Show Notes

Hosts: Jeff Cunningham and Ryan Harris

Description: In the final episode of The Triple Point Podcast, Jeff and Ryan look back on the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton across Florida and other parts of the southeast, and Ryan talks about his experience in the eye of Hurricane Milton. Originally recorded on October 17th just before the U.S. elections, there was plenty of conspiracy theories racing across social media about whether the government has the ability to create or control hurricanes. Jeff and Ryan dive into weather modification and geoengineering, Russia's propaganda disinformation campaign, and of course talk at length about the continual problem of risk communication, risk psychology, and decision making.

Oceanography & Senior Technical Staff Member

Description: A lot has changed in the AI-weather prediction space since the summer of 2023. Dr. Amy McGovern from the University of Oklahoma joins the Triple Point® again, a year since she last joined Jeff and I, to catch listeners up on the state of Artificial Intelligence in numerical weather prediction. We talk about the need to create policies and guardrails around AI that are broad and flexible enough that innovation can still happen alongside responsible AI principles and protection against nefarious uses. There are several areas where AI is going to continue accelerating weather prediction, but arguably none more so than in the way we assimilate data into our weather models. It's likely to be a space where, in a year, we will be looking back at how rapid a transition occurred.

Show Notes

Hosts: Ryan Harris and Guest Host Wayne MacKenzie

Guest: Dr. Sarah Kapnick, NOAA Chief Scientist

Description: When NOAA selected Dr. Sarah Kapnick as the agency's Chief Scientist, in many respects she was an "outside of the box" selection. True, she already had a strong pedigree of science experience, something one would expect for the Chief Scientist. But what made her uniquely qualified and yet still "outside the box" was her diversity of experience across public, academic, and private, including heavy work in the finance sector. In the latest Triple Point™, you'll hear from the current NOAA Chief Scientist about how she is encouraging the agency to think beyond the status quo. Incentivizing innovation through simple measures in performance workplans, encouraging a mantra to follow your curiosity, and using unique consortia to advance research through Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs) are just a few ways Dr. Kapnick is helping NOAA think outside the box.

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