I am a Research Professor with an adjunct position in the Forecasting Engine at NORCE Climate, where I am working particularly on weather and climate services for Africa. My primary employment is with the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Leeds.
I am a Meteorologist, with interests in the prediction of high-impact weather in our changing climate. I have led, and participated in, some large projects and field campaigns in the UK, Africa and India. I like to use a range of research tools to solve practical problems, including field measurements, satellite remote sensing, computer models and mathematical theory.
I am particularly interested in weather forecasting, both scientifically and as an operational challenge. I was part-funded by the UK Met Office for 9 years, and I have collaborated closely with national weather services in Africa, notably Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. Weather prediction is a transdisciplinary challenge which requires us to understand social and economic factors in addition to the mathematics, physics and data science needed to make a prediction.
I a leading a new initiative to bring short-term weather predictions to Africa: the FASTA project provides real-time data to smartphones.
