Two graduate students in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences recently won departmental awards for the best presentations in the 2018 spring and fall semester Graduate Student Seminar Series and presented their research at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences department seminar, held Feb 13.

For the spring 2018 semester, Hedanqiu Bai, a doctoral working with Dr. Courtney Schumacher, won the award for best presentation. Matthew Brown, a doctoral student working with Dr. Christopher Nowotarski, won the award for best presentation for the fall 2018 semester.  

Each spring and fall, the graduate students hold a seminar series that gives students the opportunity to present their research. This provides a venue where graduate students can present their research and are evaluated by the other students in a non-stressful environment. Finally, at the end of each semester, the evaluations of each presenter are compared, and the best presenter receives, in addition to a cash prize, the opportunity to give a talk in front of the department at the beginning of the next calendar year.

Bai presented on “the intricacies of producing accurate diurnal processes over the Amazon in CESM,” she said.  

“Delivering good scientific talks [takes] practice,” she said. “It’s fine to give imperfect talks at the beginning. I didn’t expect that I’d win, especially as a non-native speaker. Winning the seminar, to some extent, not only gives me confidence about my research but also my English expression. In fact, I feel much more comfortable giving talks in front of people in English.”

Brown’s  research focused on the “effect of low-level moisture on outflow and rotation in simulated supercells,” he said.

“Graduate Student Seminar is a valuable opportunity for students to share their work in a low-stakes environment, hone their presentation skills, and receive meaningful feedback from their peers,” he said. “Oftentimes, students might feel nervous about bringing preliminary or unfinished research to their advisors, so graduate seminar serves as a good ‘checkpoint’ to ensure that they are on the right track. Also, graduate seminar gives students the opportunity to share work that they might not otherwise get to present at conferences (i.e., REU experiences, undergrad research, side projects, etc.). For those who win, the chance to give an invited talk is great exposure for them and their research, plus it is a solid resume-builder!”

“We had a number of extremely strong presenters in both the spring and fall graduate seminar series, with fascinating talks spanning dynamics, climate, radiation, and several other aspects of our field,” Brown said. “The scope and quality of these talks really speaks to the strength of our Atmospheric Sciences department here at Texas A&M.”

By Kevin Smalley