, and climate change. With Julie Demuth, Bostrom co-leads risk communication research in the NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography (AI2ES), where she also studies how human judgment and decision-making biases affect AI for environmental sciences with Amy McGovern. Bostrom also co-directs the NSF-funded Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub, and is Primary Research Area Chair for Environments and Populations in the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology.

Anthony is leading the eScience Institute's Hackweek-as-a-Service program. He is an advocate for open, inclusive and collaborative science. He has experience teaching GIS and has been the lead organizer for multiple earth-science themed hackweeks. His background is in cryospheric science and remote sensing.

Dr. David John Gagne II is a Machine Learning Scientist II and head of the Machine Integration and Learning for Earth Systems (MILES) group at the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. He has led the development of machine learning systems that enhance understanding and prediction of high impact weather and critical Earth system processes. He received his Ph.D. in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in 2016 and completed an NCAR ASP Postdoctoral Fellowship before assuming his current role. He is a NSF AI2ES AI Institute leader and a NSF LEAP Science and Technology Center member. He is a WMO Nowcasting and Mesoscale Research Working Group member, chaired the American Meteorological Society Artificial Intelligence Committee, and serves as an editor for the AI for the Earth Systems journal, and has led summer schools, short courses, and hackathons.

A computer science PhD candidate at Colorado State University (prev. MS and BS), focusing on machine learning for weather and climate. He is currently a member of the NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography (AI2ES) and is collaborating with the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA). His primary research interests are in neuro-inspired attention, generative diffusion models, and interpretable-by-design algorithms. He was previously interning at NVIDIA and Maxar, developing AI algorithms for atmospheric science applications, and at Boeing as a software engineer.

Machine Learning and Senior Manager, Forecasting Sciences at The Weather Company. He leads a team of scientists and software engineers who use AI and data science in conjunction with meteorological expertise to innovate and reduce to practice methods for creating state-of-the-art weather forecasts that routinely serve over 300 million individuals and 3,500 businesses around the globe, including via the popular Weather Channel and Weather Underground mobile apps. Dr. Williams earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics, M.S. in Applied Mathematics, and M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Colorado and his B.A. (Honors) in Physics from Swarthmore College.

Jonathon is a contractor supporting the Social Science Research Program in the Weather Program Office (WPO). Prior to working for WPO, he was a Director of Research Analytics at Digital Science, as well as a faculty member at the University of Maryland, Southern Illinois University, and George Washington University. Jon’s academic research has focused on the interrelationship between organizational environments and networks of science and innovation.

With a strong foundation in environmental research and technology development applications, my career has been characterized by a dedication to solving complex environmental challenges through the use and development of new technologies. I bring a combination of academic knowledge and strategic leadership to advance sustainable practices within the academic and business sectors. My expertise in geospatial technologies, environmental modeling, and machine learning, backed by significant contributions to projects for agencies like NASA, US-Army, NSF, and the USDA, have provided strong experience on enhancing the integration of ground and satellite data for diverse applications. My research goal and motivation include address the existing data interoperability issues between ground data and remote sensing, and creating valuable sets of information for both academic and practical applications, driving progress in environmental data utilization.

Julie Demuth is a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology (MMM) Lab with the Weather Risks and Decisions in Society (WRaDS) research group. She has been working for more than 15 years on integrating social science research with the meteorological research and practitioner communities. With a hybrid background in atmospheric science and in communication, Julie conducts research on hazardous weather risk communication, risk perceptions, and responses; her work is with both experts, such as weather forecasters, and members of the public. Her work centers on understanding how forecast information, in conjunction with other factors, influence what people think and feel and how they respond. Some of Julie’s current work includes (1) studying how people’s previous weather experiences change the way they perceive future weather risks, (2) analyzing Twitter data to understand people’s evolving risk assessments as hurricane and tornado threats unfold in space and time, (3) exploring people’s perspectives on probabilistic tornado warnings, and (4) identifying NWS forecasters’ interpretations of and needs for deterministic and ensemble guidance from convection-allowing models. Prior to being at NCAR, Julie worked for three years in Washington DC as a Program Officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. Julie received her BS in meteorology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, her MS in atmospheric science from Colorado State University, and her PhD in public communication and technology from Colorado State University.

Maddie Farris is the Program Coordinator for the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE). She graduated from Washington State University with a BA in Strategic Communications and Business Administration. Maddie can help you with any questions, support your events, travel, reimbursements, and any program coordination.

Masha Vernik is a graduate student at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. She studies how local farmers are adapting to climate change and is especially interested in the intersections between seed diversity and climate resilience. She employs qualitative and quantitative methods that include conducting interviews, evaluating survey data, and analyzing satellite imagery. Her learning extends beyond the classroom and into the field as an avid gardener and part-time farmworker. She graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in International Relations.

Dr. Sameer Shah (he / him) is a John C. Garcia Professor and Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation in the School of Environmental & Forest Sciences (SEFS) at the University of Washington. He is also an Affiliate with the UW Center for Studies in Demography in Ecology, Center for Environmental Politics, and Clean Energy Institute. Dr. Shah holds expertise in the human dimensions of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. He aims to understand how systemic marginalization, and climate-related change and disasters interact to create and amplify uneven water, food, and energy insecurities for communities on the frontlines of climate change. In particular, his research develops theoretical, conceptual, and empirical analyses of the equity, justice, and sustainability outcomes of climate adaptation and disaster response at multiple scales. Through research in South/Southeast Asia, the contiguous U.S., and Puerto Rico, he and his collaborators seek to advance interventions that reduce the disproportionately larger climate risks experienced by marginalized groups, and to shape long-term policy strategies that transform the underlying systems that heighten these impacts. At SEFS, Dr. Shah directs the WATERS Research Collaborative (Water, Adaptation & Transformation - Equity, Resilience and Sustainability).

I am faculty member in Sociology, International Studies and Public Policy at the University of Washington. I currently direct the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology and teach demography and society, as well as direct the Sociology Honors program. I also serve as Associate Vice Provost for Research. My research areas include examining demographic dynamics, gender and development, migration, globalization, and environment in many contexts around the globe. Current projects include 1) improving small area population estimates; 2) social change and migration dynamics, 3) climate change, natural disasters, and population change, 4) several projects related to applied research and training, and 5) global studies research.