Educating the Future Generation of Meteorologists with Dr. Jon Nese
This week Tyler and Dakota are joined by Dr. Jon Nese to discuss secondary education in weather and climate. Dr. Nese is currently the associate head of the Penn State Meteorology program. He obtained his Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate all from Penn State Meteorology. Listen to our discussion about how meteorology programs are changing across the country and what a degree in meteorology can prepare students for. Listen below or on iTunes.
A few highlighted quotes from Dr. Nese:
On dispelling misunderstood concepts:
"Those who do watch, trust the meteorologist. They often watch just to get the weather. When you're on television and you're a weathercaster, there's a great deal of responsibility there to get it right"
"When you're doing a television weathercast, you're essentially ad-libbing. The folks who sit at the desk, who report the news, are reading a teleprompter but you're not. It's challenging to get it right. It takes a lot of training and dedication"
On what a degree in atmospheric science is useful for:
"When folks hear about a meteorology program instantly most people think, 'oh well they forecast the weather' or there's the most common question asked to a student: 'which TV station do you want to work for?'. The percentage of students who go through an atmospheric science program and end up on TV is rather small."
"As a meteorology student, you really need an 'and-one'. What's that special sauce that your bring that brings your skill set to another level?"
"Think about all the skills that your classes and out-of-classes experiences, may have brought to you. The ability to recognize patterns. The ability to take large datasets and extract information from them. The idea of being able to analyze using statistics or writing computer programs."
Trending in the Weatherverse:
Next week:
We're joined by the Director of the National Weather Service, Dr. Louis Uccellini. Tune in for a discussion about the future of the National Weather Service!
