Mr. John Trostel of Georgia Tech Research Institute

The Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC) was established in 1999 at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) after a task force formed by Georgia's governor recommended creating an organization to coordinate the state's severe weather forecasting, with funding from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the State of Georgia. SSRC is a focal point for severe storm research in Georgia.

This talk will cover a quick history of the SSRC as well as the description and application of several cutting-edge sensing technologies being used at the center. These include the North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array and the GTRI Atmospheric Infrasound Array. Several STEM outreach efforts will also be described.

Biography:

Mr. Trostel received a B.S. in Meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in 1979 and a M.S. in Physics from Clemson University in 1983.  Since 1983, he has been employed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Over his 35 years at GTRI, Mr. Trostel has used and expanded his skills as a physicist, meteorologist and computer hardware and software engineer to support such diverse fields as millimeter wave (MMW) propagation and backscatter, atmospheric and underwater acoustics, computer system and software engineering, and the characterization and detection of severe local storms. He has communicated his research through the publication of over 50 papers and technical reports, 50 conference presentations and papers, 4 published journal articles, and a book chapter on weather radar.

Mr. Trostel was appointed Deputy Director of the Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC) at GTRI in 2006 and has been the Director since 2009. As Director of the SSRC, he has greatly expanded the role and visibility of the SSRC, presented SSRC research at many conferences, and employed numerous undergraduate and high school students. Research by the SSRC includes the areas of lightning detection, the development and characteristics of severe local storms, and innovative methods of detecting, identifying, and tracking storms.