Additional Event Information & Acknowledgement of Industry Sponsor(s):
Dr. Houser is a faculty member in the Department of Geography at Ohio University in Athens. Shereceived a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from Penn State University in 2004, a Master of Science degree in meteorology in 2008 and a Ph.D in meteorology in 2013, both from the University of Oklahoma where she studied under the mentorship of world renowned severe weather expert Dr. Howard Bluestein.
Dr. Houser specializes in the analysis of tornadoes and the supercell thunderstorms that commonly produce them by using state of the art mobile radar observations. Much of her research has been dedicated to analyzing the spatio-temporal evolution of the rotation that forms tornadoes, seeking to answer the question of how this rotation evolves over both time and space. Additionally, Dr. Houser studies the interaction of tornadoes with the ground beneath, addressing the problem of how topography and land cover impact tornado intensity and path; and she was recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to continue this work. She has authored or co-authored 10 peer reviewed journal articles related to tornadoes and supercells, most of which have been published by the American Meteorological Society.
Dr. Houser was captivated by tornadoes at a very early age and pursued her dream of studying these phenomena. She began chasing tornadoes in 2003 as a junior at Penn State University. She has participated in two major storm chasing field projects including the Rotation of Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Experiment (ROTATE) in 2003 and 2004 and the National Science Foundation funded Vortex 2 field project in 2009 and 2010, and chased storms every season from 2003-2013. Since joining the faculty at Ohio in 2013, she successfully developed a student storm chasing experience where participants receive 2 college credits and spend one week in May on the road targeting severe storms and tornadoes.
Dr. Houser teaches a wide range of classes at the university including physical geography, intro to meteorology, large-scale weather systems and processes, small-scale weather phenomena and processes, radar meteorology, and a seminar in supercells and tornadoes. She was awarded the Jeanette Graselli Brown Faculty Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences, and is currently a finalist for the prestigious University Professor award.
Sponsors: Clinton County Airport Pilots and Friends Association and Great Plains Enterprises, LLC
Food will be available from 8 AM until 12 noon at small cost.
