Curriculum Vitae
Nick P. Bassill
Education:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
PhD Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Michael C. Morgan
Expected Spring, 2013
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
M.S. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Completed Summer 2009)
Advisor: Dr. Michael C. Morgan
2009
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
B.A. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
2005
Teaching Experience:
Fall 2009: Lecturer (AOS 100: Weather and Climate)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Instructed two 75 minute classes per week, with original PowerPoint presentations
 Created and proctored exams
 Created homework assignments
 Managed a teaching assistant
 Provided help to students with questions about homework, exams, and course content questions
 Maintained course webpage
 Performed accompanying administrative duties associated with lecturing a 220 student class
Spring 2010: Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor for Dr. Jonathan Martin (AOS 101 – Discussion Section
TA)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Instructed the discussion/lab section for students taking 101
 Created homework assignments, quizzes, and other forms of assessment for the discussion students
 Graded the above assignments and quizzes and reported discussion section grades to the course Professor.
 Provided help to students with questions about lab, homework, exams, and course content questions
 Maintained course webpage
Spring 2010: Teaching Assistant for Dr. Steve Ackerman (AOS 100 – Online/Web TA)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 In this role we implemented the module activities from the previous semester into a large lecture
 Created online homework assignments, and other forms of assessment for the discussion students
 Graded the above assignments and quizzes and reported discussion section grades to the course Professor.
 Provided help to students with questions about lab, homework, exams, and course content questions
Fall 2009: Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor for Dr. Michael Morgan (AOS 101 – Discussion Section TA)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Created a module system with two other TAs whereby we rotated which sections we instructed
 Created homework assignments, quizzes, and other forms of assessment for the discussion students
 Graded the above assignments and quizzes and reported discussion section grades to the course Professor.
 Provided help to students with questions about lab, homework, exams, and course content questions
 Maintained course webpage
Spring 2009: Teaching Assistant (Lecture TA) Andrea Lopez-Lang (AOS 100 – Weather and Climate)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Graded homework assignments
 Proctored exams, and took them to be graded
 Provided help to students with questions about homework, exams, and course content questions
 Occasionally filled-in for the Lecturer during some classes
Spring 2009: Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor for Dr. Jonathan Martin (AOS 101 – Discussion Section
TA)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Instructed the discussion/lab section for students taking 101
 Created homework assignments, quizzes, and other forms of assessment for the discussion students
 Graded the above assignments and quizzes and reported discussion section grades to the course Professor.
 Provided help to students with questions about lab, homework, exams, and course content questions
 Maintained course webpage
Fall 2005: Teaching Assistant/Lab Instructor for Dr. Michael Morgan (AOS 310 – Dynamics I)
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Instructed lab portion of an introductory course in geophysical fluid dynamics
 Assisted with lecture portion of course in designing quizzes and homework assignments
 Personally graded all homework assignments, as well as assisted in grading of the exams
 Provided help to students with questions about lab, homework, exams, and course content questions
 Maintained course webpage
Workshops and Presentations: (Most PowerPoints found http://aurora.aos.wisc.edu/~bassill/ )
January, 2006: WRF-ARW tutorial at NCAR in Boulder, CO
July, 2006: Advanced Study Program Colloquium "The Challenge of Convective Forecasting" at NCAR in
Boulder, CO
Here I presented a poster regarding several ongoing research projects
October, 2006: 13th Cyclone Workshop
Here I presented "WRF model forecast track sensitivities of tropical cyclone Ernesto (2006) to various
parameterizations and grid spacings"
February, 2007: UCLA IPAM: "Small Scale and Extreme Events: The Hurricane"
Here I presented a poster, entitled "WRF model forecast track sensitivities of tropical cyclone
Ernesto (2006) to various parameterizations, and grid spacings, and initial conditions," which gives a
more detailed description of the work I presented at the 13 th Cyclone Workshop.
June, 2008: WRF User's Meeting in Boulder, CO
Here I presented part two of a two part talk entitled “Forecast track and intensity sensitivities of
tropical cyclones to various parameterizations using the WRF-ARW model” - This talk focused
primarily on intensity and structure.
September, 2008: 14th Cyclone Workshop
Here I presented “Tropical Cyclone Forecast Track and Intensity Sensitivities to Various
Parameterizations using the WRF-ARW Model: An Attempt at an Ensemble”
March, 2011: 15th Cyclone Workshop
Here I presented “A Study Of Parameterization Ensembles As They Relate To The North Atlantic Basin”
June, 2012: WRF User's Meeting in Boulder, CO
Here I presented “An Examination Of Interesting Properties Regarding A Physics Ensemble”
July, 2012: Unidata User's Meeting in Boulder, CO
Here I presented a poster titled “Various Studies Involving Physics Ensembles” which broadly
summarized much of my graduate school research.
December, 2012: “Shaping the Development of EarthCube to Enable Advances in Data Assimilation and
Ensemble Prediction” in Boulder, CO
Conferences and Presentations:
April, 2006: 27th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology
Here I presented "The overland reintensification of Tropical Storm Danny (1997)"
April, 2008: 28th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology
Here I presented part one of a two part talk entitled "Forecast track and intensity sensitivities of
tropical cyclones to various parameterizations using the WRF-ARW model" - This talk focused
primarily on track.
August, 2009: 13th Conference on Mesoscale Processes
Here I presented “The Overland Reintensification of Hurricane Danny (1997)”
Awards and Honors:
Awarded funding to attend the Advanced Study Program Colloquium “The Challenge of Convective Forecasting”
Awarded funds to attend the July 2012 Unidata Users’ Meeting.
Awarded funds to attend the upcoming workshop “Shaping the Development of EarthCube to Enable Advances in Data
Assimilation and Ensemble Prediction” where I will serve as a student representative.
2007: WxChallenge graduate forecast winner for Atlantic City, NJ
2009: WxChallenge graduate forecast winner for Cincinnati, OH
Research Experience:
2005-present: Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Conducted original research on several topics, including the overland reintensification of tropical
cyclones as well as various WRF-ARW modeling studies. My Master’s and PhD work largely examines
the effect of parameterization variation on global climate forecasts as well as on tropical cyclone track,
intensity, and genesis. In addition, work has been performed regarding the optimization of
parameterization ensembles.
 Presented research at ten meteorological conferences or workshops
 Extensively used the MM5 and WRF-ARW models in research
 Very familiar with GEMPAK and MATLAB
 Maintained research homepage, which displays the daily ensemble of locally performed model runs
 Related coursework: synoptic/dynamics, numerical weather prediction, moist convective dynamics,
tropical meteorology, paleoclimatology, atmospheric physics, boundary layer meteorology, large-scale
ocean-atmosphere interaction, global climate processes, oceanography
2004-2005: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
 Performed research on the overland reintensification of tropical cyclones
 Gained proficiency with the MM5 numerical weather prediction model
Articles:
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Non-peer reviewed: “The Overland Reintensification of Tropical Storm Danny”, viewable here:
https://ams.confex.com/ams/27Hurricanes/techprogram/paper_108676.htm
Future peer-reviewed (in preparation) with expected submission times:
Mid Spring 2013: “Drawbacks to the Grell-Dévényi Cumulus Parameterization” to the Journal of
Weather and Forecasting
- Late Spring: “Tropical Cyclone Forecast Track And Intensity Sensitivities to Various
Parameterizations Using the WRF-ARW Model” to the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences
- Mid Summer: “A Demonstration of the Predictive Power of a Low-Resolution Physics Ensemble” to
the Journal of Weather and Forecasting
Leadership Experience:
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Elected as faculty liaison for the graduate student body, for which communication is key
Served on a joint graduate student-faculty curriculum committee and presented findings at a faculty
retreat
Elected graduate student representative on faculty search committee, which involved participating in all
interviews, organizing student lunches and meetings with the candidates, and attending example lectures
Relevant Skills (Non-Research Specific):
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Very comfortable with public speaking:
o given ten presentations at conferences
o given three departmental seminars
o routinely speak at department weather watch, both impromptu as well as prepared material
Spoken at a special colloquium related to the Morgan lab Hurricane Katrina experience
Several years of experience interacting with undergraduate students from the perspective of both a
teaching assistant, a lab instructor, and a lecturer
Have created several webpages for both class, research, and personal applications
Comfortable with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint