Katharine M. Kanak is an American

atmospheric scientist Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study of ...

with noted publications on the dynamics and morphologies of atmospheric

vortices In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...

, including

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es,

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s, misocyclones and landspouts, and dust devils both terrestrial and Martian. Kanak earned a B.S. from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

(OU) in 1987, majoring in

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

and minoring in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. She went to the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

for a M.S. in meteorology, earned in 1990 with the thesis ''Three-Dimensional, Non-Hydrostatic Numerical Simulation of a Developing Tropical Cyclone''. She returned to OU and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1999 with the dissertation ''On the Formation of Vertical Vortices in the Atmosphere''. Kanak is interested in turbulent boundary layer structures and

eddies In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid is in a turbulent flow regime. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid beh ...

generally and is additionally interested in tornadogenesis and cloud physics. She has developed three-dimensional numerical models for both Earth and Mars and collaborated in field research. Kanak was assistant field coordinator for Project VORTEX in 1994-1995 and participated i
STEPS
in 2000 as well a
VORTEX2
in 2009-2010.

References

Living people American meteorologists University of Oklahoma alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Oklahoma faculty Storm chasers Year of birth missing (living people) {{climate-bio-stub

See also

References