About
Alison D. Nugent, PhD
Assistant Professor
of Atmospheric Sciences
Photo courtesy of Marena Lin
I am an atmospheric scientist, focusing my research on the following:
(1) how topography impacts the development of clouds and precipitation, and
(2) how aerosols, both large and small, impact the development of clouds and precipitation
My primary interests are linked by a common theme of shallow convection and precipitation development.
My research falls under the category of mountain meteorology, mesoscale meteorolgy, cloud physics, and cloud microphysics.
It has strong implications for short term weather forecasting, long-term climate modeling, but more generally, my research helps us to understand the atmosphere of the world that we live in.
See my abbreviated CV (updated Sept 2021) for
more detail.
Where are we Located?
UH Mānoa Campus is located in an urban multicultural region on the outskirts of Honolulu. We are about 1 mile from Waikiki beach, close to Kapiolani Park, Diamond Head Crater, and Mānoa Falls hiking trail. We are located in the lee of the Ko'olau Mountains on the Island of O'ahu. Most days feature blue skies, puffy white clouds, and temperate weather. Come for a visit! UH Campus is also an Arboretum, with beautiful tropical plants and flowers.
ATMO Dept. (Photo from Fall 2018)
Group Members
Tianqi Zuo, PhD Student
MS Univ. of Hawaii Manoa
Simulating vog on the Big Island of Hawai'i to see how it may impact clouds and precipitation, and extreme precipitation on Taiwan.
Email: tianqi at hawaii.edu
Katie Ackerman, PhD Student
BS Geology & Geophysics at Univ. of Hawaii Manoa
Quantifying the sea-salt aerosol source along the Oahu coastline by observing sea-salt aerosol size distributions with a drone.
Email: klackerm at hawaii.edu
Emma Layton, PhD Student
Email: elayton at hawaii.edu
Former Group Members
Mya Sears, Masters Student
BS Meteorology at Univ. of Oklahoma
Addressing flood vulnerability in Halele‘a (Northern Kauai) from numerous angles including river, rain gauge data, and historical meteorological events to understand past and present flood risk and support the community.
Email: msears8 at hawaii.edu
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Aaron (Chung) Taing, Masters Student
BS UC Berkeley in Chemistry
Observing sea-salt aerosol size distributions: https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-20-0197.1
Email: ctaing at hawaii.edu
Graduated Spring 2020
Kristin Butt, Masters Student
BS US Air Force Academy
Analyzing cloud microphysical measurements from the CSET (Cloud System Evolution in the Trades) field campaign to understand the transition from stratocumulus to cumulus topped boundary layers.
Email: knbutt at hawaii.edu
Graduated Summer 2019
Gavin Shigesato, Masters Student
BS Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
RA working jointly with the Honolulu National Weather Service
Working to understand the orographic impacts on rainfall from Hurricane Lane (2018) using operational radar data.
Website: http://www.shigephoto.co/
Email: gtshige at hawaii.edu
Graduated Summer 2019
David DeCou, Masters Student
BS Valparaiso University
Department TA for ATMO 101 Lab
Working on a kite-based measurement project to observe temperature and humidity fluctuations coming in with the trade-wind flow.
Email: ddecou at hawaii.edu
Graduated Summer 2018