Colloquium: John Hanesiak

Fri. Jan. 31 12:30 PM - Fri. Jan. 31 01:20 PM
Location: 3M69

Dr. John Hanesiak

Professor, University of Manitoba

Department of Environment & Geography, Centre for Earth Observation Science

 

Meteorology: A Blend of Physics and Art?

The foundation of meteorology is physics, however, some careers in this field can have an artistic flavour as well. The main purpose of this presentation is to highlight meteorology as a potential career opportunity to physics students, how physics is used in the field (with examples from thunderstorms and tornadoes), and how your “artistic side” may apply. The atmosphere is a 4-dimensional “fluid” that can be very complex, making it challenging to understand all of the physical phenomena associated with it. This includes large scale dynamics to smaller scale phenomena, like severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. How we use physics to better understand storms and tornadoes will be illustrated. Examples of how your “artistic side” may be used in the field will also be highlighted.

Dr. John Hanesiak is a former graduate of the University of Winnipeg Physics/Math Departments, was a federal government operational meteorologist, and has been a professor focused on atmospheric science at the University of Manitoba since 2001. He is the lead instructor for Canada’s only credited storm chasing course and has been part of many national and international research projects, including severe summer storms, arctic storms, drought and climate-related extremes.