Steve Root, an AMS Member, a Fellow of the AMS, an AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist, and a holder of the AMS Broadcast Seal of Approval (for radio; inactive), is the President and Chief Executive Officer of WeatherBank, Inc., in Edmond, Oklahoma. Mr. Root is also President of the American Weather and Climate Industry Association, a national consortium of America's leading private weather companies. WeatherBank, Inc., a private environmental and weather-forecasting company, has supplied highly localized, site specific weather forecasts for every natural gas and power utility in North America since 1972. During this period, Mr. Root has provided the technical and scientific management of WeatherBank meteorological services that are used by transportation, energy, recreational and aviation companies worldwide. As a graduate student in the late 1970s, Mr. Root pioneered the idea that computerization and technology could be used to create accurate weather forecasts. His research of weather patterns and experimentation with computer hardware design allowed him to fabricate the first hand-held, weather forecasting computer, which was later patented. This computer capability formed the basis for color graphic computer systems now universally used to generate television weather presentations worldwide. As a co-inventor, Mr. Root has also designed and patented state-of-the-art systems that present location-specific weather content wirelessly to end-users. Mr. Root and WeatherBank were employed by the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to provide site-specific weather forecasts for Deer Valley Resort, one of the five Games outdoor venues. For three years prior to the games. Mr. Root worked with personnel from the local National Weather Service office and with the University of Utah's Department of Meteorology, to construct weather forecast capabilities specific to the games. The Salt Lake City 2002 Games achieved the highest forecast accuracy of any American Winter Olympics. Mr. Root has BS and MS degrees in meteorology from the University of Utah. In 2010, the American Meteorological Society recognized Mr. Root with their Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology.