People
Lab PI · Current Lab Members (7) · Alumni (7)
PI
Chenghao Wang
Email: chenghao.wang@ou.edu
Profiles: Google Scholar; ResearchGate; ORCiD; WoS Researcher ID; LinkedIn
SoM Office: NWC 5220 (Address: 120 David L. Boren Blvd. Suite 5220, Norman, OK 73072)
DGES Office: SEC 534 (Address: 100 E. Boyd Street Suite 534, Norman, OK 73019)
Dr. Wang obtained his B.Eng. degree in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering from China Three Gorges University in 2015, and Ph.D. degree in Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering from Arizona State University in 2019. He was a visiting student at the Ohio State University in 2013. Dr. Wang was a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University from 2020 to 2022, during which he was also a New Map of Life fellow (2019 cohort) at the Stanford Center on Longevity. He joined the University of Oklahoma in 2022 as an assistant professor in the School of Meteorology and the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability.
Dr. Wang is a recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR Research Fellowship and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Early Career Investigator Award.
He currently chairs the International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC) Bibliography Committee and the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Committee on Meteorological Aspects of Air Pollution. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) June Bacon-Bercey Scholarship Committee, AGU Edmond M. Dewan Scholarship Committee, AMS Energy Committee, and AMS Committee on Applied Climatology. He also served as a contributing author of the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6).
Current Lab Members
Yu Ding
Email: Yu.Ding-1@ou.edu
Office: NWC 5115
Yu is a Ph.D. student in the School of Meteorology at OU. Before coming to OU, she completed her master’s degree in Hydrology and Water Resources at Hohai University, China. Her previous research focused on improving satellite precipitation data and integrating bias correction and machine learning algorithms to enhance data precision. Yu has an interest in utilizing remote sensing techniques and hydrological modeling.
Her Ph.D. research will focus on developing an integrated high-resolution pollutant dispersion model over complex terrain (e.g., urban environments).
Xochitl Hidalgo
Email: xochitl.p.hidalgo@ou.edu
Office: NWC 5340
Xochitl is an M.S. student in the School of Meteorology at OU. She completed her undergraduate studies at OU, receiving dual bachelor’s degrees in Meteorology and Environmental Sustainability. Her previous research endeavors include an assessment of non-profit organization response and adaptation post-Hurricane Harvey and an analysis of the agricultural response to increased vapor pressure deficit in Oklahoma. Xochitl also worked as the Climate Communications Assistant for the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program. Xochitl’s research interests include applied climatology, climate variability, and precipitation extremes. She is particularly interested in how precipitation extremes will impact the agricultural industry, urban planning, and disaster management.
Her M.S. research will focus on hurricane-induced precipitation modeling along the Houston coast.
Yuqi Huang
Email: yqhuang@ou.edu
Office: NWC 5340
Yuqi is currently a Ph.D. student in the School of Meteorology at OU. Before coming to OU, Yuqi completed his master’s degree in civil engineering at Beijing Normal University, China. His previous research focused on understanding and modeling the physical, hydrological, and ecological processes of inland water bodies and the response of aquatic ecosystems to climate change.
Yuqi has an interest in interdisciplinary subjects across hydrology, meteorology, and statistics. His Ph.D. research topic is urban climate and hydrometeorology in which he seeks to understand and improve the predictive capability of urban hydrometeorological and climate simulations across multiple spatial scales. Quantitative statistics and modeling provide the methodological core for his work, which involves tools such as remote sensing, numerical modeling, spatial statistics, and hierarchical modeling.
Jessica Leffel
Email: jessica.leffel@ou.edu
Office: NWC 5115
Jessica is currently a M.S. student in the School of Meteorology at OU. Prior to coming to OU, Jessica graduated from Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology-Climatology. Her previous research analyzed the relationship between tropospheric ozone pollution and synoptic conditions in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition, Jessica worked as a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service Phoenix office.
Jessica’s research interests include applied climatology, energy, urban meteorology, climate variability, and synoptic meteorology. Her research at OU will aim to enhance urban building energy use predictions with the development of an integrated modeling framework that accounts for local and regional meteorological conditions. This will combine building stock models with urban meteorological models to create more accurate predictions of city-level building energy use.
Tianze Luo
Email: tianze.luo@ou.edu
Profile: LinkedIn
Office: SEC 410B
Jessica is currently a M.S. student in the School of Meteorology at OU. Prior to coming to OU, Jessica graduated from Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology-Climatology. Her previous research analyzed the relationship between tropospheric ozone pollution and synoptic conditions in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition, Jessica worked as a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Weather Service Phoenix office.
Jessica’s research interests include applied climatology, energy, urban meteorology, climate variability, and synoptic meteorology. Her research at OU will aim to enhance urban building energy use predictions with the development of an integrated modeling framework that accounts for local and regional meteorological conditions. This will combine building stock models with urban meteorological models to create more accurate predictions of city-level building energy use.
Cathleen Simatupang
Email: cathleen.simatupang@ou.edu
Office: NWC 5340
Dr. Simatupang holds dual Ph.D. degrees in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from Mahidol University, Thailand, and in Natural Sciences from Macquarie University, Australia. Her interdisciplinary academic training is complemented by a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Mahidol University and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia.
Her doctoral research focused on environmental pollution, particularly soil contamination, PM2.5 air pollution, and heavy metal exposure in both air and soil, with an emphasis on health risk assessments. She also examined how outdoor air pollution affects indoor air quality, especially in a semi-open learning environment such as a childcare center.
Dr. Simatupang’s current research interests include ambient and indoor air quality, urban meteorology, satellite remote sensing, and environmental health. She is particularly focused on using modeling and monitoring tools to assess pollutant dynamics and support sustainable urban environmental management. </p>
Liam Thompson
Email: Liam.c.thompson-1@ou.edu
Profile: LinkedIn
Liam is pursuing two Bachelors of Sciences in Meteorology and Environmental Sustainability, with a minor in mathematics, and an undergraduate certificate in sustainable energy systems. He has strong, demonstrated skills in performing atmospheric science research and statistical data analysis. Additionally, his research interests include understanding the impacts of climate change on societies, coupled atmospheric ocean feedbacks such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), land use land changes, applying scaling theory to applications of atmospheric science, economic impacts from meteorological and climatological factors (e.g., impacts to the aviation industry, supply chains, agriculture, and more), and atmospheric chemistry and aerosol composition in urban areas. Finally, he is passionate about providing mentorship and resources to students, and has successfully served several students and mentees. As such he is interested in pursuing a career in academia teaching mathematics and meteorological courses.
Alumni
Bohong Li
Email: Bohong.Li-1@ou.edu
Previous Office: NWC 5340
Bohong was a visiting M.Sc. student majoring in Atmospheric Science from University of Hamburg. He finished his B.Sc. degree in meteorology in University of Hamburg. In his bachelor thesis, he analyzed steep temperature drops using data from the Hamburg Weather Mast. Bohong’s research interests include urban climate and emission, atmospheric chemistry, urban heat island, as well as health risk and public health due to changing urban climate. During his visit, his research focused on urban effects on precipitation.
Bohong’s personal interests include everything about Taylor Swift, sports and esports, gaming, photography, and watching series and movies.
Kihong Park
Email: alfhfhrl@cau.ac.kr
Previous Office: NWC 5357
Kihong was a visiting Ph.D. student majoring in Water Resources and Coastal Engineering from Chung-Ang University, Republic of Korea. He joined the SURF lab in Feb 2024. Before coming to OU, Kihong completed his master’s degree in Civil Engineering at Chung-Ang University. His previous research focused on the spatial and economic analysis of wastewater treatment plants, specifically the application of wastewater heat and risk analysis related to urban floods.
Kihong’s research interests include hydrology, meteorology, and disasters in the urban environment. His Ph.D. research focuses on the risk analysis of urban compound disasters using a multivariate probabilistic approach.
Sage Lail
Email: Sage.C.Lail-1@ou.edu
Sage was a first-generation college undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma majoring in Meteorology and Environmental Sustainability. His interests lie in climate change adaptation and urban environments. As an undergraduate researcher in the SURF Lab, he focused on investigating environmental exposure disparities in the urban environment.
Sage’s work also included active research at the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability at OU in the sustainability policies of the south-central plains. During his education abroad at the University of Reading, Sage conducted research into the flood potential of urban Southern England. He was also a data analyst at the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) ARM Data Quality Office.
Chase Green
Email: randall.c.green-1@ou.edu
Chase was a senior undergraduate student at OU, majoring in Meteorology. Although he has always been interested in tornadoes, he only really started to wonder how urban environments affect them after the March 2/3rd 2020 Nashville tornado. He worked with Emily Barbini on a Capstone project on how urban areas can impact supercell thunderstorms, with guidance from Dr. Wang.
Outside of weather, he enjoys Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and lacrosse. He hopes to continue researching tornadoes and supercells for years to come.
Emily Barbini
Email: emily.barbini@ou.edu
Emily was a senior undergraduate student at OU, majoring in Meteorology. She is from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Her interests include urban environments and severe weather events, as well as GIS. In her Capstone class, she has teamed up with Chase Green to research how urban areas can impact supercell thunderstorms, with guidance from Dr. Wang. Emily also worked on a second research project under the sponsorship of the NWS West Gulf River Forecast Center (WGRFC), where she analyzed how the urban environment of Dallas-Fort Worth can impact flooding conditions in its surrounding region. For her, these two projects were the first exposures to real-world research.
In the summer of 2022, Emily participated with researchers in a TORUS field campaign. One year later, she also aided researchers in the OUTFLOW field campaign. However, her time with OUTFLOW was cut short as she returned home to intern for the NWS West Gulf River Forecast Center via the NOAA Pathways program. There, she helped in the development of the recently released NWS Categorical Flood Inundation Maps. Outside of the realm of meteorology, Emily enjoys activities such as playing soccer, traveling, and amateur nature photography. Among her favorite subjects to photograph include the flora and fauna that she comes across.
Jonathan Hudson
Email: jonathanhudson22@ou.edu
Jonathan was a senior at OU and graduated with a B.S. in Geographic Information Science and a minor in Meteorology. Jonathan has been passionate about weather and the physical sciences for as long as he can remember, with a particular interest in severe weather. He worked on a Capstone Project, “NEXRAD radar network optimization using a GIS-based approach”, with Dr. Wang.
Outside of academics, he spends a lot of time playing games and being involved in/watching esports, he both produces his own and enjoys listening to electronic music, and he is an avid baseball fan. He also enjoys spending time hiking, playing tennis, and doing cosplay.
Sarah Henry
Email: smhenry2@illinois.edu
Previous Office: NWC 4235
Sarah Henry was an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois studying aerospace engineering and atmospheric sciences. Her interests lie broadly in the areas of climatology and atmospheric dynamics. Her work in the past has involved working with climate model output data to evaluate the effects of greenhouse gases and aerosols on tropical cyclone genesis. She was a member of the 2023 National Weather Center Research Experience for Undergraduates cohort and was mentored by Dr. Wang. Her work during the REU program focused on understanding how the frequency of compound air pollution and heat wave events in urban areas has changed due to global warming.