9 minute read
An Atmosphere of Change
MTSU alumnus Jared Frazier launches his computational science career abroad to impact weather and climate research across the globe
Jared Frazier’s new address in the small, seaside town of Kühlungsborn, Germany, is about 4,500 miles away from his roots in Spring Hill, Tennessee. It’s his latest stop on an exciting international journey of leading-edge weather and climate research and personal discovery.
The bright young man, a 2022 MTSU graduate, was hired in September 2024 as a computational scientist at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, which is connected with the teaching and research program of the University of Rostock. His employer is one of 96 independent institutes under the umbrella of the Leibniz Association.
As an MTSU undergraduate, Frazier, now 25, excelled in academics and research—while carrying a pocketful of wanderlust. He participated in the Honors in Italy summer program by Honors College Associate Dean Philip Phillips. “This short time abroad really made me feel more confident about moving to a new country,” he said.
For Frazier, this experience was a springboard to the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands during 2022–24, where he completed his master’s in Computational Science with a focus on highperformance numerical method. His area of expertise is in a rapidly evolving and rigorous interdisciplinary field of study, located at the crossroads of computer science and applied mathematics, used to solve complex science and engineering challenges.
Once he obtained his master’s, he applied for jobs in the U.S., but Frazier had a strong interest in gaining work experience abroad, a desire to be a software engineer/programmer with scientific application and to be on the cutting edge of research that had a good impact on humanity. A mile-high order for sure.
He found the perfect fit in neighboring Germany, about six hours away at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), where his co-workers hail from Cuba to Canada and the United States to Ukraine, “providing an international environment full of a really incredible mix of scientific and engineering experts,” he added.
At the institute, Frazier is enjoying a hands-on opportunity to interact with the ICON model—one of the world’s leading high-resolution computer modeling frameworks for weather, climate, and environmental prediction. It provides a nearly homogeneous coverage of the globe—for better, faster predictions of routine and severe weather events, particularly in Europe.
THE CODE TO PREDICTING
The IAP conducts research mainly on the middle atmosphere, particularly on the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (approximate altitude of 50 to 200 kilometers, or 31 to 124 miles), as well as on the dynamic coupling between atmospheric layers at different altitudes from the troposphere—which starts at the Earth’s surface and extends 5 to 9 miles—to the thermosphere. Between these two locations are the stratosphere, or the ozone layer, and on top of it the mesosphere, where meteors burn up.
Claudia Stephan, head of the IAP’s Modeling of Atmospheric Processes Department and Frazier’s supervisor, explains the focus of this area is to research the dramatic changes the terrestrial atmosphere is experiencing.
“The lower atmosphere is warming, while the middle and upper atmosphere is cooling,” she said. “As a result, the upper atmosphere is contracting, which has direct and substantial effects on the lifetime and trajectories of satellites and space debris. There are growing needs for operational weather forecasts of the atmosphere that extend beyond heights of 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles.”
Why is this so important?
“The rapid development of the civil, commercial, and military use of space requires an increasingly precise determination of trajectories for rockets, satellites, space debris, and controlled reentry scenarios,” Stephan said. “Atmospheric layers at altitudes between 50 and 200 km (31 to 124 miles) play a crucial role, but accurately modeling these altitudes is a big challenge. Our department develops a numerical model that can provide relevant products from weather to climate timescales to address these emerging societal needs.”
Frazier is part of the equation.
“Jared plays a key role in making our code sustainable, well-documented, and in optimizing the workflow from simulations to analysis and visualization. His efforts improve the quality of our work and the speed at which we can publish new findings,” Stephan said.
“The code is long and complex, and the amounts of data we produce are enormous. Jared helps managing the code development, finding the optimum settings to minimize computer resources, and designing software for analyzing the data as quickly and as efficiently as possible. With his creative solutions, he supports the entire team of model developers and researchers.”
FRAZIER IS ENJOYING A HANDS-ON OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH THE ICON MODEL—ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING HIGH-RESOLUTION COMPUTER MODELING FRAMEWORKS FOR WEATHER, CLIMATE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PREDICTION.
Frazier said his daily life “consists primarily of talking with scientists at the institute about what their workflows look like regarding downloading, preprocessing, running computer simulations, and postprocessing. Then, I code up software solutions, including usage documentation, that can be used by our institute’s scientists.”
Because of Frazier’s software engineering background and high-performance computing training, his work translates practically into a scenario where previously a scientist might have to wait four or more hours to process data and then visualize it using their scripts, to recently only having to wait about 30 minutes, not to mention the energy savings involved.
THE WORLD AT HIS FINGERTIPS
After graduating from MTSU, where his undergraduate research included studying weather patterns on the red planet as part of the Blue Mars project, Frazier decided to earn his master’s abroad for “essentially two reasons.”
“First, to work in an international environment to broaden my understanding of the scientific community and learn to adapt to unique cultures of different countries. Secondly, I wanted to deepen my software development skills, but with a particular focus on scientific problems,” he said. “My time at the university was good preparation for my work now at IAP. I really ‘discovered’ highperformance computing for myself and became fascinated with the details of how to develop efficient, scientific software.”
Although he didn’t know anyone in Europe, Frazier is flourishing. He became proficient in Dutch and is working on his German language skills.
“Just showing genuine interest in where people are from, picking up phrases or practicing whole languages really made me bond with people I never could have before,” said Frazier, who traveled to Paris for Christmas 2024.
Laura Clippard, MTSU’s undergraduate fellowships and Honors College coordinator, wasn’t surprised about Frazier’s latest venture. She mentored Frazier, who was an MTSU Buchanan Fellow— the University’s most prestigious scholarship for freshmen—when he successfully sought the esteemed Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for undergraduate scientific study.
“He was always a proactive and a motivated student with a keen interest in international research, even as an undergraduate,” she said.
“I am thrilled to see a former MTSU Honors student thriving in such a distinguished scientific organization.”
HIS AREA OF EXPERTISE IS IN A RAPIDLY EVOLVING AND RIGOROUS INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD OF STUDY, LOCATED AT THE CROSSROADS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS.
FREE TIME AND FORECASTING THE FUTURE
Outside Frazier’s work window, he can view the Baltic Sea. “Across from us is Denmark. Life is quiet here,” he said. “I live in a large province called Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, formerly in East Germany. Kühlungsborn has a beautiful view of the sea, a quaint boardwalk, and pier, as well as a smattering of bakeries and shops along the coast and in the town center.”
Away from his office, you’ll likely find Frazier “biking along the coast or just to nearby towns to see what there is to see,” he said. “When I stay in Kühlungsborn, I usually am reading books or listening to German podcasts, with the strong winds and hypnotic crashing of the waves in the background while walking along the coast.”
Some weekends, he visits the University of Rostock library, where the avid reader can obtain copies of free German student magazines to help with learning the language and keeping up with area events. He has also enjoyed the local German Christmas markets.
Reflecting on his time at MTSU, Frazier said, “It prepared me well for the future, to work and learn from international colleagues, since I spent a significant amount of time with Mengliang Zhang,” a former MTSU Chemistry assistant professor.
"Through coursework ranging from artificial intelligence to physical chemistry, I learned how to approach a wide range of scientific problems as well as disseminate one’s findings in a professional manner and was fortunate to co-author several papers. I cannot emphasize enough the excellent quality of the staff and professors in the Honors College. They helped me apply for and win national and international fellowships and properly introduced me to the process of grant writing and application writing at a very competitive level.”
HE WAS ALWAYS A PROACTIVE AND A MOTIVATED STUDENT WITH A KEEN INTEREST IN INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH, EVEN AS AN UNDERGRADUATE.
David Butler, MTSU vice provost for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, said Frazier was an “extraordinary student and ahead of his time” on MTSU’s Blue Mars project. “His innovative research used data to see if a Martian weather model could be created to allow for predictions. As humans land on the red planet, they will need to be aware of Martian dust storms, temperature fluctuations, and other factors that can make life and work on Mars more difficult.”
What’s on the horizon for Frazier?
“It’s hard to say where I see myself. I think I will very likely stay in the domain of climatology/numerical weather prediction,” he said. “Maybe I end up at a U.S. government lab, somewhere in industry, or maybe I stay in Germany for several more years. Time will tell. I’m open to anything.”
One certainty: The sky’s no limit for Frazier’s future trajectory.
