Kevin Rennert is the 2008-2009 AMS-UCAR Congressional Science Fellow. During his fellowship year, Kevin will be working with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He recently completed his Ph. D. at the University of Washington in Atmospheric Science. Kevin's doctoral research focused on the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems and permafrost, as well as on the role that extreme weather events play in affecting more slowly varying patterns of temperature and precipitation. His current research uses climate models to understand rapid climate changes of the past and to determine their relevance for today's climate. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Kevin spent 3 years supporting high-energy Physics experiments at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) as a technician and software engineer, and earned a degree in Physics from Grinnell College. He is an avid backpacker and kayaker, and photographer.

Michael C. Morgan 2007-2008 AMS/UCAR Congressional Science Fellow. During his fellowship year, he is working in the office of U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (MD) as a senior legislative fellow. His work in Senator Cardin’s office focuses on energy and environment issues. He is on sabbatical leave from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Michael’s research focuses on the analysis, diagnosis, and predictability of mid-latitude and tropical weather systems. He is chair of the department’s Undergraduate program. Michael has served as a member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) University Relations Committee and UCAR’s Unidata Users Committee. Michael currently serves on the advisory panels for NCAR’s Mesoscale Microscale Meteorology division and UCAR’s high performance computing lab. Michael received his Ph.D. and S.B. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He enjoys competitive weather forecasting, racquetball, and bowling.

2005-2006 Fellow, Paul Higgins, is now a Senior Policy Fellow in the AMS Policy Program where he develops and advances solutions to society’s climate change problems. During his fellowship year, Paul helped develop federal climate policy in the office of Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH). S

2003-2004 Fellow, Wendy Parker is assistant professor of philosophy at Ohio University. Her research focuses primarily on questions in the philosophy of science, particularly questions about the nature and use of computer simulation models. She is also very interested in how science can contribute to, and sometimes obstruct, the development of public policy.

2002-2003 Fellow, Johannes Loschnigg, is currently a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) focusing on climate policy, energy and space issues. Johannes has previously been a Visiting Senior Research Scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, as well as a consultant for the National Academy of Sciences Space Studies Board. Johannes was formerly the Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics on the House of Representatives Committee on Science until early 2007, where he previously served as a Professional Staff Member. During his fellowship, Johannes worked in the office of Senator Joseph Lieberman.

From 1998-2002, Dr. Loschnigg was affiliated with the University of Hawaii, where he initially worked as post-doctoral fellow and later became a visiting researcher, concentrating on coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling of the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the impacts of climate variability on disease and human health. In addition, he has held positions as graduate research and scientific assistant at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the NASA Ames Research Center, the Department of Physics at the University of Freiburg in Germany, and the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Loschnigg holds a B.A. in both Physics and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and both a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

2001-2002 Fellow, Ana Unruh Cohen is the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. She joined the Select Committee staff from the Center for American Progress where she was the Director of Environmental Policy. Prior to her time at American Progress, she was an aide to Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and handled a variety of energy and environmental issues pending before the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee. Dr. Unruh Cohen originally joined Congressman Markey's staff as the 2001-2002 Science and Technology Policy Fellow sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Meteorological Society. She has a B.S. in Chemistry from Trinity University and received her Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. During her fellowship, Ana worked on issues related to energy and environment in the office of Rep Ed Markey (D-7th/MA).