William R. Cotton - Emeritus
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Education
- Ph.D. in Meteorology - 1970 - Pennsylvania State University - State College, PA
- M.S. in Meteorology - 1966 - State University of New York - Albany, NY
- B.S. in Mathematics - 1964 - State University of New York - Albany, NY
Career Overview
Professor Cotton was appointed to the academic faculty at Colorado State University Department of Atmospheric Science in 1974. He assumed the position of an Assistant Professor in the Department where he is now a tenured full Professor.Professor Cotton has been actively involved in observation and computer simulation of cumulus clouds and thunderstorms as well as other intermediate-scale cloud systems. His current interests are largely in the area of observation and modeling of larger clusters of thunderstorms that occur preferentially at night over the central U.S., the simulation of severe thunderstorms including tornadoes and the application of the RAMS cloud model to forecasting agriculture and aviation impact variables. He has held positions at the Experimental Meteorological Laboratory, ERL, NOAA, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, and served as the head of the Numerical Simulation Group from 1970 to 1974.
Teaching Interests
- Cloud physics
- Storm and cloud dynamics
- Human impact on weather and climate
Research Interests
Professor Cotton's major research focus is on the investigation of convective storms and mesoscale systems including dynamics, precipitation formation, and predictability. Both observational and numerical modeling approaches are used in investigating these storms. He developed the Regional Atmospheric Modeling Systems (RAMS) in association with Dr. Roger Pielke which is a sophisticated interactive, nested grid model capable of explicitly simulating clouds and storms as well as a variety of mesoscale phenomena. Under his direction, RAMS is also being applied to the large eddy simulation of the cloudy boundary layer, the simulation of cirrus clouds, dynamics and microphysics of convective storms including tornadoes, hailstorms, and derechos, the numerical prediction of agricultural, aviation impact variables and precipitation, to extreme precipitation estimation, indirect effects of aerosols on climate, and urban influences on regional climate.
Research Sponsors
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Defense - Geosciences
- NOAA
- NASA
Awards, Honors, and Positions
- Engineering Dean's Council Award for Excellent in Atmospheric Research - 1986
- College of Engineering Abell Faculty Research and Graduate Program Award - 1991
- Pennsylvania State University College of Mineral Sciences Charles L. Hosler Alumni Scholar Medal - 1999
- Colorado State University Jack E. Cermak Distinguished Advisor Award
- National Research Council Panel - Prepared report Rethinking the Ozone Program in Urban and Regional Air Pollution
- American Meteorological Society - Fellow
- Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) - Fellow
- Journal of Atmospheric Sciences - Editor - 1993 to 1995
- Journal of Atmospheric Sciences - Co-Chief Editor - 1996-2000
- Published over 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals, seven chapters in books, co-authored three books, and authored one book
