It took Tana Villafana some time to figure out that she wanted to be a chemist. She started out hoping to be a writer and a musician. But as things worked out, she got to combine her love of the humanities with her love of electromagnetism.
Ph.D. Research Assistant: employed by a university to conduct research while seeking to earn a doctorate degree. They are typically responsible to a principal investigator.
F. Joel Fodrie is a fisheries ecologist at the UNC Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Science. He grew up fishing, shrimping, surfing, knee boarding, and goofing around a lot, but he didn’t think you could have a career in the ocean. A poster on a college bulletin board changed all that. Today, he is a fish detective, revealing the secret life of fish from beneath the water's surface.
Dr. Ashok Gopalarathnam is an associate professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering at NCSU. As a boy he read adventure novels about a detective in Special Air Police. Today he uses wind tunnels and computer simulations to understand the physics of vortices and stalls of airplanes, helicopters, and hand-held drones.
When did you discover you wanted to be an aeronautical engineer?
What is Storm Surge?
A combination of wind driven water and pressure driven water piles up water ahead of the eye of the storm.
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David Glenn is a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Morehead City. He grew up in Wilmington, living through 5 massive hurricanes in 4 years. He is awed by ferocious wind and rain and works hard to be sure that people stay safe during hazardous weather.
When did you discover you wanted to be a weatherman?