We couldn’t let weather get in the way of our annual American Meteorological Society conference in Houston this past week! We walked a little over 30 miles for the duration of our trip, and it was great to be on the move. I am super proud of our student presentations featuring mesoscale analysis, emergency management applications, Kentucky CLIMBS research, as well as the operational learning model, AI innovations, and infrastructure of DSOC. What we are doing at WKU with meteorology and disaster science continues to attract and resonate in positive ways. It was a great opportunity to kick off the 1st Annual Disaster and Emergency Management Symposium for AMS and showcasing our work was well-received and a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, lots of reflection on “how it started vs how it’s going”. Caught up with many WKU alumni, all very successful and taking the torch to move forward. In what all started as a small new speck-on-the-map program in 2008 has now evolved into a strong, thriving alumni base with a vibrant and nationally reputable program that has now evolved into new growth sectors (Disaster Science). Still at AMS, there are many conversations floating around on what’s next, how do we get there, and the challenges to achieve those goals, much of which we have been doing for nearly a decade now at WKU.
Conference takeaways: AI has gone from zero to hero in the blink of an eye. I feel that it dominated the interest and presentation output, especially as some sessions had people waiting in the hall only able to listen in as rooms were filled with standers around the walls. As I preached 4-5 years ago and have been often scoffed at for, hop on or get out of the way because it’s here. AI innovation in the meteorology and disaster enterprise is the wild west hunt for gold, which is exactly why we have built our new DSOC AI Research lab (DSOC AIR) and established a premier partnership with EM1 to foster new faculty and students seeking these skills and opportunities. I am thankful to have met new colleagues and collaborators from other institutions with incredible skills and excitement to start working immediately on new projects.
Final takeaway, I always tell students and prospective students to target programs, not schools. There are excellent programs at R1, R2, and other institutions all around. Program faculty, resources, record of student success, and reputation is what matters. Based on a slew of external feedback, WKU Meteorology and Disaster Science represent those excellent programs. I see it in our students and our alumni, and I sincerely appreciate the feedback from colleagues all around who have tipped their hats our way this week and at other times.
— Dr. Josh Durkee
