Matthew J. Parker

MARCH 17, 2017 - BOSTON, MA - It is with great sadness that the American Meteorological Society announces the passing of AMS President Matthew J. Parker, CCM, who died in his sleep Wednesday night.  Read More

Demand for services in the weather, water and climate enterprise is ever increasing. Pressures faced on budgets, scientific progress, and mankind’s ongoing challenges with infrastructure, human health, safety, and the environment are amplifying. Further, we are necessarily stretching our minds to keep up with an observed, modeled, and social data avalanche that threatens to exceed our ability to apply these burgeoning resources. Our working model for enterprise interactions amongst the government, academic, and commercial sectors has been effective, but that effort requires critical, ongoing attention. We need to be highly responsive to today’s world of fast moving information with the best answer possible, but we are spread very thin. That’s precisely where the AMS comes into play.

The Society’s strength is our diversity in backgrounds, expertise, and viewpoints. Smartly, we focus our attention inward and outward through an incredible set of technical meetings, information exchange with policy makers, and journals that lead our profession. The Society is engaging the meteorological societies of other countries, and members strive to attain certifications in broadcasting (CBMs) and consulting (CCMs).

As President, I will represent our Society domestically and abroad. I will encourage productive and unifying discourse amongst the government, academic, and commercial sectors. I will encourage young colleagues to take on roles of increasing responsibility and encourage our senior professionals to continue their critical efforts supporting the foundation of our science. And I will be attentive to your concerns as the Society evolves. We have a proud history in the AMS, and what we say and do matters greatly.

The AMS has been the cornerstone of my professional career development. My experiences working with the Society have been invaluable and have led to opportunities that I would not have realized otherwise. As a past-commissioner, I understand and appreciate how to work with the Council, commissions, and members. Leading the AMS as President would be an incredible honor and challenge, and I am enthusiastically willing to serve in this highly distinguished position.

Parker, Matthew J., Senior Fellow Meteorologist, Atmospheric Technologies Group of DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, South Carolina. Born November 19, 1963, East Cleveland, Ohio. B. S. Meteorology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1986; M. S. Meteorology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 1989.

Professional Experience: 1989-present, Scientist/Meteorologist (including five promotions), Atmospheric Technologies Group of DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, South Carolina.

Professional Activities:  Charter Member Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group (NUMUG), 1991-present, Member Air & Waste Management Association, 1993-2005, Member American Society for Standards and Materials, 1995-2005, Consultant Member National Council of Industrial Meteorologists and President (2004), 1997-present, Member ANSI/ANS 3.11 Working Group and Chair (2008-2012), 1998-present.

AMS Activities: Member AMS, 1990-present, Mentored several teachers in the AMS DataStreme program (1990s), Secretary / Treasurer (1994), Vice President (1995), and President (1996) of AMS Palmetto Chapter, Member of AMS Committee on Measurements 1998-2001, Lead Organizer for AMS Short Course on Becoming a Weather Entrepreneur, 2000, Lead Organizer for AMS Weather Entrepreneur Workshop, 2002, Member of AMS Board of Private Sector Meteorology, 2003-6, Member of AMS Ad-Hoc Committee on the Continued Professional Development of CCMs, 2003-4, Member of AMS Ad-Hoc Committee on the Weather and Climate Enterprise, 2003-5, Lead Organizer for AMS Business Tools for the Weather Entrepreneur Short Course, 2004, Inaugural Chair of the Board on Enterprise Communication, 2005-10, Commissioner of the Commission on the Weather, Water and Climate Enterprise (Incoming 2010-12, 2012-2014, Past 2015-2016), Have been involved in the planning, including as lead in some cases, of the Washington Forum and Summer Community Meeting from 2005-present.

Honors and Awards: Awarded research stipend from Oak Ridge Associated Universities, 1988, Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM #570) 1997, Co-Inventor for US Patent 6,311,565: “Nondestructive Test Method for Assessment of Subterranean Tower Anchor Rods” (this technology has been licensed and is actively applied to the cellular tower industry), 2001, Fellow AMS, 2006, SRNL Research & Technology Recognition, 2012, SRNL Laboratory Director’s Award for Exceptional Scientific & Engineering Achievement, 2013, SRNL Research & Technology Achievement, 2014.

Publications:  Author or co-author for the following select refereed journal articles: H. F. Duarte, Monique Y. Leclerc, Gengsheng Zhang, David Durden ,Robert Kurzeja, >Matthew Parker,and David Werth. Impact of nocturnal low-level jets on near surface turbulence kinetic energy.Inpublication, Boundary-Layer Meteorology., 2015.A. E. Andrews, J. D. Kofler, M. Trudeau, J. C. Williams, D. Neff, K. Masarie, D. Chao, D. Kitzis, P.Novelli, C. Zhao, E. Dlugokencky, P. Lang, M. Crotwell, M. L. Fischer, M. J. Parker, J. T. Lee,D. Baumann, A. Desai, C. Stanier, S. de Wekker, D. Wolfe, J. W. Munger, P.P. Tans. CO2, COand CH4 Measurements from the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory’s Tall Tower Greenhouse Gas Observing Network: Instrumentation, Uncertainty Analysis and Recommendations for Future High-Accuracy Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Efforts. Atmos. Meas.Tech., 7, 1–40, 2014. www.atmos-meas-tech.net/7/1/2014/doi:10.5194/amt-7-1-2014, Zhang, G., M. Y. Leclerc, H. F. Duarte, D. J. Durden, D. Werth, R. Kurzeja, M. Parker. 2013. Multiscale Decompostion of Turbulent Fluxes Above a Forest Canopy. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 186, 48-63. doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2013.11.010.D. J. Durden, C. J. Nappo, M. Y. Leclerc, H. F. Duarte1, G. Zhang, L. B. M. Pires, M. J. Parker, and R.J. Kurzeja. On the impact of atmospheric waves on fluxes and turbulence statistics duringnighttime conditions: a case study. Biogeosciences Discuss., 10, 1–25, 2013. www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/10/1/2013/doi:10.5194/bgd-10-1-2013, D. W. Werth, R. J. Kurzeja, N. Luís Dias, G. Zhang, H. Duarte, M. Fischer, M. J. Parker, M. Leclerc,2011: The Simulation of the Southern Great Plains Nocturnal Boundary Layer and the Low-LevelJet with a High-Resolution Mesoscale Atmospheric Model. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol.,50, 1497–1513.Buckley, R. L., C. H. Hunter, R. P. Addis, and M. J. Parker, 2007: Modeling Dispersion from Toxic Gas Released after a Train Collision in Graniteville, SC. Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 57, 268-278.Weber, A. H, R. L. Buckley, M. J. Parker, R. Harvey, and D. M. Hamby, 2002: The Creation of an Historical Meteorological Database for Environmental Dose Assessment. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.Simpkins, A. A., M. J. Parker, and A. H. Weber 2000: Optimizing Meteorological Data File Length for Use With Atmospheric Dose Modelling at SRS. Health Physics 78 (6). Health Physics Society, McLean, VA.Parker, M. J. and Sethu Raman. 1993: A Case Study of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer Over a Complex Terrain. Boundary-Layer Meteorology.Volume 66, no.3 pp. 303-324. Dordrecht, Holland.Select Technical Presentations and Reports:M. J. Parker, “Atmospheric Research at the Savannah River National Laboratory” presented at the colloquium series of the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. September 8, 2014.M. J. Parker, “Atmospheric Research at the Savannah River National Laboratory” presented at the colloquium series of the Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA. October 28, 2013.M. J. Parker, “Atmospheric Research at the Savannah River National Laboratory” presented at the colloquium series of the Atmospheric Sciences Program / Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. January 25, 2013.M. J. Parker, R. L. Buckley, S. R. Walter, and A. E. Andrews, 2011: The use of tracers ofopportunity to assess chronic carbon dioxide releases from regional industrial activities. Presentedat the 13th Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry in a joint session with the Third Symposiumon Aerosol-Cloud-Climate Interactions; and the 23rd Conference on Climate Variability andChange during the 91st Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Jan 21-27,Seattle, WA.S. R. Chiswell and M. J. Parker, 2011: Using Ceilometer Backscatter from Aerosol to Analyze Boundary Layer Structure. Presented at the 15th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS) during the91st Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Jan 21-27, Seattle, WA.M. J. Parker, T. Watson, M. Y. Leclerc, and A. E. Andrews, 2010: Regional nocturnal tracer experiment near a tall tower site. Presented at the 16th Conference on Air Pollution Meteorology during the 90th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Jan 10-14, Atlanta, GA.M. J. Parker, T. Watson, M. Y. Leclerc, A. A. Andrews, R. L. Buckley, D. W. Werth, G. Zhang,H. Duarte, R. J. Kurzeja, D. Durden, N. Pingintha, K. Lewin, R. Wilke, L. Milian, S. Smith, J.Heiser, J. Adams, E. D. Kabela, J. T. Hamilton, Jr, R. W. Johnson, N. Lichaikul, B. RuizReverter, J. Kofler, and J. Williams, 2009: Regional nocturnal tracer experiments to study verticaland spatial tendencies of CO2. Presented at the AmeriFlux Principal Investigators Meeting inWashington, DC, Sept 21-23.Parker, M. J. and C. E. Holton, 2005: Use Of an Eye-Safe, Portable Lidar For Remote Wildland Fire andSmoke Detection. Presented at the 2nd Symposium on Lidar Atmospheric Applications, January 10-14, 2005, San Diego, CA. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MAA. H. Weber, M. J. Parker, and R. L. Buckley, 2005: An Examination of Strong Wind Events Over the Last Half-Century at Five National Weather Service Stations near Coastal South Carolina.Presented at the 15th Conference on Applied Climatology, June 20-24, Savannah, GA.American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA.Weber, A. H., M. J. Parker, and R. L . Buckley, 2005: Recurrence Frequencies of Strong Winds and Examination of Strong Wind Events Over the Last Half-Century Near the Santee Cooper Dams on Lakes Marion and Moultrie. WSRC-RP-2005-01465.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Weber, A. H, M. J. Parker, and M. Brown, 2004: Wind in the Roses. South Carolina Wildlife.May-June, 2004, Vol. 51, No 3. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Columbia, SC.Parker, M. J, Weber, A. H. and R. L. Buckley, 2004: Wind Forecasting Tools Based on Short Term Climatological Data. Presented at the 10th Annual Mini-Technical Conference of the Palmetto Chapter of the American Meteorological Society on March 12, 2004 in Columbia, SC.Parker, M. J., 2003: A New Tall-Tower Meteorological Monitoring System.Presented at the 12th Symposium on Observations and Instrumentation 9-14 February, 2003 in Long Beach, CA.The American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA.Weber, A. H., R. L. Buckley, M. J. Parker, and C. H. Hunter, 2002: Wind Climate Analyses for National Weather Service Stations in the Southeast. NTIS-DE2003-80793.National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia.Parker, M. J., M. M. Pendergast, and A. J. Garrett, 2002: Final MTI Data Report: Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center (U). WSRC-TR-2002-00487.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Parker, M. J. and A. J. Garrett, 2002: Final MTI Data Report: H. B. Robinson Plant (U). WSRC-TR-2002-00488.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Parker, M. J. and A. J. Garrett, 2002: Final MTI Data Report: Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant (U). WSRC-TR-2002-00489.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Parker, M. J. and A. J. Garrett, 2002: Final MTI Data Report: Pilgrim Nuclear Station (U). WSRC-TR-2002-00373.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Parker, M. J. and A. J. Garrett, 2002: Final MTI Data Report: Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station (U). WSRC-TR-2002-00374.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Parker, M. J., 2002: Meteorological Monitoring: Best Practices, Present Trends, and a Look to the Future. Presentedat the State and Local Air Quality Modelers Conference on August 22, 2002 at the Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC.Parker, M. J., 2002: Meteorological Monitoring: Best Practices, Present Trends, and a Look to the Future. Presented at the State and Local Air Quality Modelers Conference on August 22, 2002 at the Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC.Parker, M. J., 2002: AMS Weather Entrepreneur Short Courses. Presented at the 8th Annual Mini-Technical Conference of the Palmetto Chapter of the AMS on March 15, 2002 in Columbia, SC.Parker, M. J. and C. E. Holton, 2002: Fiber Optics and Atmospheric Monitoring.Presented at the 8th Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group (NUMUG) Meeting in St. Charles, IL on May 8-10, 2002.Parker, M. J. and W. R. Hinz, 2002: Examining Tower Guy Wire Anchor Rods Presented at the 8th Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group (NUMUG) Meeting in St. Charles, IL on May 8-10, 2002.Parker, M. J., S. Naglic, and R. Crais, 2002: Hail Damage at the Savannah River Site on May 3, 2002. WSRC-TR-2002-00342.Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC 29808.Parker, M. J. 2002: Education of Prospective Weather Entrepreneurs. Presented at the 11th Symposium on Education during the Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society on January 2002 in Orlando, FL.Parker, M. J. and A. J. Garrett, 2001: Ground-Truth Surface Water and Paved-Surface Measurements for DOE’s MTI Satellite.WSRC-MS-2000-00713.Presented at the 11th Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, January, 2001 in Albuquerque, NM.Parker, M. J., C. H. Hunter, L. C. Heavner, G. L. Snyder, R. A. Mueller 2000: An Integrated Meteorological Monitoring and Display System for Emergency Response. WSRC-MS-99-00512. Presented at the 16th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology, Jan 9-14, 2000 in Long Beach, CA.Parker, M. J. and C. E. Holton 2000: Design for a Comprehensive Optical Atmospheric Monitoring System. WSRC-MS-99-00511.Presented at the 11th Joint Conference on the Application of Air Pollution Meteorology with the Air & Waste Management Association, Jan 9-14, 2000 in Long Beach, CA.Parker, M. J., R. L. Buckley, D. Shea 2000: Soil Moisture Measurements at the Savannah River Site. Presented at the Sixth Annual Mini-Technical Meeting Conference of the Palmetto Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, March 10, 2000 at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.Parker, M. J.and W. R. Hinz 1999: Examining Tower Guy Wire Anchor Rods. WSRC-MS-00225.Presented at the Fifth Annual Mini-Technical Meeting Conference of the Palmetto Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, March 19 at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.Parker, M. J. 1999: A New Meteorological Data Acquisition System at the Savannah River Site. WSRC-MS-99-00224X. Presented at the Sixth Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group (NUMUG) Meeting, May 12-14, 1999 at Syracuse, NY.Holton, C. E. and M. J. Parker 1999: Fiber Optics in Meteorological Instrumentation Suites. Photonics East September 19-22, 1999 at Boston, MA.Parker, M. J. and M. Heverly 1998: Fiber Optics in a Wind Vane: A Successful Prototype. WSRC-MS-97-0457X. Presented at the Tenth Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation during the 78th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, January 11-16, 1998 in Phoenix, AZ.Parker, M. J. 1998: What is a CCM? Presented at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC during the Palmetto Chapter of the American Meteorological Society Technical Meeting on March 19.Weber, A. H., J. H. Weber, M. J. Parker, C. H. Hunter and C. O. Minyard 1998: Tornado, Maximum Wind Gust, and Extreme Rainfall Event Recurrence Frequencies at the Savannah River Site.WSRC-TR-98-00329. Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Heavner, E. and M. J. Parker. 1997: The Weather Wise Program at the Savannah River Site. WSRC-MS-96-0314.Presented at the Sixth Symposium on Education at the Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society. February 2-7, 1997. Long Beach, CA.Parker, M. J. and M. Heverly 1997: A New Wind Vane for the Measurement of Atmospheric Turbulence. WSRC-TR-97-0011. Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J. and M. Heverly 1997: A Fiber Optic Wind Vane. WSRC-TR-97-0010. Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J and M. Heverly 1997: Use of Fiber Optics in a Wind Vane. (invited) WSRC-MS-97-0007X. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Academy of Science, April 11, 1997 in Columbia, SC.Parker, M. J. and W. R. Hinz 1997: A Technique for Examining Tower Guy Wire Anchor Rods. WSRC-MS-97-00624X. Presented at the Fifth Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group (NUMUG) Meeting, October 9-10, 1997 in South Bend, IN.Parker, M. J. 1996: A New Low Threshold Bi-Directional Wind Vane and Its Potential Impact on Unplanned Atmospheric Release Prediction. (WSRC-MS-95-0030X) Presented at the Ninth Joint Conference on the Applications of Air Pollution Meteorology with the Air and Waste Management Association. January 28-February 2, 1996. Atlanta, GA.Parker, M. J. and M. Heverly. 1996: A Fiber Optic Wind Vane: A Conceptual View. Presented at the Fourth Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group (NUMUG). April 25-26. San Francisco, CA.Parker, M. J. and R. P. Addis. 1996: Meteorological Monitoring at the Savannah River Site in 1995. (Invited) Presented at the 1996 Summer Annual Meeting of the American Nuclear Society. June 16-20, 1996. Reno, NV.Parker, M. J. 1995: Westinghouse Savannah River Technology Center Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) with Met One Instruments. Presented at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC during the Palmetto Chapter of the American Meteorological Society Technical Meeting on February 23.Parker, M. J. 1995: Meteorological Monitoring at the Savannah River Site and New Instrumentation in Meteorology.Presented at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for the School of Public Health on April 12.Parker, M. J. 1994: Meteorological Monitoring and Bi-Directional Vanes. WSRC-MS-94-0347. Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC. Presented at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC on July 22.Parker, M. J. 1994: Wind Tunnel Performance Study of Teledyne Geotech (Met One) Model 1585 Bivane and Model 1564B Cup Anemometer. Preprint of the third Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group Meeting (NUMUG) at Charlotte, NC on October 20-21.Parker, M. J. 1994: Meteorological Monitoring Design and Operations at the Savannah River Site. Preprint of the third Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group Meeting (NUMUG) at Charlotte, NC on Oct 20-21.Parker, M. J. and R. P. Addis. 1993: Meteorological Monitoring Program (U).WSRC-TR-93-0106. Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC 87 pp.Parker, M. J. and B. A. Good. 1993: Wind Tunnel Study of Meteorological Instrumentation (U).WSRC-TR-93-359.Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J., R. P. Addis, C. H. Hunter, R. J. Kurzeja, C. P. Tatum, and A. H. Weber. 1992: The 1987-1991 Savannah River Site Meteorological Data Base (U). WSRC-RP-92-598 Savannah River Technology Center, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J. and Sethu Raman. 1992: Structure of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer Over a Complex Terrain. Preprint volume for the 10th Symposium on Turbulence and Diffusion held at Portland, Oregon. 29Sep-2Oct. American Meteorological Society, Boston.Parker, M. J. and R. P. Addis. 1991: Wind Tunnel Test of Teledyne Geotech Model 1564B Cup Anemometer . WSRC-TR-91-415 Savannah River Laboratory, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J. 1991: Savannah River Site Tornado Damage of March, 1991. WSRC-RP-91-439 Savannah River Laboratory, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Hamby, D. M. and M. J. Parker. 1991: Gaussian Dispersion and Dosimetric Modeling Sensitivity to Area-Specific 1982-86 Meteorological Data Collected at the Savannah River Site. WSRC-RP-91-909 Savannah River Laboratory, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J. 1991: Overview of the Savannah River Site emergency response program and panelist at the inaugural Nuclear Utility Meteorological Data Users Group Meeting (NUMUG) at Chattanooga, TN.Parker, M. J. and R. J. Kurzeja. 1990: October 1, 1989 Tornado at the Savannah River Site . WSRC-RP-89-1288 Savannah River Laboratory, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.Parker, M. J. 1990: Hurricane Hugo and Its Meteorological Effects on the Savannah River Site. WSRC-RP-90-471 Savannah River Laboratory, Westinghouse Savannah River Company Aiken, SC.