Published February 7, 2024
CAPTION: ULM Atmospheric Science students met with Congresswoman Julia Letlow. (Pictured L-R):
Haniston Holloway, Emily Allen, Rep. Julia Letlow, Rachael Restelle, Alec Soileau, Isaiah Montgomery
MONROE, LA – Six students from the University of Louisiana Monroe Atmospheric Science program,
along with Associate Director of the School of Sciences Dr. Todd Murphy, attended
the 104th American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD from January
27 – February 1, 2024. The AMS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting with a direct
focus on weather, water, and climate, with thousands of people in attendance, taking
part in more than 40 scientific conferences and symposia. The theme of this year’s
meeting was “Living in a Changing Environment”.
At the meeting, Dr. Murphy and students Emily Allen, Haniston Holloway, Jake Lambright,
Isaiah Montgomery, Rachael Restelle, and Alec Soileau, were able to network with other
professionals in the field, attend talks on cutting-edge research, attend career and
professional development sessions, and present their own research for community feedback.
Each student also presented research they had completed with faculty mentors.
“The AMS Annual meeting is the premier national conference for atmospheric scientists,”
said Murphy. “Having an opportunity to present here means our students’ work is seen
by world-renowned experts in the field. Being able to receive feedback from these
scientists, or just generally interact and network with the other attendees, is an
invaluable experience for an undergraduate student. These types of connections often
lead to job or graduate school offers in the future,” added Murphy.
While in the region, the students and Dr. Murphy made a special trip to Washington,
D.C., to meet with Louisiana District 5 Congresswoman Julia Letlow. They spoke with
Congresswoman Letlow about the Louisiana Mesonet, thanking her for supporting the
project, and expressing just how critical the additional weather data will be for
Louisiana.
“Much of what we do in atmospheric science has such wide-ranging implications for
the public, but ultimately, none of the research matters if we can’t get it into the
hands of people who actually make real decisions in terms of laws or how government
agencies operate,” said Murphy. “Meeting with Rep. Letlow helped to drive home the
point that if you want to see policy in action, the people who make policy need to
be well informed,” he added.
In January 2023, ULM received approval for $2,000,000 for the Louisiana State Mesonet
Network Project. The request was sponsored by Congresswoman Letlow and was approved
as part of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2023.
Mesonets are interconnected networks of instrumented monitoring stations across an
entire state or region that measure temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation,
wind speed and direction, precipitation, and soil conditions. The Louisiana State
Mesonet will feature 50 sites spread out in a grid across the state and will be managed
by the ULM Atmospheric Science program. The program is currently in the process of
site selection and construction. Read more about the Louisiana State Mesonet Network
Project in the Fall 2023 edition of the ULM Magazine.
CAPTION: ULM Atmospheric Science students at the AMS Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. (Pictured
L-R): Haniston Holloway, Emily Allen, Rachael Restelle, Dr. Todd Murphy, Alec Soileau, Isaiah Montgomery, Jake Lambright
