Embedded Files
Merten Hall 1202, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
April 10, 2026
8:30-9:00: Breakfast and Welcoming remarks
9:00-10:00: Oral Session I
Yu-Hung Chang, University of Maryland: “Physical Mechanisms Governing Orographically-Locked Diurnal Convection and its Future Projections over Complex Topography in Taiwan”
Emily Wisinski, University of Maryland: “What's in the latent space? Exploring ENSO Diversity within a beta-Variational Autoencoder”
Pratik Shukla, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: “Forecasting ENSO up to 12 Months Ahead with a Physics-Guided Deep Learning Framework”
Jakub Stanczak, George Mason University: “Modeling of the Madden-Julian Oscillation Propagation and Extratropical Teleconnections in Hybrid and Dynamical Subseasonal Forecast Models”
10:00-10:45: Keynote Speaker I: Dr. Milton (Milt) Halem: "Bridging AI with S2S, OSSEs, Digital Twins and Quantum for Next Generation Earth System Science Modeling"
10:45-11:00: Refreshment Break
11:00-12:00: Oral Session II
Alia Wofford, George Mason University: “Climate destabilization via CO₂ drawdown: Using the ROCKE-3D GCM to identify the tipping point to a hard snowball state”
Dean Klunk, Hampton University: “Aerosol Property Effects on Photolysis Rate Calculations For NASAs PolCube CubeSat Polarimeter”
Janani Kandasamy, George Mason University: “Assessing Vineyard Vulnerability to Future Heatwaves Using Different Heat Indices”
Dean Calhoun, University of Maryland: “Human-Centered Evaluation of NWP Temperature Forecasts”
12:00-1:00 : Lunch
1:00-2:00: Poster Session, Merten Hall 1203*
Jeremy Corner, University of Virginia: “Artificial Intelligence Manifests Shortwave Troughs as Important Drivers of Extreme Precipitation”
Molly Robey, Johns Hopkins University: “Using weather stations for education”
Nicolas Neves de Oliveira, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: “Impact of atmospheric conditions on photovoltaic generation: investigating the influence of aerosols on a grid-connected system”
Chetan Gurung, University of Maryland Baltimore County: "Impact of Lower- and Free-Tropospheric Humidity on Shallow to Deep Convective Clouds in the Amazon Basin"
Sharad Pandey, University of Maryland, Baltimore County: “Low level jet and its Dynamics: Model and Observation”
Sheryar Choudhry, George Mason University: “Obtaining Gaussian Monthly Precipitation Data with Applications to VARX Models”
Tehreem Qureshi, George Mason University: “Variability of Compound Climate Extremes during the Last Millennium Revealed by Paleoclimate Models”
Go Sato, George Mason University: “Physical mechanisms of ENSO diversity during the mid-Holocene climate”
Heidi Nsiah, George Mason University: “Diabatic Heating in Jet-Regime Modulation of Northern Hemisphere Storm-tracks.”
Aahelee Sarker, George Mason University: “On the Reliability of Estimating Trend Variance from Autocorrelation”
Ivy Stempkovski, George Mason University: “Supporting Urban Heat Adaptation with Classroom-Based, Community-Engaged Microclimate Modeling”
2:00-3:00: Career Panel: Dr. Milton Halem, Dr. Chaowei Yang, Dr. Stelios Flampouris, Dr. Abdullah Fahad
3:00-3:20: Refreshment Break
3:20-4:05: Keynote Speaker II: Dr. Chaowei (Phil) Yang: "Geospatial Digital Twins: the Future Infrastructure for Geoscience Research and Education"
4:05-5:05: Oral Session III
Austin Reed, George Mason University: “Discerning the Changing Role of Latent Heat Release in the Development of Observed Extratropical Cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific Storm Tracks”
Syed Muhammad Abubakar, George Mason University: “Media – Civil Society Nexus Approach for Improved Climate Journalism in Pakistan”
Shuo Xu, University of Maryland: “Knowledge-guided machine learning: Integrating simulation, remote sensing and in-situ data for large-scale ecosystem monitoring”
Joan Bonilla Pagan, Johns Hopkins University: “Variability in the density driven volume transport of the East Greenland Coastal Current to changes in the salinity of the Polar Water over the Northeast Greenland Shelf”
5:05-5:20: Closing Remarks
Meet Our Keynote Speakers
Meet Our Keynote Speakers
Dr. Milton (Milt) Halem: Dr. Milton Halem is a Research Professor in the UMBC Computer Science and Electrical Engineering department. His main areas of research are computational science, high performance computing, simulation studies and data assimilation with application to space observations of weather and climate, More recently, his research focus has embraced AI, machine learning, quantum annealing, and service oriented computing. where he has taught courses in Service Oriented Computing and mentored more than 15 PhDs for over 20 years. He has over 250 publications and has been the PI on over a dozen grants from Industry and Govt agencies supporting more than 50 graduate assistantships and totaling ~$15M. Dr. Halem served as the founding Director of UMBC’s NSF funded Center for Hybrid Multicore Productivity Research (CHMPR) and today continues to serve as the UMBC Site Associate Director for the ongoing NSF-supported CARTA multi-institutional center that works closely with government and private sector sponsors in the areas of big-data computation, next generation computing and AI software tool development. He was awarded the first Research Faculty Award initiated in 2018. Prior to retiring in 2001, Dr. Halem served in the joint capacity as Assistant Director for Information Sciences and Chief Information Officer for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Halem provided the strategic information science and computational technology focus and oversight across the entire mission critical programs and projects at the Center. He is most noted for his ground-breaking research in simulation studies of space observing systems and for development of four dimensional data assimilation for weather and climate prediction. Over the years, his achievements have earned him numerous awards including the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership, and NASA’s highest award; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1996. Dr. Halem is also a noted screen printmaker of Art from Space.
Dr. Chaowei (Phil) Yang: Chaowei Phil Yang is Professor of GIScience at George Mason University and Founding Director of the NSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, the first geospatial center funded under the National Science Foundation IUCRC program. His research advances spatiotemporal computing, geospatial cyberinfrastructure, and AI-enabled digital twin systems for understanding complex Earth and societal processes. Over a two-decade career, Dr. Yang has led more than $40 million in research projects supported by NSF, NASA, NOAA, and industry partners, producing over 200 publications and several books. His work integrates spatial thinking, temporal dynamics, and high-performance computing to enable large-scale analysis of environmental systems, including conflict, disasters, and public health. Dr. Yang’s contributions have been recognized by federal agencies and international scientific communities. Through leadership in interdisciplinary research and collaboration, he continues to shape the emerging field of spatiotemporal data science and its applications in geosciences.
Dr. Chaowei (Phil) Yang: Chaowei Phil Yang is Professor of GIScience at George Mason University and Founding Director of the NSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, the first geospatial center funded under the National Science Foundation IUCRC program. His research advances spatiotemporal computing, geospatial cyberinfrastructure, and AI-enabled digital twin systems for understanding complex Earth and societal processes. Over a two-decade career, Dr. Yang has led more than $40 million in research projects supported by NSF, NASA, NOAA, and industry partners, producing over 200 publications and several books. His work integrates spatial thinking, temporal dynamics, and high-performance computing to enable large-scale analysis of environmental systems, including conflict, disasters, and public health. Dr. Yang’s contributions have been recognized by federal agencies and international scientific communities. Through leadership in interdisciplinary research and collaboration, he continues to shape the emerging field of spatiotemporal data science and its applications in geosciences.
Meet Our Career Panelists:
Dr. Abdullah Fahad: Abdullah Al Fahad, Ph.D. is an Earth System Scientist at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at Goddard Space Flight Center. With a decade of experience in climate dynamics, climate change research, and weather-to-climate prediction, Dr. Fahad has led the development of the GEOS-MITgcm coupled ocean-atmosphere model for seasonal-to-decadal climate prediction and developed high-resolution kilometer-scale "Nature Run" configurations for NASA's Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs). Building on this foundation in physical modeling, his current research focuses on hybrid dynamical-AI systems that integrate generative machine learning with physics-based earth system models for S2S-to-Decadal forecasting, including high-resolution reanalysis downscaling, ensemble generation using diffusion models, and Bayesian optimization of physical parameterizations. He has secured five NASA grants (two as PI), authored 13+ peer-reviewed publications, and developed open-source tools including AOESpy and ClimBuntu OS. He earned his Ph.D. in Climate Dynamics from George Mason University, where his research investigated the impact of climate change on large-scale atmospheric circulation.
Dr. Stelios Flampouris: For over 20 years, Dr. Flampouris has been on a mission to decode the complex dance between our atmosphere, oceans, and land. As an operational earth scientist, he uses cutting-edge tools to analyze and predict these interactions, helping develop better observation and forecasting systems. His journey began in Greece, where he was captivated by the world of marine sciences and numerical and ML modeling from the University of the Aegean. This fascination led him to pursue my MSc and PhD at the University of Kiel and the University of Hamburg, respectively, where he focused on the crucial air-sea interface.
Throughout his career, he had the privilege of contributing to groundbreaking research and operational systems at leading institutions like the Hereon Institute, the Naval Research Lab, and NOAA, where he served across various line offices, including NWS, NOS, and OAR. He has also gained valuable experience in the private sector, holding leadership roles at Tomorrow.io, and IMSG.
As global citizen and scientist, one of his driving forces is the desire to make scientific knowledge accessible to everyone. He is a firm believer in open science and data, and actively supports initiatives that break down barriers between academia, government, and industry, with the public private partnerships to be the path forward.
And when the work is done, his happy place is building magnatiles with his toddler and firing up the grill.
2026 Earth Systems, Observations, and Modeling Graduate Symposium Organizing Committee
Aahelee Sarker, GMU, Chair
Austin Reed, GMU
Po Ju Chen, GMU
Katherine Barragan, GMU
Tahmidul Azom Sany, GMU
Jaedyn Williams, GMU
Dr. Natalie Burls, GMU, Faculty Advisor
Dr. Jim Kinter, GMU, Faculty Advisor
We look forward to hosting you on April 10, 2026!
We would like to aknowledge support from:
George Mason University Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences
Chandran J. Shukla Endowed Fellowship
Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies at George Mason University
George Mason University College of Science
George Mason UniversityCenter for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies andDepartment of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth SciencesResearch Hall4400 University DriveFairfax, VA 22030
Department of GMU AOES: aoes.gmu.edu
Department of GMU AOES: aoes.gmu.edu
Google Sites
Report abuse