CLOUD MICROPHYSICS GROUP
Professor Sonia Lasher-Trapp
Purdue University Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Professor Sonia Lasher-Trapp
Purdue University Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
I am currently a third year PhD student and I joined the Cloud Physics group in January 2004. I am from Clarendon Hills, IL, a suburb of Chicago, and most of my formative years were spent looking through a telescope or up at clouds. I graduated from high school in 1997 and went to Villanova University (which is outside of Philadelphia, PA) where I studied Astronomy and Astrophysics. I earned my BS in 2001 with minors in Mathematics and Physics. After coming to Purdue in 2001, I earned my MS in December 2003 under Dr. Agee. My MS project was a kinematic analysis of friction’s effect on the structure of a tornado – specifically if friction alone can initiate vortex breakdown. After participating in the RICO field campaign in January of 2005, I became interested in radar and its use in precipitation initiation studies. My PhD project involves the role of giant aerosol in tropical rain formation and will incorporate dual-wavelength radar data, aircraft observations, and computer modeling. I’m not sure what I would like to do after my time at Purdue, but I want to continue doing research and am very interested in hail formation and its relationship to lightning activity in thunderstorms.When I’m not dutifully studying cloud physics, I can either be found curled up reading a good book, driving around in my GTO, or frolicking outside. I’ve been playing softball/baseball since I could walk, so I enjoy playing softball in community leagues…I also play tennis, golf, soccer, and pretty much anything except gymnastics. I enjoy traveling and not a year goes by where I can’t be found at least once watching the Cubbies play in the best ballpark in baseball.
