Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--During a Wednesday [Jan. 21] public program at Mississippi State, a United States Air Force "hurricane hunter" and university graduate discusses her team's role in forecasting Gulf Coast tropical storms.
The presentation by Capt. Kaitlyn McLaughlin, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, begins at 5 p.m. 216 Hilbun Hall.
McLaughlin's visit is sponsored by the East Mississippi Chapter of the National Weather Association/American Meteorological Society and MSU geosciences department. She will share experiences investigating the strength of September's Hurricane Ike, including the close coordination required between the National Hurricane Center and her WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft.
Ike, rated a Category 4, was the third most destructive hurricane ever to make U.S. landfall.
A 2007 graduate of MSU's distance-learning master's degree program in geosciences, McLaughlin also will explain career opportunities available through the program.
Her experiences should provide a fresh perspective on the meteorological profession, particularly for other women, said Michael Brown, an associate professor in the department.
"While the field is dominated by males, our undergraduate majors are about evenly split between male and female," Brown said. In inviting McLaughlin, "We wanted a great role model for our budding scientists to see."
In addition to meteorology, MSU's geosciences department provides academic training in climatology, geography, geology, and geographic information systems.