Atmospheric sciences students place 3rd at WxChallenge

Whether it is weather forecasting or climate trends, our atmospheric sciences students in the department of geography are in the middle of the one of the most interesting and complex professional fields of our current day. And they continue to hone their skills against the best students in the country, earning a rightful place among them as they represent the Franklin College and UGA:

A team of students in the University of Georgia's atmospheric sciences program recently placed third overall in the 2014 WxChallenge competition, an online weather forecasting competition for students, faculty and alumni of collegiate atmospheric science programs.

UGA's final standings—just behind first- and second-place winners Penn State University and the University at Albany, State University of New York—placed them among several universities that lead the nation in the atmospheric sciences. The UGA team ranked just above the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"Our WxChallenge team has placed in the top five in the nation in four out of the past six years," said associate professor John Knox, who serves as the team manager. "I think this level of performance reflects the high quality of our students and our atmospheric sciences curriculum at UGA—and our students' dedication to improving their ability to forecast the weather."

The competition's nearly 2,000 participants represented more than 50 institutions in the U.S. and Canada. From UGA, six undergraduate and six graduate students in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences competed as well as Knox and UGA alumnus Chris Davis, who graduated in 2013.

"It's a fun way to learn," Knox said.

Indeed, and a terrific place to expand their professional networks as they add national recognition to their university experience. Congratulations and great job all.

Image: Left to right: Aneela Qureshi, Minh Phan, associate professor John Knox, Chris Davis, Josh Wood, Jordan McLeod, Kyle Mattingly and Alan Black. Not pictured are Jared Rackley, Matt Daniel, Dean Pryles, Brad Johnson, Lili Yin and Bryant Brough.