Please include details about your educational background and what sparked your interest in atmospheric or related sciences.

Educational background:
BE/ME - Electrical Engineering
MS - Computer Engineering
Certificate in Meteorology - USDA Graduate School

My interest in meteorology and the atmospheric sciences dates back to childhood and in particular, winter storms. My passion really emerged during high school where I had the privilege and opportunity to be part of the Lakeland High School Weather Club. The club started by Jim Witt, my teacher and mentor, stands alone as the first of it's kind in the country (see Weatherwise, circa 1962). During that time we plotted and analyzed surface and upper air weather maps, created forecasts and did radio broadcasts.

What was your first job in the field and how did you end up in the job you are in now?

My first job was in the in the field of engineering, specifically biomedical engineering. I worked at a company that made biomedical instruments including EEGs, and EKGs. I later joined IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, New York where I have been driven by my passion for the research environment and, research and development. I spent the first part of my career at IBM doing more traditional R&D engineering. In particular, the on-disk storage systems and disk drives for computers, mainframes and servers. Storage has become extremely cheap, and it enables a lot of the environmental modeling that we do today. We began the Deep Thunder project and building the business of weather at IBM around 2000. That work includes high performance computing, numerical weather prediction and other environmental modeling as well developing solutions for multiple market sectors and clients.

What opportunities did you pursue that you knew would be beneficial to securing a job in the profession?

Learning new hardware platforms and software environments as well as working with clients to understand weather sensitivities for specific business sectors. These skills are very important for private sector atmospheric scientists and meteorologists.

What other courses/skills beyond the required math and science courses do you think would be the most helpful to individuals wanting a career in your profession?

Software, coding and programming skills are extremely important for individuals working in the field. More recently data science and machine learning skills are becoming more utilized.

What is your typical day on the job like?     

A typical day would include working on the hardware and software systems infrastructure that supports my team. That includes two high-performance computing clusters. Those clusters are used to support our numerical weather prediction and other environmental modeling research and development. I'll also work on research and development for client applications and solutions. On a typical day I may also work with colleagues in other parts of IBM and academia on a number of other projects.

What do you like most about your job? What is the most challenging thing about your job?

My favorite aspect of my work would be the diversity of technologies and projects I work on.

The most challenging aspect would be striking a balance between tasks that need to get done immediately with those that are strategic. For instance, if a server goes down and it’s part of the R&D infrastructure ,it must be addressed immediately; that may require stopping some application development or work related to a client or research proposal,
Does your job allow for a good work/life balance? If not, why? *     Yes, it does. Flexibility and autonomy are high value attributes for me that are supported in my work environment. I am able to set my schedule on a daily and weekly basis.
Over the course of your career what is the most exciting thing that has happened to you?     The evolution of my career from purely engineering to one that integrates almost all of my skills and education while working in the atmospheric and environmental sciences.

Is there anything you wish you had done differently in your career?     

Perhaps recognize sooner the importance of the allied skills, especially software and programming.

The work that is being done both in the AMS BPSM committee as well as the committee on career advancement and enhancement for the Centennial is important in helping AMS members and colleagues to become aware of, understand and integrate allied skills.

What are some ‘must haves’’ on a resume if a person wants to gain employment in your field?    

Some level of familiarity or experience of the target work environment. Internships are important in this regard. For much of the private sector, IT and software skills are a 'must have'. In particular programming and coding are highly valued and a key differentiator.