OUR STUDENTS When Mary Grace Thibault was in middle school, she built her own weather balloon barometers with mason jars, made her own weather vane and kept a weather journal. Her fascination with weather continued throughout high school. When it came time to select a college with an outstanding climate program, Thibault did her homework. She chose Ohio State’s Atmospheric Sciences Program. “I did a lot of research into the program,” said Thibault. “I looked up the curriculum and discovered how comprehensive it was and visited the Department of Geography to learn more about it. What I learned was that Ohio State’s program offered an excellent introduction to the field of meteorology and climate.” Thibault, now a fourth-year honors student, is a double major in atmospheric sciences and anthropology, a member of the Ohio State Meteorology Club and a weather spotter,
having recently renewed her training with the National Weather Service (NWS) SKYWARN program — a volunteer network of trained severe weather spotters. “I am fascinated with how weather and climate impact people,” Thibault said. Last summer Thibault participated in a Penn State undergraduate research experience program in climate science and was assigned to a field work project in Key Largo, Florida, headed by Florida International University and the South Florida Water Management District. The 10-week project allowed Thibault the opportunity to observe firsthand the effects of sea-level rise on the Everglades with a special focus on peat collapse and carbon sequestration.
This past spring, Thibault completed an independent study with Jim DeGrand, assistant to the state climatologist of Ohio and lecturer in the Department of Geography. She also volunteered with the NWS Pittsburgh office. Thibault traveled to Great Basin National Park as part of the Department of Geography’s work with underground glaciers. “Ohio State’s Atmospheric Sciences Program is really amazing!” said Thibault. “The program is small enough to let you really get to know and work with the faculty. The people who teach in the major are very helpful, and the advisors are accessible. Both the professors and advisors work really hard to help you not just learn, but to use what you have learned.” Thibault’s on track to graduate in spring 2017.
“It was a tremendous experience, and what interested me in particular were the different types of instrumentation.”
The program is small enough to let you really get to know and work with the faculty. The people who teach in the major are very helpful, and the advisors are accessible. — Mary Grace Thibault
geography.osu.edu
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