Bradley Klotz

As a teen, Brad Klotz was fascinated by the power and beauty of thunderstorms. While attending summer camp before his senior year of high school, a storm rolled through the campgrounds and he experienced a lightning show unlike any he had experienced before. At that moment, he knew he was meant to study meteorology.

Brad earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s from the University of North Dakota. He was hired as a meteorologist by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Hurricane Research Division in Miami. Determined to one day lead his own research projects, he enrolled at FIU to pursue a Ph.D. while continuing to work full-time.

In his research, he studied ocean surface winds and how they interact with different hurricane characteristics, including origin, strength and speed. His work could enable forecasters to make better predictions on where the hurricane’s strongest winds are and where the worst landfall impacts might be.

After graduating, Brad will continue working at NOAA. His career goal is to improve forecasters’ understanding of hurricanes and their ability to predict them through research.

By Evelyn Perez