Dr. Agee
Dr. Ernest Agee

Professor

E-mail: eagee@purdue.edu

Curriculum Vitae <pdf>

Associated website(s): Mesoscale Convection and Tornado (MCT) Research Group, Climate & Extreme Weather (CLEW), Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC)

Education

Ph.D., University of Missouri (Atmospheric Science)

M.S., University of Missouri (Atmospheric Science)

B.S., Eastern Kentucky University (Math & Physics)

Research Interests

Agee, his graduate students and postdoctoral associates have enjoyed continuous sponsored research from NSF, with additional support from NASA, NOAA, DOD and IBM from 1968 to the present with a total of awards received exceeding $11 million. Agee's research has focused on the fluid dynamics of thermal convection, atmospheric manifestations of Benard-Rayleigh convection and climatic change. Phenomena investigated have ranged from mesoscale shallow convection over the oceans and Great Lakes , to the study of deep convective systems such as thunderstorms and tornadoes, to temperature trends and the impact of climatic change. The approach to the study of these phenomena has included both theoretical modeling and field observations/experimental measurements. Current research projects, funded by the National Science Foundation, focus on the study of wintertime polar air mass modification over Lake Michigan and associated convective development and coherent structures, as well as physical and dynamical properties of convective boundary layers.

Agee has served on numerous scientific committees within the AMS, AGU, IAMAP, IUGG, NCAR, and NOAA and he continues to serve today as Purdue's Scientific Representative to UCAR.  Dr. Agee received invitations as a distinguished scientist to visit and lecture at Utrecht University, Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology-University of Hamburg, University of Tokyo, NASA, NOAA, IBM and NCAR (including the summer program for Women and Minorities).  Dr. Agee was elected to Fellow status in the AMS in 1982, named a Sagamore of the Wabash in 1990, honored with the EAS outstanding Teacher Award in 2004 and the Graduate Student Mentoring Award in 2007.  He has supervised 11 PhD, 26 MS and 6 BS Honors degrees as well as 9 postdoctoral students (all of whom achieved a broad field of accomplishments from professors to research scientists, forecasters to support scientists and program directors to statesmen; including one space shuttle astronaut and one recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Purdue).  Dr. Agee has over 60 research papers in referred journals, including over 30 with former students, ranging from topics on severe storms and climate change to Great Lakes meteorology.  Dr. Agee is currently a member of the AMS, AGU, and AAAS, and during his tenure at Purdue he has served 12 years as either Head or Associate Head of the EAS department.

Teaching Interests

EAS 117 Introduction to Atmospheric Science

EAS 133 Profession of Meteorology

EAS 138 Thunderstorms and Tornadoes

EAS 230 Survey of Meteorology

EAS 391 Introduction to Atmospheric Science for Engineers/Physical Scientists

EAS 421 Application of Microcomputers to Meteorology

EAS 422 Atmospheric Dynamics I

EAS 423 Atmospheric Dynamics II

EAS 538 Cumulus Dynamics

EAS 639 Atmospheric Fluid Dynamics

EAS 690 Seminar in Atmospheric Science

EAS 698 MS Thesis Research

EAS 699 Ph.D. Dissertation Research

Awards/Honors Appointment/Elections
  • COS Graduate Student Mentoring Award (2007)

  • EAS Outstanding Teaching Award (2004)

  • UCAR Science Advocate Award (2003, 2004)

  • Purdue University 's Scientific Member Representative to UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder , Colorado), 1984-present.

  • Member, Board on Oceans and Atmosphere, National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, 1993-98. Elected to 3-year term on the Executive Committee, 1995-98.

  • Sagamore of the Wabash, Named by Governor Evan Bayh (Indiana), 1990.

  • USA representative, The International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (IAMAP); Chairman - USA IAMAP subcommittee; Member - IAMAP Cloud Dynamics Group; 1980-88.

  • Member, The United States National Committee, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics; nominated by the American Geophysical Union and appointed by the National Academy of Sciences, 1982-85 and 1985-88.

  • Member, AMS-STAC Committee on Mesoscale Meteorology, American Meteorological Society (AMS), 1985-88.

  • Trustee, The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), elected to the board by the 51 member university consortium, 1979-83.

  • Member, UCAR Nominating Committee, 1988-89; chairman, 1990.

  • Vice Chairman UNIDATA Policy Committee and Executive Committee, appointed by UCAR President, 1983-88.

  • Member, NOAA Profiler Committee, appointed by Director of NOAA-ERL, 1987-88.

  • Member, STORM Program Scientific Steering Committee and Data Management Working Group, appointed by UCAR and NOAA, 1983-88.

  • Chairman, UCAR Personnel Policy Committee, 1981-83.

  • Fellow, American Meteorological Society, elected in 1982.

  • Member, Education and Manpower Commission, AMS, 1976-80.

  • Eastern Kentucky University Awards:

    • Outstanding Alumnus Award, 1987

    • Hall of Fame, 197

    • Distinguished Alumnus Award, 1976

Professional Experience
  • 2005 - Present, Professor and Associate Head, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University

  • 2004, Professor and Acting Department Head, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University

  • 1978-present Professor, Dept. of Earth & atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University.

  • 1990-1996 Head, Dept. of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University.

  • 1972-1978 Associate Professor, Dept. of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University.

  • 1968-1972 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University.

  • May 1984 Invited Distinguished Scientist, Dept. of Physics, Institute of Meteorology and Oceanography, Utrecht University , The Netherlands

  • Summer, 1983 Invited Distinguished Scientist, NOAA Environmental Research Labs, Boulder, CO

  • August 1981 Invited Lecturer, Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology, University of Hamburg and Convener, IAMAP Special Assembly, Hamburg , FRG

  • Summer, 1980 Visiting Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder , CO

  • Summer, 1979 Lecturer, NCAR's Advanced Study program for Women and Minorities, Boulder, CO

  • February 1974, 75 Scientific Participant, The Air Mass Transformation Experiment - a meteorology/oceanography field expedition over the East China Sea , invited by the Japanese government

  • August 1974, 75 Invited lecturer, Japan Meteorological Agency and University of Tokyo , sponsored by the USA-Japan Cooperative Science program

Selected Publications <More>
  • Agee, E. M., 2009: The extended length of Solar Cycle 23: Unusual or not?. J. Climate (in review)

  • Agee, E., and E. Cornett, 2009: Further assessment of USHCN surface temperature anomalies for the central USA. J. Climate (in review)

  • Agee, E., and E. Jones, 2009: Reply. Wea. Forecasting (in press)

  • Gluhovsky, A., and E. Agee, 2009: Estimating higher-order moments of nonlinear time series. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 48, 1948-1954.

  • Agee, E. and E. Jones, 2009: Proposed conceptual taxonomy for proper identification and classification of tornado events. Wea. Forecasting, 24, 609-617.

  • Gluhovsky, A., and E. M. Agee, 2007: On the analysis of atmospheric and climatic time series. J. Appl. Meteor. and Climatol., 46, 1125-1129.

  • Zurn-Birkhimer, S., E. M. Agee, and Z. Sorbjan, 2005: Convective structures in cold air outbreak over Lake Michigan during Lake-ICE. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 2414-2432.