Atmospheric Science

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Jeff French, Department Head and Associate Professor

Room 6034A, Engineering Building
email: jfrench@uwyo.edu
Office Phone: (307) 766-4143
Visit Dr. French's Clouds and Precipitation Observation and Research Website

Education:
  • BS, Physics, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 1992
  • MS, Meteorology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 1994
  • PhD., Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, 1998

Research Statement

Dr. French’s research focuses on gaining a better understanding of microphysical processes that occur in clouds leading to the production of precipitation. Dr. French uses in situ observations from aircraft to characterize thermodynamic, dynamic, and microphysical properties of clouds. These observations provide the basis for describing which processes may be important under a given set of conditions. Critical to this line of research is the ability to make accurate and well-characterized measurements from aircraft in clouds. To that end, an emphasis is placed on instrument calibration and characterization.

Research Areas

  • Precipitation and cloud physics
  • Airborne measurements of hydrometeors and clouds
  • Airborne measurements of thermodynamics, wind, and turbulence

Selected Publications (full list can be found on Research Webpage)

  • French, J. R., K. Friedrich, S. Tessendorf, R. Rauber, B. Geerts, R. Rasmussen, L. Xue, M. Kunkel, and D. Blestrud, 2018: Precipitation formation from orographic cloud seeding. Proc. Nat’l Acad. Sci. USA, 115 (6), 1168-1173
  • Faber, S., J. R. French, and R. Jackson, 2018: Laboratory and in-flight evaluation of measurement uncertainties from a commercial Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP). Atmospheric Measurement Techniques,11, 3645–3659.
  • Sun, J., and J. R. French, 2016: Air–Sea Interactions in Light of New Understanding of Air–Land Interactions. J. Atmos. Sci, 73, 3931–3949, doi:10.1175/JAS-D-15-0354.1.
  • Korolev, A., A. Khain, M. Pinsky, and J. French, 2016: Theoretical study of mixing in liquid clouds–Part 1: Classical concepts. Atmos Chem Phys, 16, 9235–9254, doi:10.5194/acp-16-9235-2016.
  • Leon, D. C., J. French, S. Lasher-Trapp, A. Blyth, and Coauthors, 2016: The Convective Precipitation Experiment (COPE): Investigating the Origins of Heavy Precipitation in the Southwestern United Kingdom. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00157.1, 1003–1020, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00157.1.
  • French, J. R., S. J. Haimov, L. D. Oolman, V. Grubisic, S. Serafin, and L. Strauss, 2015: Wave-induced boundary-layer separation in the lee of the Medicine Bow Mountains. Part I: Observations. J. Atmos. Sci., 72, 4845 - 4863.
  • Wang, Z., J. R. French, G. Vali, P. Wechsler, S. Haimov, A. Rodi, M. Deng, D. Leon, J. Snider, L. Peng, and A. Pazmany, 2012: Single aircraft integration of remote sensing and in situ sampling for the study of cloud microphysics and dynamics. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 93¸ 653-668.
  • Pratt, K. A., P. J. DeMott, J. R. French, Z. Wang, D. L. Westphal, A. J. Heymsfield, C. H. Twohy, A. J. Prenni, and K. A. Prather, 2009: In-situ detection of biological particles in cloud ice-crystals. Nature Geoscience, 2, 398-401.
  • French, J. R., W. M. Drennan, J. A. Zhang, and P. G. Black, 2007: Turbulent fluxes in the hurricane boundary layer, I. Momentum flux. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1089-1102.
  • French, J., G. Vali, R. D. Kelly, 2000: Observations of microphysics pertaining to the development of drizzle in warm, shallow cumulus clouds. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 126, 415-443.
  • French, J., G. Vali, R. D. Kelly, 1999: Evolution of small cumulus clouds in Florida: Observations of pulsating growth. Atmos. Res., 52, 143-165.
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