We are seeking highly motivated prospective MS and PhD students to join the Weather, Climate, and Society (WCS) research group in the Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences at Northern Illinois University. Our team is looking for graduate students interested in one or more of the following areas: severe and hazardous weather, medium to long-range forecasting and numerical modeling, AI applications in meteorology and climatology, and the societal impacts of extreme weather. As a member of WCS, you will work closely with faculty, staff, and researchers that have expertise in these areas. The department has a meteorology curriculum that meets NWS requirements, as well as a variety of programming, geographic information systems, geoscience, and societal impacts courses. All WCS students will have the opportunity to publish and present the results of their work at professional conferences. In addition, the department has a long-standing tradition of involving students in projects with private sector partners in the region.
Projects in the Weather, Climate, Society research group include:
1) Improving subseasonal forecasts using numerical modeling and AI
2) Automating object identification in weather radar and orthoimagery data using AI
3) Quantifying societal vulnerability and exposure to hazardous weather
Start date: Fall 2023
Educational requirements: A bachelor’s degree completed at the time of enrollment in geography, meteorology, computer science, or a similar field of study. If applying for a PhD position, a Master’s degree in geography, meteorology, computer science, or similar field of study is required at the time of enrollment.
Desired skills: Experience with (or a strong motivation to learn) Fortran, C++, Python, Matlab, or an equivalent language, numerical weather prediction or climate modeling (e.g., WRF, MPAS, etc.), and/or risk modeling.
Location: Northern Illinois University is located in exurban DeKalb, IL, which is an hour drive from downtown Chicago and three international airports in the region.
Stipend: $18,000 – $24,000 per 9 month contract, depending on experience. An opportunity for additional summer funding is possible depending on availability of projects during this time. Instructional tuition fees are waived for research assistants.
Please contact Alex Haberlie (ahaberlie1@niu.edu) for more information on these graduate student opportunities.