Associate Professor of Meteorology and Chair, Department of Geography and Meteorology<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Predicting the future is the stock-in-trade of a meteorologist, so perhaps it\u2019s not surprising that Professor Teresa Bals-Elsholz knows to expect a certain event every year in her atmospheric dynamics course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a two-semester sequence,\u201d she explains, \u201cand it\u2019s challenging material. We use a lot of calculus and physics; basically we\u2019re doing physics from an atmospheric perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valpo students are smart, and they\u2019re hard workers, but learning the difficult equations that abstractly describe complex moving systems can be something of a slog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe first semester is sort of like laying out all the puzzle pieces,\u201d Professor Bals-Elsholz says. \u201cBut then there\u2019s that moment in the second semester when all of the pieces suddenly come together \u2014 when all those cumbersome equations suddenly make sense, and they understand how the jet stream works. I stand in front of the class writing equations, and they race ahead of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat \u2018lightbulb moment\u2019 is my favorite thing about teaching at Valpo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The enthusiasm of Professor Bals-Elsholz and her colleagues is infectious, and she can gauge their success by the eagerness of graduate schools and employers to snap up their graduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe teach our students theory, and how to apply it. Crossing that boundary is how you learn to think critically, and those skills are valuable in any setting,\u201d Professor Bals-Elsholz says, noting that graduates of the department are successful in a wide range of fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The department\u2019s enviable facilities also help ensure that graduates are well-versed in the tools of their trades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valpo meteorology graduates have found work in the field as researchers and forecasters, both on and off TV. A number work for regional offices of the National Weather Service, in emergency management, and in private firms that provide forecasts for businesses on which weather has a major impact. Professor Bals-Elsholz is often called upon to suggest job candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce they\u2019ve hired one Valpo grad, they want more,\u201d she says. \u201cWhenever they have an opening, they\u2019ll call us and ask us who\u2019s in the pipeline: they know they don\u2019t have to spend a lot of time training them, because Valpo grads are ready to start forecasting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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