Daniel Dawson

We are looking for a postdoc to study the effects of climate change on severe convective storms using storm-scale modeling simulations with CM1! Tentative start date of June 1, 2024 (some flexibility). Work with myself and Prof Dan Chavas here at Purdue, in collaboration with Prof Alex Andreson-Frey at U-Washington. To apply, send an email with subject line “Interest in postdoctoral opportunity on severe weather” to both Dan Chavas (dchavas@purdue.edu) and Dan Dawson (dandawson@purdue.edu) with (1) a few sentences about why you are interested in the position, (2) your CV, and (3) a list of names and contact information for three references. A PDF of the full job ad is here.

Welcome!

I am an Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science at Purdue University in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). I am the leader of the STorMLab group (Storm and Tornado Modeling Laboratory). Our group studies the physics and dynamics of severe convective storms and tornadoes from both a numerical modeling and observational perspective. We also investigate ways to use the knowledge gained to improve short-range numerical prediction of severe convective storms and their associated hazards.

Prior to coming to Purdue, I was a Research Scientist at the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) in Norman, OK. CAPS is associated with the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma where I also received my M.S. and Ph.D. During my time in Norman, I also worked as an NRC and NSF Postdoc at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and as a Research Scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Studies.

I collaborate extensively with other colleagues in EAPS, including Drs. Dan Chavas and Robin Tanamachi. Professor Tanamachi, who heads the Weather Radar Research Laboratory and is lead-PI on the recently-acquired XTRRA radar (weather.eaps.purdue.edu/xtrra) is also my wife. Together, we teach EAPS 59100 Severe Storms Field Work, where we introduce students to severe weather forecasting and hands-on collection of data in and around severe storms. We have two wonderful young children, and in our spare time love to travel and chase storms!