Atmospheric Sciences Alumni Society - About

This is done through numerous society activities, such as:

• Service Projects
• Student Programming
• Professional Development
• Social Events
• Scholarship Fundraising
• Alumni Placement
• Reunions

The history of the Atmospheric Sciences program at Ohio State dates back to the 1920s when Eugene Van Cleef became the first geographer and meteorologist hired at Ohio State in 1921. He published an article in the Bulletin of the AMS in 1925 entitled “Do Weather Conditions Influence Radio?”.

The modern era of atmospheric sciences at Ohio State started a few decades later in the early 1960s when Dr. Edward (Ned) Taaffee joined the Department of Geography. Ned had been a weather forecaster during World War II, but was a transportation geographer when he came to Ohio State. He became the chair of the geography department. Ned ended up being the first one to teach Synoptic Meteorology when the course was developed in the 1970s until Dr. Jeffrey Rogers was hired. Several more professors were hired during this time, including Dr. John Rayner, who was a climatologist and taught physical geography, climatology courses and a graduate course on dynamic meteorology. Dr. John Arnfield was hired in the early 1970s and taught the microclimatology course until he retired. Both professors also taught the instrumentation course.

An interdisciplinary graduate program in atmospheric sciences was created in the 1970s, allowing for Masters and PhD degree offerings. Dr. Thomas Seliga became the first Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program. Seliga was an electrical engineer and several of his students did work in radar meteorology. Over the years, a number of faculty outside of geography were affiliated with the Atmospheric Sciences interdisciplinary graduate program, including Drs. Lonnie Thompson and Keith Bedford, formerly of Civil Engineering.

Dr. Jay Hobgood was hired in 1987 to help expand the course offerings of the program, making a tremendous positive impact on the department. He and Dr. Jeff Rogers created an undergraduate curriculum that would allow students to get hired by the NWS. They successfully got the B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences approved in the 2010s.

This group represents a variety of experiences and sectors across the field of Meteorology. We are looking forward to leading the Alumni Society!

If you are interested in serving as a voting at-large member of the Atmospheric Sciences Alumni Society Board of Governors for a one or two year term, or would like more information, please contact us at OSUwxASPalumni@osu.edu.

To serve on the board, you need to be an active Alumni Association member.