Scientific Theme: Advanced Modeling and Observing Systems

Complementary Research: CIRES Fellowships
CIRES Graduate Research Fellows
CIRES has long supported a competitive Graduate Research Fellowship program to (1) attract outstanding students
at the outset of their graduate careers, and (2) enable current students to place a greater emphasis on completing and
publishing their research results. Support ranges from a summer stipend to tuition, stipend and partial health
insurance for one year (12 months). Fellowships are restricted to Ph.D. students advised by a CIRES Fellow or any
prospective or current graduate student who might be advised by a CIRES Fellow. Evaluations by a committee of
CIRES Fellows are based on the candidate‘s University application, accomplishments, and the likelihood of their
contribution to environmental science. Independence, passion for science, and the ability to communicate are also
considered. This year, CIRES awarded fellowships to seven students, five of whom were new recruits, to explore
topics ranging from climate change and the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet to natural carbon storage in
ecosystems and the role of organic haze in the early Earth‘s atmosphere.
Brandon Michael Connelly
From: Macalester College, B.A., Chemistry and History
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
Faculty Sponsor: Margaret Tolbert
Research Area: Uptake of organics by thin sulfuric acid/ammonium sulfate films: The kinetics of
acid-catalyzed secondary organic formation
Scott Gregory
From: Florida Atlantic University, B.S., Ocean Engineering; M.S., Ocean Engineering specializing
in acoustics
Department: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC)
Faculty Sponsor: David Noone
Research Area: Tropical/high-latitude climate linkages with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
signals in Antarctic ice cores
Eileen McKim
From: University of Colorado at Boulder, B.A., Distributed Studies Earth Systems Science; M.A.,
Geography/Climatology
Department: Geography
Faculty Sponsor: Roger Barry
Research Area: Analyses of hydrological processes and interactions with the climate system-with
goals of providing scientific assessment of global change in climate and the environment
Lin Liu
Wuhan University, Hubei, P.R. China, B.S., Geophysics
Department: Physics
Faculty Sponsor: John Wahr
Research Areas: The use of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and its applications
in geophysics and geology; Space Geodesy; and Physics of the Earth’s core
Mark Seefeldt
Florida State University/ University of Wisconsin at Madison, B.S., Meteorology/ M.S.,
Atmospheric Science
Department: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC)
Faculty Sponsor: John Cassano
Research Area: An analysis of the Ross Ice Shelf air stream based on observational and numerical
modeling studies
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