What a Week! On the launch of its first space satellite. Called SNAPPY, it measures solar particles. The story, including the launch, is above.  And, the signs went up on this nationally innovative project.    Between the this first-of-its-kind blending of how doctors, nurses and those in the field of medical technology are educated; the University of Kansas Medical School, and the Kansas School of Osteopathic Medicine, Wichita is becoming quite the center of medical innovation.  And, 40 miles northwest of Wichita -- "The best space museum in the world!" Really. It is pretty impressive when the Administrator of NASA and the astronauts give you that type of endorsement.  The Cosmosphere has always been a plucky, overachieving institution. When they used a loophole to get their Gemini capsule, they spirited it away from Houston -- the second it was legally theirs -- on the back of a flatbed truck borrowed from the local agricultural company.  They spent the ...

Wichita State has an outstanding  engineering department. Once a year they hold an Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day  and this year it is March 12.  This is a national level event. If you have a young lady who might be interested, click the link above for more information. 

[This is an update of a Post that appeared in December, 2024] Investigating the 2011 Joplin Tornado An Outline of the National Disaster Review Board Regardless of whether there is an attempt to fix NOAA through incremental improvement  or whether there is a “divorce” of the NWS from NOAA, neither has much of a chance to be successful without a National Disaster Review Board (NDRB) modeled after the hugely successful National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Last week's independent report on the NWS's failing tornado warning program only confirms this near certainty.  Accountability is not a natural part of the culture inside the Beltway. The NDRB will be an essential step in that direction.  Regardless of our political preferences and affiliations, I believe most of us can agree on the following: Mega-disasters (i.e., July 4 Texas Hill Country flash flood [likely worst since 1886], Los Angeles wildfire, southern Appalachians floods after Helene, Maui Wildfire, etc.)...

I'm pleased to report that Wichita State University has finished cataloging my collection and it is now available for those researchers who wish to use it. You can click here to see what is available. The collection includes my papers, research and other information that I hope the community will find useful. 

In Part III of my series on reforming NOAA and creating a National Disaster Review Board, I mentioned Wichita State University's Innovation Campus. It is an amazing place.  Wichita State is an undiscovered (by many) gem of a university. It has an incredible new  "innovation campus " which extends east from the main campus.  WSU is home to the National Institute for Aviation Research and numerous other scientific and engineering endeavors. Wait until you read about what WSU is going to do for the military .  The WSU Innovation Campus is where I propose to place the National Disaster Review Board. You will find a link to an interview with Andrew Revkin where I explain how the NDRB will work and why it is so desperately needed along with my rationale for proposing WSU. 

A story from the Wichita Business Journa l  that may be of interest. If you are a researcher in the fields of aviation, meteorology or climate, please contact the University for access.

I am delighted to announce that I have donated my meteorological and professional files to Wichita State University.  You can read the details from Wichita State's announcement, here . It is my hope that the data, the journals, and files will be used by future generations to advance atmospheric science and understanding.

The members of the Rotary Club of Wichita were treated to a fascinating presentation pertaining to Wichita Promise, a program created to move people to Wichita (expenses paid!), train you in aviation or health, and give you a guaranteed job interview. It is a successful program that can be of great benefit. Details are here .

Photo: wxguardwind.com As readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of wind power as it currently stands. However, that will change if cheap  storage becomes available and if we find better ways of protecting wind farms from lightning , ice , (ironically) high winds and other forms of extreme weather. The current generation of wind turbines is surprisingly delicate. An expensive helicopter used to de-ice a wind turbine in Canada. There is good news with regard to wind turbines and lightning mitigation. Wichita State University has developed a way to protect the turbines when they are struck. Wichita State researcher Billy Martin works on a Kansas wind turbine Wichita State's system for protecting wind turbines is an outgrowth research done by its National Institute for Aviation Research . After all, a turbine blade is similar to an aircraft wing or an airplane's propeller. I am hopeful all of this will add up to meaningful progress in the field of wind energy s...