2017

Improved long-range weather forecasting goal of Fulbright Scholar’s work

Dr. Amit Tandon will collaborate with scientists from multiple universities in study of Bay of Bengal monsoons.

UMass Dartmouth Professor Amit Tandon has been awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship for 2017-2018, to study Monsoons over the Indian ocean. The results of this study will have a direct impact on improving multi-week weather forecasting across the globe. Studies like this allow a larger group of scientists to improve the existing weather prediction computer models through a better understanding of the complex communication between the ocean and the atmosphere.

“Globally, we can’t make reliable predictions more than 10 days ahead,” Dr. Tandon said. “Understanding the science of the monsoons is critical to generating the two-week weather predictions. However, these forecasting challenges have been unsolved for at least 100 years. As scientists and engineers, we have to keep trying our best to allow nature to open up her secrets to us.”

Dr. Tandon is leading a team of scientists from the United States on this mission. Since this is such a complex problem, multiple international teams from the UK, France and Australia are also working on improving long-term weather predictions by studying Indian ocean.

He will be conducting this research at India’s top-tiered institution – the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. The project, entitled “Studying the impact of ocean mixing, oceanic fronts and air-sea interaction in the Bay of Bengal for reliable intra-seasonal prediction of South Asian Monsoons,” will include four months of research in India. He will also conduct training with early career Indian scientists at the Indian Institution of Science (IISc) and lead a specialized workshop on monsoons and curriculum development for advanced topics in ocean-atmosphere dynamics.

A Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Affiliate Professor at the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), Dr. Tandon was also a Fulbright Specialist Awardee in 2014.

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UMass Dartmouth, with a $27 million research enterprise, is ranked as a Tier 1 National University by U.S. News & World Report, and was designated a doctoral research university last year.

The Fulbright Scholar Program offers more 500 teaching, research or combination teaching/research awards in more than 125 countries. The program supports U.S. and foreign participants for exchanges in all areas of endeavor, including the sciences, business, academe, public service, government, and the arts. The mission of the Fulbright Scholar program is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.