REU SITE in EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE AT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Formerly REU Site in Climate Science

Program Overview
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Please visit our new REU Site in Earth System Science at CSU. While we are still moving parts of this site over to the new site, the new site will contain current information about the program and the application materials for 2022.

What is REU?
REU stands for Research Experiences for Undergraduates and is a National Science Foundation sponsored program.

ESMEI offers paid summer undergraduate research internships at Colorado State University in the Department of Atmospheric Science. Interns participate in a 10 week program from late May through early August. This is an exciting research opportunity in beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado. Join world-class atmospheric scientists investigating the science of clouds, climate and climate change, weather, and modeling. During our program interns have the opportunity to attend scientific seminars, visit national scientific laboratories, and participate in a variety of professional development training.

See what our past CMMAP interns and ESMEI interns have done!

Got a question? Contact Melissa Burt, our REU specialist!

What Have Our Past Interns Done?


2019	Photos A Comparison Study of Mei-Yu Front Structure and Impacts on Extreme Precipitation over Taiwan is the title of Jaime Anderson's research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr Michael Bell and Dr. Jennifer DeHart. Jaime Anderson is from Akron, Ohio and attends Ohio University where she is a senior majoring in Meteorology. Jaime enjoys exercising, watching movies and baking. The Meridional Structure of the Effects of Global Warming on Atmospheric Radiative Cooling and Precipitation is the title of Charlotte Connolly's research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr Dave Randall and graduate student Alex Naegele. Charlotte Connolly is from is a senior majoring in Geography. Charlotte enjoys crocheting, vioin and art. She was happy to have the opportunity to conduct and complete a research project this summer. Instrumentation for the Measurement of PANs in Carlsbad Caverns National Park is the title of Elana Cope's research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr Emily Fischer along with Iilana Pollack, Julieta Juncosa Calahorrano and Jakob Lindaas from the Fischer group. Elana is from Cortez, Colorado. She attends Colorado State University and is a senior studying Chemistry with an ACS Concentration. Elana's research interests include climate change, atmospheric chemistry, sustainable energy and air pollution. Her hobbies include drawing & painting, running, hiking, playing music, swimming and reading. Using Machine Learning to Improve Sub-Seasonal Climate Prediction is the title of Richard Garmong's research poster this summer. Richard was mentored by Dr. Russ Schumacher and Becky Bolinger. Richard is a senior attending the University of Georgia. He is an Atmospheric Science / Geography major. Richard calls Marietta, Georgia home and enjoys hiking, photography, video games and cooking. Wildfire-driven changes in the abundance of gas phase pollutants in the city of Boise, ID during summer 2018 is the title of Emily Lill's research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr. Emily Fischer and a number of other graduate students and researchers. Waynesville, Ohio is Emily Lill's home town. She attends The Ohio State University majoring in Atmospheric Sciences with a minor in Earth Sciences and Music. Emily is a Junior. Her hobbies include singing, dancing and flying airplanes. El Niño-Southern Oscillation Teleconnections in a Warming Climate is the title of Brandon Molina's research poster this summer. Brandon was mentored by Dr. Eric Maloney and graduate student Michael Natoli. Brandon Molina is a senior at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor studying Climate / Meteorology. His hometown is New Orleans, Louisiana. Brandon enjoys travel, photography, jigsaw puzzles, model building and is a railfan. Evaluating patterns of Volatile Organic Compounds in Broomfield, Colorado before and after oil and natural gas drilling is the title of Alexandra Ng's research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr. Jeff Collett, Arsineh Hecobian and Yong Zhou. Alexandra attends The Ohio State University. She is an Environmental Engineering major in her junior year. Alexandra is from Katy, Texas. She enjoys beach volleyball, climbing and hiking. Comparison of California Atmospheric River Flood Events in a Current and Future Climate is the title of Erin Sherman's research poster this summer. Erin was mentored by Dr. Kristen Rasmussen and graduate student Erin Dougherty. She is from Denver, Colorado and attends Texas A&M University. She is a junior majoring in Meteorology. Erin's hobbies include baking, reading, hiking and road-tripping. The Human Dimension of Drought Monitoring is the title of Abby Stokes' research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr. Patrick Keys and Tomas Pickering. Abby Stokes hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She attends the University of Notre Dame and is a junior majoring in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, and Anthropology. She loves the outdoors and prefers to spend weekends rock climbing, camping and hiking. She also enjoys playing guitar, yoga and reading. Reevaluation of Tropical Cyclones and Environmental Parameters is the title of Justin Stow's research poster this summer. Justin was mentored by Dr. John Knaff and Chris Slocum. Southbury, Connecticut is Justin Stow's hometown. Justin is a senior at Florida State University majoring in Meteorology and Physical Science. His hobbies include hiking mountain ranges, science fiction reading, engaging in politics, exploring cafés and local shops, listening to electronic dance music, skiing, soccer, bowling and admiring nature.
2018	Photos The Madden-Julian Oscillation moist static energy budget in CMIP5 models is the title of Shannon Bohman's research poster this summer. She was mentored by Dr Charlotte DeMott in Prof Dave Randall's group. Shannon is majoring in Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences and Applied Math & Physics at Stony Brook University. Her research interests include atmospheric and oceanic physics, tropical cyclones and climate modeling. She enjoys painting, drawing, cooking, running and yoga. Monsoons and drought affect all aspects of life, especially agriculture. Emily Fletcher's ESMEI research attempted to answer questions about the monsoon and affects a warming climate may have on it. Her poster, Changes in North American Monsoon: precipitation in a warmer climate may be found here. Emily, a senior at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, has a double major of Meteorology-Climatology and German. Her research interests include climatology in general, severe tropical weather and cloud seeding. She enjoys hiking, reading, cooking and playing with her dog. Samantha Gillette worked with one of the CSU Atmospheric Science chemistry groups looking at how "Arizona Test Dust" acts in a water droplet and ice formation. Her poster, Investigating Ice Nucleation Activity of Arizona Test Dust displays her summer research and conclusions. Samantha calls Portland, Oregon her home. She attends Portland State University and is a senior majoring in Chemistry. Her research interests are anything environmental but especially anthropogenic pollutants and their effects on air quality and climate. Samantha enjoys bicycling, hiking and birdwatching. Ruby Nelson's work this summer focused on the difference between film and jet drop aerosol production and how this controls the amount and size of Ice Nucleating Particles (INP) in Sea Spray Aerosols. Her research poster, The Efficiency of INP Release Through Sea Spray Aerosols from Various Bubble Sizes may be found here. Majoring in Chemistry, Ruby Nelson is a junior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She calls San Anselmo, California home. Ruby's research interests are environmental chemistry, climate research, and chemical characterization. She enjoys reading, hiking, and fitness. Convective storms is a passion of Christiaan Patterson's and her summer research at ESMEI was right up her alley. She researched a hotspot of intense lightning and destructive hail in a mountain range in the Andes called the Sierras de Cordoba. Her research poster, Topographical Influences on a Subtropical South American Mesoscale Convective System is here. Christiaan is from Oklahoma City by way of Los Angeles. She is currently a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma studying meteorology. She already has a BA in Journalism! She is interested in mesoscale meteorology (tornadoes), lightning and climate. Her hobbies include figure skating, learning languages, archery, dance, traveling the world, reading, writing, and photographing storms. Marquin Spann's ESMEI summer research centered on Baengnyeong Island (BYI) located on the western side of the Korean peninsula. Marquin studied and identified pollutants and their sources -- mainly from the China mainland -- from the IMPROVE experiment. His research poster, Source Apportionment of Asian Pollutants at Baengnyeong Island is here. Calling Burlington, NC home, Marquin is a sophomore at North Carolina A&T where he is majoring in Physics. His research interests are aerosol chemistry and physics. Marquin enjoys basketball, jogging, hiking and fishing. Ammonia Measurements From the NSF/NCAR C-130 Research Aircraft Using a TILDAS Spectrometer with Active Passivation During the WE-CAN Field Campaign was the title of Emily Wein's research poster this summer. The NCAR C-130 was used to measure emissions of wildfire smoke from Boise, ID during the summer of 2018. Emily researched how to more accurately measure NH3 from the spectrometer. Emily joined us this summer from Novato, California and is heading to the University of California - Santa Barbara in the fall where she is studying Chemistry. Her research interests are atmospheric chemistry and wildfires. Emily enjoys hiking, biking, running, and geyser gazing. Nighttime heat waves are uncomfortable and known to kill people. Savanna Wolvin's research sought to answer the questions: Can global climate models simulate regional variations in nighttime heat waves; and if not, what processes are being modeled incorrectly? Her research poster, Using Clustering to Evaluate the CESM1 Large Ensemble's Ability to Simulate Regional Variations in Heat Waves may be found here. Majoring in Meteorology where she is a junior, Savanna Wolvin attends St. Cloud State University. Her hometown is Nowthen, Minnesota. Savanna is interested in numerical weather prediction, computer modeling and winter weather. Her hobbies include rock climbing, camping and programming for fun. Caleb Wood's research investigated the strengths of IMERG, Intgrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM, in estimating precipitation across large regions and difficult terrain in the semi-arid Western United States. His poster, An Evaluation of IMERG Orographic Precipitation during the 2017-18 Cool Season may be found here. Caleb Wood is from Tolono, Illinois and is studying Meteorology at Iowa State University where he will be a senior. His research interests include cloud microphysics, precipitation physics, winter weather systems and atmospheric thermodynamics. Caleb enjoys running, reading, and following Chicago Cubs baseball.
2017	Colloquium presentations Photos Comparison of Convective Aggregation in Cloud-Resolving Models is what Alison Banks studied her summer with ESMEI, mentored by Dr. Dave Randall and Alex Naegele.. Alison came from Salisbury University in Maryland with a major in Geography - Atmospheric Science and a minor in Computer Science. Her hometown is Cambridge, Maryland. Her research interests are climate modelling, neural networks, forecasting, and severe weather. In her free time she enjoys fencing, yoga, rading, cooking, programming and listening to podcasts. Alex DesRosiers came to us from the University of Florida where he is majoring in Environmental Engineering. His hometown is Tampa, Florida. Alex's research interests as a senior are tropical cyclones. With Dr. Michael Bell, Alex' summer research was Multi-Doppler Radar Analysis of Hurricane Matthew's Eyewall Replacement Cycle. He enjoys hiking, fishing and music. Isaac Fagerstrom calls Bemidji, Minnesota his hometown. He is a junior in Environmental Science at Hamline University in Minnesota. His research interest is climate change in the Arctic. His research with ESMEI focused on Amazonian Carbon Flux Sensitivity to Soil Depth with Dr. Scott Denning And Ian Baker. He enjoys the outdoor hobbies of rock climbing, kayaking, hiking and camping. Impacts of Aerosols on Deep Convective Storms was Joseph Moody's research focus this summer, working with Dr. Chris Kummerow and Paul Brown. Joe is attending the University of Northern Colorado majoring in Meteorology with a Math minor. Joseph's research interests include atmospheric chemistry and aerosols, and remote sensing. He enjoys hiking, biking, SCA medieval armored weapon fighting and Dungeons & Dragons. Danny Rodriguez joined ESMEI from Colorado College, majoring in Environmental Science. He worked with dr. Emily Fischer in taking A closer look at the abundance of oxygenated VOCs in the Colorado Front Range during spring and summer 2015. His hometown is Great Falls, Virginia. His research interests include atmospheric chemistry, toxicology and clouds. His hobbies are climbing (frozen things), reading, ultimate frisbee and photography. Gabe Rodriguez worked with Dr. Jathar at the CSU Powerhouse Energy Institute this summer. His poster is entitled, Fresh Off the FIRE: A look into the particle density, dynamic shape factor, & refractive index of aerosol particles from wildfire emissions. Gabe calls Highlands Ranch, Colorado his home and attends nearby University of Colorado in Boulder. He is a junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests are climate science and clean energy. Gabe enjoys photography, graphic design and tennis. Jessica Solomon came from Humboldt State University where she was a senior majoring in Environmental Science: Climate and Energy with a minor in Oceanography and Applied Mathematics. She worked with Dr. Eric Maloney and Scott Powell this summer on her ESMEI project, Intensification of Atmospheric Rivers over the Pacific Ocean from Pre-Industrial to a 4xCO2 Climate. Her hometown is Moorpark, California. Her research interests include climate dynamics, ocean and atmosphere interactions, and atmospheric chemistry. She enjoys running, rock climbing, hiking, biking, soccer and drawing. Samantha Zito calls Plainview, New York her hometown. She attends Stony Brook University where she is a senior majoring in Atmospheric Sciences. Her research interests are radar meteorology, remote sensing, and wind energy. Working with Dr. Libby Barnes, she researched Advancing Convective Severe Weather Outlooks into Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Timescales. Sam enjoys sailing, petting dogs, and watching bad movies with good friends! Quantifying Future Health Effects due to Changes in US Wildfire Frequency was Sarah Zelasky's research effort this summer working with Drs. Jeff Pierce and Emily Fischer. Sarah was a senior BSPH Environmental Health Sciences major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is minoring in Music and Math. She is from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her research interest is atmospheric chemistry as it relates to human health by tropospheric pollution or climate change. Sarah enjoys singing in choir, playing violin/piano, rock climbing, power yoga and new adventures.
2016	Colloquium presentations Photos Assessing the Impact of Uncertain Brightness Temperatures on the Goddard Profiling Algorithm, Steven Cavazos, mentored by Dr. Christian Kummerow. Steven attended University of the Incarnate Word with a major in Atmospheric Science. His hometown is McAllen, Texas. Steven's research interests are atmospheric dynamics, remote sensing, modeling and space weather. In his free time he plays bass guitar, enjoys astrophotography, hiking and visiting new coffee shops. Response of Stratospheric Ozone to Sudden Stratospheric Warmings, Rachael Coons, mentored by Dr. Thomas Birner. Rachael is from Latham, New York and was studying Atmospheric Science at the University of Albany. She is interested in Lake Effect precipitation and cold season mid-latitude cyclones. In her spare time she enjoys refereeing and playing lacrosse, camping and reading. Factors that Influence the Growth of Supercells into MCSs after Sunset, Keenan Eure, mentored by Dr. Russ Shumacher and Dr. John Peters. Keenan's hometown is Bethesda, MD. He is a junior Atmospheric and Oceanic Science major at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is interested in Numerical weather prediction, synoptic and mesoscale meteorology. He enjots Football, track/running, skiing, basketball, and watching Netflix. Sensitivity of the Hydrologic Cycle to Surface Flux Enhancement by Convection, Ann Casey Hughes, mentored by Dr. David Randall. Ann attended Wofford College where she studied Applied mathematics and French. Her hometown is Birmingham, Alabama. She is interested in climate change, climate modeling and atmospheric chemistry. Ann enjoys hiking, binge-watching Netflix, meeting new people and exploring new places. Is Wildfire Smoke Going to Ruin Your Blue Sky? An Evaluation of a Wildfire Smoke Forecasting Tool., Maryssa Loehr, mentored by Dr. Emily Fischer and Dr. Jeff Pierce. Maryssa is from Kansas City, Missouri and was a junior Environmental Engineering major at the Missouri University of Science and Technology during her time at ESMEI. Her research interests include chemistry within meteorological systems, cloud processes, and chemistry changes due to lightning. In her free time she enjoys playing violin, sports exercise, painting her nails and spending time with her family. Modeling the Concentration Distribution of Benzene from Flowback using AERMOD, Khalil McMillan, mentored by Dr. Jeffrey Collett. Khalil is from Charlotte North Carolina and was attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) while an intern at ESMEI studying Engineering Physics. His research interests include atmospheric chemistry, material science and mechanical engineering. He enjoys dancing, hiking, traveling and learning languages. Quantifying the Transport of Air into Mesoscale Convective System Updrafts, Rachel Phinney, mentored by Dr. Susan van den Heever. Rachel is from Grand Island, Nebraska. She was a junior studying Meteorology-Climatology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before her internship at ESMEI. Her interests are weather impacts, climate variability, cloud processes and severe weather. She enjoys Husker sports, storm chasing, reading and outdoor activities. Examining the State of the Tropopause During Rossby Wave Breaking Events Using COSMIC, Alexia Prosperi, mentored by Dr. Elizabeth Barnes. Alexia, a Meteorology major at Valparaiso University calls Des Plaines, Illinois her hometown. She is interested in climate dynamics, climate variability, chemistry & climate interactions, and teleconnection patterns. She enjoys soccer, basketball, working out, listening to Beyoncé, Twenty One Pilots and Lil' Wayne. Case Study Analysis of Easterly Wave Formation in the East Pacific, Kevin Zolea, mentored by Dr. Eric Maloney. Kevin is from Sayreville, New Jersey. He came to us as a junior at Kean University where he was studying Earth Science/Geo-Science. His research interests included tropical meteorology, radar meteorology, mesoscale dynamics and severe weather. He enjoys skateboarding, snowboarding, spending time with family and friends and outdoor activities.
2015	Justin looked at intensity trends during a phase that tropical cyclones go through. Rachel researched domestic trash burning in developing countries and how it increases carbonaceous aerosol. Radha looked at the factors leading to strong and unpredictable precipitaion in a global circulation model. Ryan's work focused on precipitation over the tropics in response to increased water vapor. Acetone is a volatile compound in the atmosphere and Makoto researched it's sources. Kyle looked at impacts of "atmospheric rivers" near the coast of southern Alaska. Katie studied Ice Nucleating Particles at a site on the western U.S. coast. Emily compared cloud and aerosol measurements from the OCO-2 and CALIPSO programs. Rachel looked at aerosol size distribution with the RoMANS study done in Rocky Mountain National Park.