Biographical Sketch Thomas Hopson Professional Preparation

Biographical Sketch
Thomas Hopson

Professional Preparation:
2005 Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. University of Colorado

2001 Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences M.S. University of Colorado

1999 Civil Engineering, Water Resources Emphasis M.S. University of Colorado

1989 Physics B.A. Rice University

Appointments:

2008-present National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO

Project Scientist I, Research Applications Laboratory

2006 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO

Postdoctoral Fellow, Advanced Study Program

2005 University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

Research Associate, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science

2000–2005 University of Colorado Boulder, CO

Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences

1998-1999 United States Government Harare, Zimbabwe

Fulbright Scholar

1996-1998 U.S. Geological Survey Boulder, CO

Hydrologist, Geomorphology Group, Water Resources Division

Publications:

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  Relevant Publications:
  

Hopson, T.M.: Assessing the ensemble spread-error relationship. Mon. Weath. Rev. (in review).

Dukic, V., Mary Hayden, Tom Hopson, Abudulai Adams-Forgor, Patricia Akweongo, Abraham Hodgson, Benjamin Lamptey, Tom Yoksas, Christine Wiedinmyer, and Raj Pandya: The role of weather variables in meningitis outbreaks in Navrongo, Ghana: a Generalized Additive Modeling Approach. Special Fall Issue of J. of Agric. Biol, and Env. Stats. (in press).

Wu, W., Y. Liu, M. Ge, G. Descobes, T. Warner, D. Yates, T. Hopson, and S. Swerdlin, D. Rostkier-Edelstein, P. Kunin, A. Givati: Statistical Downscaling of CFS Seasonal Predictions for the East Mediterranean with K-nearest neighbors. Climate Dynamics (in review).

Hopson, Thomas M., Peter J. Webster, 2010: A 1–10-Day Ensemble Forecasting Scheme for the Major River Basins of Bangladesh: Forecasting Severe Floods of 2003–07*. J. Hydrometeor, 11, 618–641. doi: 10.1175/2009JHM1006.1

Webster, P.J., J. Jian, T.M. Hopson, C.D. Hoyos, P.A. Agudelo, H-R. Chang, J.A. Curry, R.L. Grossman, T.N. Palmer, and A. R. Subbiah, 2010: Extended-Range Probabilistic Forecasts of Ganges and Brahmaputra Floods in Bangladesh. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 1493–1514. doi: 10.1175/2010BAMS2911.

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  Significant Publications:
  

Seefeldt, M., T. Hopson, T. Warner A characterization of the variation in relative humidity across West Africa during the dry season,. J. Applied Meteor. & Climat. (in review).

Hirpa, F.A., Thomas M. Hopson, Mekonnen Gebremichael, Tom De Groeve, G. Robert Brakenridge, Pedro Restrepo: Use of satellite-based flood signals for real-time river flow forecasting: application to two major rivers in south Asia,. Remote Sensing of the Environment, (in review).

Hopson, T.M.: A Length-scale for the Effects of Sea-level Variation on Upstream Flooding, J. ASCE (in review).

Webster, P. J., T. M. Hopson, C. Hoyos, A. Subbiah, H-. R. Chang, R. Grossman, 2006: A three-tier overlapping prediction scheme: Tools for strategic and tactical decisions in the developing world. In Predictability of Weather and Climate, Ed. T. N. Palmer, Cambridge University Press.

Qualls, R.J. and T.M. Hopson, 1998: Combined Use of Vegetation Density, Friction Velocity, and Solar Elevation to Parameterize the Scalar Roughness for Sensible Heat, J. Atmos. Sci., 55, 108-118.

Synergistic Activities:

As part of the UCAR Google-Meningitis project, developing weather-based tools for the World Health Organization (WHO) to help manage effective vaccine dissemination to WHO districts across the African meningitis belt using Thorpex-Tigge Grand Ensemble forecasts.

As part of the Climate Forecasting Applications for Bangladesh project, developed an automated, operational 1- to 10-day and 1- to 6-month lead-time ensemble flood forecasting systems for the Brahmaputra and Ganges Rivers as the flow into Bangladesh.

Member of the scientific steering committee of the Hydrological Ensemble Prediction Experiment.

Collaborators & Other Affiliations:

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  Collaborators and Co-Editors:
  

Adams-Forgor, Abudulai-Navrongo Health Research Centre; Agudelo, Paula-Georgia Institute of Technology; Akweongo, Patricia-Navrongo Health Research Centre; Brakenridge, G. Robert-CU; Buizza, Roberto-ECMWF; Chang, Hai-Ru-GA Tech; Curry, Judith-GA Tech; De Groeve, Tom-Research Centre of the European Commission; Descombes, Gael-NCAR; Dukic, Vanja-UChicago; Ge, Ming-NCA; Gebremichael, Mekonnen-UConn; Givati, Amir-The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem; Grossman, Robert-Northwest Research Associates; Hayden, Mary-NCAR; Hirpa, Feyera-UConn; Hodgson, Abraham-Navrongo Health Research Centre; Hoytos, Carlos-GA Tech; Jian, Jun-GA Tech; Johnson, Paul, Vassar College; Kunin, Pavel-LSRI; Lamptey, Benjamin-NCAR; Liu, Yubao-NCAR; Molteni, Franco-ECMWF; Palmer, Timothy-European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts; Pandya, Raj-UCAR; Pappenberger, Florian-ECMWF; Qualls, Russell-CU; Rajagopalan, Balaji-CU; Ramasamy, Selvaraju-UNFAO; Restrepo, Pedro-NOAA; Rostkier-Edelstein, Dorita-Israel Institute for Biological Research; Schaake, John-NWS Office of Hydrologic Development; Seefeldt, Mark-Catholic University of Leuven; Shankland, Thomas, Geophysics Group; Subbiah, A.R.-Asian Disaster Preparedness Center; Swerdlin, Scott-NCAR; Warner, Thomas-NCAR; Webster, Peter- GA Tech; Wiedinmyer, Christine-NCAR; Wu, Wanli-NCAR; Yates, David-NCAR; Yoksas, Tom-UCAR; Woods, Andrew-NWS Colorado River Forecasting Center

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  Graduate Advisors and Postdoctoral Sponsors:
  

Russell Qualls (University of Colorado; now, University of Idaho); J. Dungan Smith (U.S.G.S); Peter Webster (Georgia Tech); Andrew Moore (University of Colorado; now Univ. of California, Santa Cruz); Maura Hagan (NCAR)

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  Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate-Scholor Sponsor:
  

Feyera Aga-Hirpa, Insa Thiele-Eich, Pat Hawbecker (total number of graduate students advised = 3; total number of postdoctoral scholars sponsored = 0).