GROUP NEWS

Zebulon Leffler, a third-year graduate student in the TCBL lab, was sponsored to attend the NSF NCAR Radar Technology Community Workshop in Boulder, CO, from March 10 to 12, 2026. He presented his graduate research on internal boundary layer winds during hurricane landfalls at the workshop’s poster session and received positive feedback. He also networked with many NCAR and NOAA radar and hurricane scientists and toured the NSF Research Aviation Facility (RAF), where he explored NCAR’s C-130 aircraft. 

Zebulon Leffler, who recently defended his M.S. thesis on internal boundary layer winds during hurricane landfalls, earned First Place in the Student Oral Presentation Awards at the First Symposium on Tropical Meteorology and Climate at the 2026 AMS Annual Meeting. At the same symposium, Ethan Prunty received an Honorable Mention for his presentation on Hurricane Nicholas’s prelandfall rapid intensification, placing among the top five student presenters.

Two awardees—way to go, TCBLers! 🎉  [UAH NEWS]

Ethan Prunty, a first-year graduate student in the TCBL lab, was invited to participate in the NSF NCAR MMM CELCIUS Summer Visitor Cohort in Boulder, CO, from July 28 to Aug 1, 2025.  He presented his graduate research on TC reformation at the NSF NCAR, UCAR, & UCP Summer Student Research Poster Symposium and received great feedback. Through the support of the CELCIUS program, he established connections with several leading NCAR hurricane scientists and toured the NSF Research Aviation Facility (RAF), where he explored the Gulfstream V research jet.

Zeb Leffler provided tours of the Mobile Alabama X-Band (MAX) radar truck to attendees of the Rocket City Weather Fest on February 10th, 2024. He also assisted with a demonstration of a weather balloon launch at the event, which was recorded by a local news station.

NOAA's Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Unified Forecast System (UFS) delivered a five-day Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop (UIFCW) at Boulder, CO. During the workshop, Xiaomin Chen presented his recently developed modeling framework and its usage in developing boundary layer parameterizations for NOAA's next-generation hurricane forecast model, HAFS,

Dr. Xiaomin Chen served as a co-rapporteur of the subtopic "Internal Influences of TC Intensity Changes" in the WMO's 10th International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (IWTC-10) report. The IWTC, organized every 4 years, is a unique gathering that brings together tropical cyclone researchers and operational specialists including social scientists from all regions affected by TCs. [Report] [Presentation][Recording]

Dr. Xiaomin Chen is the 2022 recipient of the MSU Northern Gulf Institute Research Award, an honor instituted in 2020 to recognize outstanding research accomplishments by NGI staff. The award is presented every two years. NGI is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cooperative institute which conducts research on interconnections among Gulf of Mexico ecosystems and then provides decision makers with scientific findings. [Link]