Stephan De Wekker smiling

Stephan F.J. de Wekker

Professor

University of Virginia
Department of Environmental Sciences
Charlottesville, VA



Education

Ph.D. Atmospheric Science, The University of British Columbia, Canada 1997 - 2002 Dissertation: Structure and morphology of the convective boundary layer in mountainous terrain (Dr. Douw G. Steyn, Advisor)
M.S. Soil, Water, Atmosphere (Cum Laude), Wageningen University, Netherlands 1990 - 1996 Thesis: The estimation of areally-averaged sensible heat fluxes over complex terrain with a large-aperture scintillometer. (Dr. Henk A.R. De Bruin, Advisor)
Employment History

Honors & Awards

Research Interests

My research has provided fundamental contributions to the understanding of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) processes in complex landscapes and how this surface complexity affects the variability of the ABL in space and time. My contributions have come from extensive studies of the ABL using a combination of observational, theoretical, and numerical modeling tools. In many cases, I start with the design and execution of hypothesis-driven field experiments that are followed by theoretical and numerical modeling studies. In some other cases, theoretical and numerical modeling studies precede, rather than follow, field experiments. My current research emphasizes the atmosphere over mountains, but I am also addressing the atmosphere over other landscapes such as flat and inhomogeneous, urban, and coastal areas. I focus on ABL processes at spatial scales of a few kilometers (local scale) to tens of kilometers (mesoscale) and temporal scales of hours to days. These local and mesoscale processes are highly relevant for applied, interdisciplinary studies that form an important part of my research agenda.


  • LIDAR

    LIDAR mounted within a tow-trailer for mobile atmospheric profiling using scanning angles between 60° and 75°.

  • UAV-Based Measurements

    Recent work ([1] [2] [3]) leveraged the versatility of multirotor craft to sample the atmosphere.

  • Convective Boundary Layer

    Our research is particularly interested in planetary boundary layer over complex terrain. See this review for a more in-depth exploration.

Current Students

    Megan McAullife (Ph.D. Candidate)

    Megan McAuliffe is currently pursuing a PhD in Atmospheric Science at the University of Virginia (UVA) after receiving her Masters in Atmospheric Science at the University of California, Davis. Her undergraduate degree is in Meteorology from Millersville University with minors in: (1) Environmental Hazards and Emergency Management and (2) Mathematics. General research interests are in boundary layer and mountain meteorology utilizing both instrumentation and numerical simulations. For her Ph.D. she aims to analyze the impact of land surface heterogeneities on valley and slope flows and the subsequent impact on vertical transport and convective initiation


    David Crowe (Ph.D. Candidate)

    David Crowe earned his B.S. in computer science from Texas State University in Fall 2018 before interning at two national laboratories under the SULI program: the National Renewable Energy Lab where he crafted a solar window test-bed software suite; and at the Lawrence-Berkeley National Lab where he classified microearthquakes via Support Vector Machine machine-learning classifier. He's now embarked on an atmospheric science Ph.D. pilgrimage at UVa under the mentorship of Stephan de Wekker. His research interests lie in leveraging technologies like drones, thermography, sensor networks, and machine learning to bolster an understanding of the boundary layer. He enjoys crocheting, biking, skill toys, and breakfast burritos.