Bradley F. Smull

Research Associate Professor
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
Box 351640, 618 ATG, Seattle, WA 98195
Phone (206) 685-3767, smull@atmos.washington.edu

Professor Smull, a native of the High Plains of northwest Kansas, received his B.S. in Meteorology with Special Distinction from the University of Oklahoma in 1980. While studying at OU’s School of Meteorology, he was employed by NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL, headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma), and participated in early efforts to validate Doppler radar-based severe weather signatures as a field team leader in NSSL's "Tornado Intercept Project." He also worked part-time as a NOAA Weather Radio announcer at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Oklahoma City.

In 1986, Smull completed his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, where his research centered on the observed structure and internal dynamics of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). These studies relied primarily on ground-based conventional and Doppler radar measurements to elucidate MCS lifecycles and characteristic modes of organization, associated internal circulations, and production of severe weather. Following completion of his Ph.D., Smull joined NOAA's "Weather Research Program" in Boulder, Colorado. There he gained experience in forecast applications and the use of instrumented research aircraft, including the NOAA P-3 “Hurricane Hunter” platforms, to describe mesoconvective phenomena in a wide variety of continental and oceanic settings. In 1988, while still in Boulder, Smull accepted an assignment at NSSL's newly created Mesoscale Research Division, which after 1992 was collocated with the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology (MMM) Division of NCAR. In 1995, Smull’s remote assignment within NSSL shifted to NOAA's Joint Institute for Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) at the University of Washington in Seattle. During this period, the focus of his research evolved to include landfalling cool-season baroclinic storm systems and their interaction with coastal orography.

In 2003, Smull joined the UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences on a full-time basis as a Research Associate Professor. His research interests evolved to include cool-season orographic weather phenomena, including orographic precipitation mechanisms and their representation both observationally and within mesoscale models, under the auspices of the IMPROVE program. Most recently, his work issuing from his participation in the NAMMA and RAINEX field campaigns centers on analysis of the formative and mature stage dynamics, respectively, of tropical cyclones. His work in RAINEX included flights into Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In total, in addition to his considerable experienced with ground-based observing systems, Professor Smull has logged over 950 hours as Doppler radar operator and/or Chief Scientist aboard NOAA's P-3 aircraft. In so doing, he has developed extensive experience in observational field observational program design and execution in a wide variety of hazardous weather environments.

Smull is the recipient of a U.S. Department of Commerce "Bronze Medal" award, NOAA’s “Distinguished Authorship Award” and commendation for Sustained Superior Performance, as well as the AMS Editor's Award.