Congratulations to our Spring and Summer 2020 graduates!

In lieu of a spring commencement ceremony, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department recognized its spring and summer graduates with an online presentation. You can view the recording here.

We asked our graduating students about their plans following graduation and the most important thing they learned at CSU. Here are their responses.

Evie Bangs

“I’m currently working as a chemist for the USDA Wildlife Services.”

“The most important thing I learned at CSU was how to balance multiple research projects while still having fun with the science!”

Jared Brewer

“I have begun my post-doctoral research fellowship at Harvard with Professor Daniel Jacob, albeit remotely.”

“I learned how to write well, how to make a great presentation, and how to create good code. I also learned a lot about cooking. It was a wonderful time!”

Sam Childs

“I am not yet sure where I will end up. At present, I am applying for faculty and postdoctoral positions, with the goal of becoming a professor.”

“The most important thing I learned while at CSU is the importance forming collaborations, both within and outside of my field. I believe the greatest scientific advancements happen when people with expertise across multiple disciplines come together to address pressing research questions.”

Erin Dougherty

“I am going to NCAR for the Advanced Study Program (ASP) postdoctoral fellowship.”

“The most important thing I learned at CSU is the importance of building community. Community with peers for support, community with scientists across a wide variety of disciplines to spur innovative research, and community with the public to engage a wider audience in science.”

Aryeh Drager

“To be determined!”

“In terms of the subject matter, the most important thing I’ve learned at CSU is that the atmosphere does not exist in isolation. Rather, it is influenced by all sorts of internal and external factors that are easy to overlook, such as soil moisture, aerosol particles, ocean temperatures, and even vegetation! More broadly, I have also learned that science is not the product of a lone genius working in isolation, but is instead a nonlinear process that is most successful when many diverse perspectives are able to contribute toward solving the problem at hand.”

Will Lassman

“I am now a postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Lab.”

“The most important thing I learned at CSU is to look around for interesting opportunity, and aggressively pursue the ones that speak to you.”

Jakob Lindaas

“I am moving to Washington D.C. in August to start an American Geosciences Institute/American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional Science Fellowship in the U.S. Congress.”

“The most important thing I learned here at CSU is how teams can collaborate to do really neat things! And the people I’ve met all across CSU and Fort Collins have been wonderful to collaborate with and learn from!”

Peter Marinescu

“I will be starting as a postdoctoral fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) in Fort Collins, working on satellite data assimilation in the HWRF model.”

“I have learned so many important things at CSU, like roads that look flat (like Laporte Avenue) can definitely have significant inclines and that snakes are very present here in Fort Collins (😉), but the most important things I have learned at CSU are the importance of thorough research and that collaboration in research is essential because no one knows everything.”

Jonathan Martinez

“I will be starting a postdoctoral fellowship in late July through the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.”

“That your environment is integral to inspiring ideas.”

Kathryn Moore

“I will be staying at CSU to pursue my Ph.D.”

Yasutaka Murakami

“Continue staying at CSU and pursuing a Ph.D.”

“Always returning back to the basic principles.”

Minnie Park

“TBD. Stay tuned!”

“Good things take time. I have learned that the essential ingredients for a Ph.D. are patience and perseverance.”

Jeremiah Piersante

“After finishing up work at CSU over the summer, I’ll be moving back to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in atmospheric science at SUNY Albany, focusing on hurricanes. It was a very tough decision to make, and while I’m very excited for this new chapter, I’ll miss everyone here at CSU!”

“The most profound thing I’m taking away from CSU is confidence in using coding software to analyze and plot data. This wouldn’t have been possible without examples given to me by my advisors and professors. I am happy to have this skill for the rest of my career.”

Louis Rivoire

“I will move to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to attend Harvard University starting in July and study the age of air and circulation of the stratosphere.”

“That going down ‘rabbit holes’ always proves useful down the line.”

Bryn Ronalds

“I will be taking the Insight Data Science Fellows program this summer, which helps recent Ph.D. graduates transition from academia into industry in the field of data science.”

“My time at CSU taught me to believe in myself and my capabilities.”

Photo collage: From left to right, top to bottom row, Evie Bangs, Jared Brewer, Sam Childs (and his wife Swae), Erin Dougherty, Aryeh Drager, Will Lassman, Jakob Lindaas, Peter Marinescu, Jon Martinez, Kathryn Moore, Yasutaka Murakami, Minnie Park, Jeremiah Piersante, Louis Rivoire and Bryn Ronalds.

Congratulations to all of our graduates from this academic year!

Fall 2019 Graduates

Spring 2020 Graduates

Summer 2020 Graduates