NCSA/UIUC Faculty Fellows Seminar and Reception
Professor Donald Wuebbles
Department Head, Atmospheric Sciences
February 9, 2005
Seminar 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Reception 4:00 – 5:00 pm
5602 Beckman Institute
“Using Cyberinfrastructure to Study the Earth’s Climate and Air Quality”
Abstract:
My research centers around understanding the environmental effects of human activities and natural forcings
on climate and on atmospheric chemistry, ranging from the local to the global scale. Current research focuses
on improving the understanding of the effects of human related emissions, e.g., from transportation and
energy systems, and natural phenomena, e.g., from dust storms and from volcanic eruptions, on the climate
and air quality of our planet, with special focus on the U.S. and particularly the Midwest. Studies of the
ozone layer examine the effects of human activities and the effectiveness of international policy. Most of my
research involves analyses of very large datasets, either from the complex numerical models of atmospheric
physics and chemistry we use to study these issues or from satellite and other measurement datasets. The
models are the integrators of our knowledge while the measurements test that understanding. We face a
number of cyberinfrastructure-related issues in this research, ranging from scalability on massively parallel
platforms to data mining and visualization. This talk will be aimed at examining these issues, while also
exposing a few insights into the science. This talk will also describe the extensive help we have gotten from
NCSA in pushing forward our ability to visualize and analyze the large datasets that are integral to our
research.
Biography:
Donald Wuebbles is Head of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois and
Professor in that department as well as in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His
research has emphasized the development and use of mathematical models of the atmosphere and Earth
system to study the chemical and physical processes that determine atmospheric structure. He is the author of
over 300 scientific articles, most of which relate to atmospheric chemistry, with special emphasis on
concerns about ozone, to global climate change as affected by both human activities and natural phenomena,
and to factors affecting biogeochemical cycles. Dr. Wuebbles is an elected member of the International
Ozone Commission He is a Faculty Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
2003-04 Faculty Fellows
2004-05 Faculty Fellows
Kevin Chen-Chuan Chang
Department of Computer Science
Gary Cziko
Department of Educational Psychology
Rex Gaskins
Department of Animal Sciences
David Rivier
Department of Cell and Structural Biology
Sharon Tettegah
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Douglas Walker
Illinois State Water Survey
Benjamin Wandelt
Department of Physics
Don Wuebbles
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Luc Anselin
Department of Agricultural & Consumer Economics
Brian Bailey
Department of Computer Science
Stephen D'Arcy
Department of Finance
Douglas Kibbee
Department of French
Marianne Winslett
Department of Computer Science
Yuanhui Zhang
Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Reception follows seminar in Room 5269 Beckman Institute
This event is open to all interested faculty and staff.
For additional information on Faculty Fellows Program please visit:
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/campusrelations/