Meteorology and Oceanography
From the time he first investigated lake-effect snow systems along the southern shore of Lake Ontario as an undergraduate student, Neil Laird has been interested in understanding the numerous influences that large bodies of water can have on their regional environment. In addition to a primary expertise in mesoscale meteorology and severe weather, he has conducted research in the areas of climatology, precipitation physics, and atmosphere-lake interactions.
His primary research approach involves a combination of techniques which include the collection of field and climatological data, synthesis of these data to obtain a coherent description and basic understanding of the processes of interest, and subsequent numerical modeling studies to provide a better understanding of the processes and relationships being investigated. This research approach provides excellent opportunities to foster scholarship and confidence in undergraduate students and is an invaluable tool to help students develop the intellectual and technical skills necessary to begin answering scientific questions.
Laird’s research has appeared in scientific journals that include the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, the Journal of Applied Meteorology, Monthly Weather Review, the Journal of Geophysical Research, Weather and Forecasting, and Physical Aerobiology. In addition to being a frequent presenter at international, national, and regional scientific conferences, he has given numerous seminars and presentations at meetings and workshops, research agencies, and universities.
Laird’s background and research in meteorology, particularly on winter and summer lake-effect weather systems, is highly regarded and makes him an excellent spokesperson on severe weather.
A recent list of publications includes:
Laird, N. F., 2005: Humidity halos surrounding small cumulus clouds in a tropical environment. Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, (in press).
Laird, N. F. and D. A. R. Kristovich, 2004: Comparison of observations with idealized model results for a method to resolve winter lake-effect mesoscale morphology. Monthly Weather Review, 132, 1093-1103.
Laird, N. F., J. E. Walsh, and D. R. Kristovich, 2003: Model simulations examining the relationship of lake-effect morphology to lake shape, wind direction, and wind speed. Monthly Weather Review, 131, 2102-2111.
Laird, N. F., D. R. Kristovich, and J. E. Walsh, 2003: Idealized model simulations examining the mesoscale structure of winter lake-effect circulations. Monthly Weather Review, 131, 206-221.
Laird, N. F. and D. Kristovich, 2002: Variations of sensible and latent heat fluxes from a Great Lakes buoy and associated synoptic weather patterns. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 3, 3-12.
Laird, N. F., D. A. R. Kristovich, X.-Z. Liang, R. W. Arrit, and K. Labas, 2001: Lake Michigan lake breezes: climatology, local forcing, and synoptic environment. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 40, 409-424.
Laird, N. L., L. J. Miller, and D. A. R. Kristovich, 2001: Synthetic dual-Doppler analysis of a winter mesoscale vortex. Monthly Weather Review, 129, 312-331.
Laird, N. F., H. T. Ochs, R. M. Rauber and L. J. Miller, 2000: Initial precipitation formation in warm Florida cumulus. Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 57, 3740-3751.
Laird, N. F., 1999: Observation of coexisting mesoscale lake-effect vortices over the western Great Lakes. Monthly Weather Review, 127, 1137-1141.
Laird in the News:
Press releases:
Interview opportunities and additional background information may be requested through the Office of Communications, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York. Phone: (315) 781-3540. After business hours, Communications staff members are accessible through contact information on their answering machine at that number.
Neil F. Laird, an assistant professor of geoscience at Hobart and William Smith Colleges since 2004, received a Ph.D. and M.S. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a B.S. in meteorology from the State University of New York at Oswego (magna cum laude). Before joining the faculty at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, he taught for two years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a research scientist at the Illinois State Water Survey for nine years.
Laird has been an associate editor of the Journal of Applied Meteorology since 2004 and is a member of several scholarly associations including the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, the American Meteorological Society, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and the Council on Undergraduate Research. Laird is also active in the Finger Lakes Institute, a division of Hobart and William Smith Colleges dedicated to the promotion of environmental research and education about the Finger Lakes and its surrounding environments.