Sciences and Exploration Directorate

Charles Nelson Helms

(Cloud Dynamicist/Instrument Scientist)

Charles Nelson Helms's Contact Card & Information.
Email: charles.n.helms@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.614.5719
Org Code: 612
Address:
NASA/GSFC
 Mail Code 612
 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer: UNIV OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK

Positions/Employment

Assistant Research Scientist

University of Maryland -- ESSIC - NASA Goddard Space Flight Cneter

2022 - Present

Postdoctoral Fellow

NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

2018 - 2022

Education

Ph.D. (Atmospheric Science) -- 2018

  • Doctoral Advisor: Lance Bosart
  • University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY
  • Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
  • Dissertation: Dry air, midlevel flow, and the persistence of deep convection in Atlantic tropical disturbances.

Masters of Science (Meteorology) -- 2012

  • Masters Advisor: Robert Hart
  • Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
  • Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science
  • Thesis: The evolution of dropsonde-derived kinematic and thermodynamic structures in developing and non-developing Atlantic tropical convective systems.

Undergraduate (Atmospheric Science) -- 2009

  • Research Advisor: Christopher Hennon
  • University of North Caroline at Asheville, Asheville, NC
  • Department of Atmospheric Sciences
  • Thesis: An objective algorithm for the identification of convetive tropical cloud clusters in geostationary imagery.

Professional Societies

American Meteorological Society

2006 - Present

American Geophysical Society

2011 - Present

Professional Service

  • 2020 - Present -- NASA/GSFC 610 Popular Summary Review Committee
  • 2022 -- WMO 10th International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones (IWTC-10)
  • 2022 -- NASA/GSFC Earth Rise Strategic Planning Group: Missions

Awards

  • 2020 -- NASA/GSFC 610AT Technical or Field Campaign Support Award “For Outstanding Field Campaign Support during the Winter 2020 IMPACTS deployment”
  • 2020 -- ISTD Engineering Excellence Group Award, IMPACTS Team
  • 2015 -- NASA Group Achievement Award "For outstanding achievements of the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) airborne mission to investigate the factors influencing hurricane intensity change" (2015)
  • 2009 -- University Research Scholar
  • 2009 -- Atmospheric Sciences Departmental Distinction
  • 2008 -- Outstanding Achievement in Undergraduate Research
  • 2007 -- Outstanding Achievement in Undergraduate Research

Other Professional Information

Programming Languages: IDL (mastery), Python (capable), BASH (capable), Fortran (familiar)

Special Experience

Field Experience:

  • 2020, 2022 -- Forecaster, ER-2 radar support. NASA Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) Field Campaign
  • 2015 -- Forecaster. Office of Naval Research (ONR) Tropical Cyclone Intensity Experiment (TCI) Field Campaign
  • 2013, 2014 -- Forecaster. NASA Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Field Campaign

Visiting Positions:

  • 2020 - 2022 -- Visiting Assistant Research Scientist. ESSIC, University of Maryland
  • 2016 -- Visiting Researcher. NCAR Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Lab
  • 2010 -- Visiting Researcher. National Centers for Environmental Information, formerly the National Climatic Data Center

Publications

Refereed

2022. "Snow microphysical retrieval from the NASA D3R radar during ICE-POP 2018." Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 15 (5): 1439-1464 [10.5194/amt-15-1439-2022] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "The Impact of a Midlevel Dry Airflow Layer on Deep Convection in the Pre-Gabrielle (2013) Tropical Disturbance on 4–5 September." Monthly Weather Review 149 (8): 2695-2711 [10.1175/mwr-d-20-0380.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Reducing Errors in Velocity-Azimuth Display (VAD) Wind and Deformation Retrievals from Airborne Doppler Radars in Convective Environments." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 2251–2266 [https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-20-0034.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "The Evolution of Dropsonde-Derived Kinematic and Thermodynamic Structures in Developing and Nondeveloping Atlantic Tropical Convective Systems." Monthly Weather Review 143 (8): 3109-3135 [10.1175/mwr-d-14-00242.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "A Polygon-Based Line-Integral Method for Calculating Vorticity, Divergence, and Deformation from Nonuniform Observations." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 52 (6): 1511-1521 [10.1175/jamc-d-12-0248.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Tropical Cloud Cluster Climatology, Variability, and Genesis Productivity." Journal of Climate 26 (10): 3046-3066 [10.1175/jcli-d-12-00387.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2011. "An Objective Algorithm for Detecting and Tracking Tropical Cloud Clusters: Implications for Tropical Cyclogenesis Prediction." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 28 (8): 1007-1018 [10.1175/2010jtecha1522.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2011. "Globally Gridded Satellite Observations for Climate Studies." BAMS 92 (7): 893-907 [10.1175/2011BAMS3039.1] [Journal Article/Letter]

Contact Us

Jocelyn Lynch
Project Support Specialist
301-286-6066
jocelyn.m.lynch@nasa.gov
Ellie Jeffries
Project Support Specialist
301-286-6066
ellen.e.jeffries@nasa.gov

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