Russell James

Advisor: Dr. Rosana Ferreira

“I chose her as my advisor because her research area is in Tropical Meteorology and Numerical Modeling. She was my professor in Dynamic Meteorology II, Applied Synoptic Meteorology and Tropical Meteorology. Being enrolled in her previous courses allowed me to recognize specific weather patterns and know when to diagnose changes in the upper-atmospheric flow. A huge benefit from having her as my professor is that I was able to feel confident and retain my passion of meteorology.”

Research project/area

“My thesis is on “Calculate Sinuosity of Landfalling Tropical Tracks in the North Atlantic Basin”, this stem from my original research are concerning tropical cyclone track speed decline in the North Atlantic Basin relating to landfalling hurricanes. My goal is to attempt to correlate the curvature or sinuosity tracks to the teleconnection oscillation patterns, to determine whether or not there is a strong, weak or no connection. Originally I wanted to do the professional internship option, now I am doing the thesis option, but I am also reconsidering the internship report option. My research background is specifically within Meteorology.”

Why did you decide to join the graduate program in this department?

“When I arrived in Spring 2020, I recently graduated from the undergraduate program in Applied Atmospheric Science at ECU. I decided to join the graduate program in this department, because I wanted to continue my experience applying my previous degree to my future thesis of study. I want to mentor students in the Department of Geography, especially the ones that are taking the courses I previously took. I want them to know that they can make it through their program of choice and that I am here to encourage them as well, give them advice and show them not to make the same mistakes I made. The second reason is that I felt I needed a longer transition into the real world. I wanted to go to conferences and academic events and build professional connections.”

A fun fact about yourself OR your hobbies.

“I LOVE WEATHER!!!! I love forecasting and telling people if it will rain/snow/sunny. I feel at my best when I forecast the weather in front of a green screen or during a severe weather outbreak. Another fun fact is that I am into radio airchecks / jingles. I love listening to past stations when radio was in its heyday. The radio jock cuts, personalities, the top of the hour jingles and stopsets; Q, K and Z formatted stations, Classic! That, paired with the old commercials and classic hits, expanded my interest in music to different genres. I also learned how to give a weather report in under 20 seconds.”