John Mejia, Ph.D., is an associate research professor of Atmospheric Modeling at DRI. He was recently awarded a Mid-Career Advancement Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support his research on climate change impacts to urban communities, including urban heat islands and air pollution.
Ariel Choinard, M.A., started at DRI in February 2023 as the project coordinator for the California-Nevada Adaptation Program (CNAP) and the new Southern Nevada Heat Resiliency Lab. She is working with Tamara Wall, Ph.D., to build connections between scientists, community members, and community organizations to co-produce solutions, adaptations, and resilience to climate hazards.
DRI is leading the way in building regional climate resiliency through the California-Nevada Adaptation Program, which will prepare communities for local-level action to address climate hazards including extreme heat and wildfire smoke, water scarcity, and coastal flooding.
The Peter Wagner Memorial Endowment was established in 1981 by Sue Wagner, his wife and former longtime Nevada legislator and Lt. Governor, family, and friends. We thank Sue Wagner for establishing this endowment in Peter’s memory and their continued support.
On September 26 & 28, DRI held awards and recognition ceremonies at our Reno and Las Vegas campuses to honor eleven scientists and staff members for their achievements. Along with the below awardees, several faculty and staff were recognized for their long-term service to DRI for up to 25 years.
DRI is pleased to announce that the 25th annual Peter B. Wagner Memorial Award for Women in Atmospheric Sciences has been awarded to Andrea Gordon of the University of Oklahoma. An award ceremony commemorating her achievement was held at the DRI campus in Reno on Sep. 21, 2023.
The snow-inducing technique called cloud-seeding has been around for more than 60 years. Although not a panacea for drought-stricken regions, cloud-seeding can increase seasonal precipitation by about 10%. In the Reno area alone, winter cloud-seeding efforts are estimated to add enough water to supply about 40,000 households for a year.
DRI is grateful for the ongoing generous support by the William N. Pennington Foundation for DRI’s cloud seeding projects in Northern Nevada for the 2021 and 2022 winters.
A DRI-led team examined what happens to mountain snowpacks when sunny, midwinter dry spells occur in forests impacted by severe wildfire.
With $5 million from NOAA’s Climate Adaptation Partners initiative, CNAP will focus on preparing communities to address local climate hazards.