DaNa L. Carlis, Ph.D. is a meteorologist and serves as the Deputy Director at GSL since September 2020. He comes to GSL from the Weather Program Office (WPO) where he established the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) Program. DaNa enjoys working between science, policy, and society to ensure better products and services for the American people. While spending over 18 years at NOAA, he began his career as a graduate student in NOAA’s Office of Education Educational Partnership Program (EPP). Soon after joining NOAA, DaNa was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii for 3 years of intensive weather research, numerical model development, and dissertation writing. He’s held positions at the National Weather Service Environmental Modeling Center as a research meteorologist developing the world’s mostly widely used weather forecast model (Global Forecast System Model), as a policy advisor to NOAA’s Chief Scientist and NOAA’s Assistant Secretary of Environmental Observations and Prediction. In 2016, he wrote a children’s book titled “MIT: Meteorologist in Training.” He loves people and is excited to call Colorado and GSL his new home. 

Research Interests

• Global and regional numerical weather prediction
• Data assimilation
• Observing System Experiments (OSE’s)
• Forecast Analysis and Verification
• Leadership
• Executive Coaching
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Education

• Doctorate of Philosophy, Atmospheric Science, May 2007
• Howard University, Washington, DC  
• Dissertation: Numerical simulations of island-scale airflow and the Maui Vortex under summer trade wind conditions
• Advisors: Dr. Vernon R. Morris (Howard U.) and Dr. Yi-Leng Chen (U. of Hawaii)
• Master of Science, Atmospheric Science, December 2002, Howard University, Washington, DC, Thesis: UV (280-325 nm) temperature dependent (197-295 K) absorption cross-sections of SO2, Advisors:  Dr. Joshua B. Halpern (Howard U.) and Dr. John Burris (NASA GSFC)
• Bachelor of Science, Chemistry, Minor: Mathematics, December 1999, Howard University, Washington, DC

Professional Activities

• American Meteorological Society Forecast Improvement Group Chair, 2018 - Present
• American Meteorological Society, 2002-Present
• American Geophysical Union, 2015-Present
• National Weather Association, 2015-Present

Honors and Awards

• NOAA Research Employee of the Year Award – Leadership, 2018
• NOAA Research EEO/Diversity Award, 2018
• American Meteorological Society Forecast Improvement Group Chair, 2018
• Booker T. Washington High School Tulsa, OK Distinguished Hall of Fame Inductee, 2018
• NOAA Administrators Award, 2017 
• NOAA Leadership Competencies Development Program Class IX, 2014-2016
• NOAA Administrators Award, 2016
• Diversity and Professional Advancement Working Group Leadership Award, 2016
• Department of Commerce Gold Medal, 2015
• NOAA Educational Partnership Program Graduate Research Fellow, 2002-2007
• Center for the Study of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Atmospheres Fellow, 2000-2002 
• Research Experience for Undergraduates Intern at CUNY, 1999

Peer Reviewed Papers

• Carlis, D. L., Y-L. Chen, V. R. Morris, 2009: Numerical simulations of island scale airflow over Maui and the Maui Vortex under summer trade-wind conditions. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 2706-2736.
• Ma, Jian, and Coauthors, 2009: Student-proposed cruise captured wakes of Oahu and Kauai islands. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 90, 1073–1077.

• Alpert, J. C, D. L. Carlis, B. A. Ballish, and V. K. Kumar, 2009: Improved forecast skill using pseudo-observations in the NCEP GFS. American Meteorological Society 13th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface 2009, Phoenix, AZ.
• Ballish, B. A., J. C. Alpert, D. L. Carlis, and V. K. Kumar, 2009: What causes NCEP GFS model forecast skill “Dropouts”. American Meteorological Society 13th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface 2009, Phoenix, AZ.
• Kumar, V. K., J. C. Alpert, D. L. Carlis and B. A. Ballish, 2009: Investigation of NCEP GFS forecast skill “Dropout” characteristics. American Meteorological Society 23rd Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting and the 19th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction 2009, Omaha, NE.
• Alpert, J. C, D. L. Carlis, B. A. Ballish, and V. K. Kumar, 2009: Using “Pseudo” RAOB Observations to Study GFS Skill Score Dropouts. American Meteorological Society 23rd Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting and the 19th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction 2009, Omaha, NE.
• Carlis, D. L., Y-L. Chen, V. R. Morris, 2008: Island-scale Airflow and the Maui Vortex Under Summer Trade-wind Conditions. American Meteorological Society Symposium on Linkages among Societal Benefits, Prediction Systems and Process Studies for 1-14 day Weather Forecasts, New Orleans, LA.

• Arzayus F., D.L. Carlis, C. Decker, S. Hayes, L. Kraatz, M. Westley, and M. Womble, 2016: Prospectus for Cooperative Institutes in the 21st Century.
• NOAA Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2017-2019
• DRAFT EPIC Strategic Plan

• Kumar K.V., D.L. Carlis, W. Lapenta, L. Dubots, 2019: The I in EPIC is for Innovation: The Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC). American Meteorological Society 10th Conference on Transition of Research to Operations, Boston, MA. 
• Lapenta W., D.L. Carlis, and K. Kumar, 2019: Coordinating the Giant: The Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC).  American Meteorological Society 30th Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting (WAF)/26th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), Boston, MA.
• Perfater S., G.M. Eosco, D.L. Carlis, A.E. Gerard, and N.P. Kurkowski, 2019: e-FACETs: Leveraging Research, Experimentation, and Collaboration to Execute the Expansion of FACETs across Multiple Environmental Threats and Time Scales. 8th Symposium on Building a Weather-Ready Nation: Enhancing Our Nation's Readiness, Responsiveness, and Resilience to High Impact Weather Events, Boston, MA.
• Koch, D., H. Tolman, G. Matlock, R.B. Rood, D.L. Carlis, D.T. Myrick, and P. Stone, 2019: Enabling Environmental Modeling in R2O in NOAA. American Meteorological Society 10th Conference on Transition of Research to Operations, Boston, MA.
• Koch, D., H., D.L. Carlis, and W. Pryor, 2019: Supporting Mechanisms for R2O within NOAA’s Unified Forecast System (UFS). American Meteorological Society 10th Conference on Transition of Research to Operations, Boston, MA. 
• Carlis, D.L., J. Cortinas, K. Robinson, and K. Fornace, 2018: The Changing Landscape of Weather R&D: Where do we go from here? American Meteorological Society 13th Symposium on Societal Applications: Policy, Research and Practice, Austin, TX.
• Carlis, D.L., J. Cortinas, C. McLean, 2018: Improving Weather Research and Services Through Sustained Ocean Observations. American Meteorological Society 98th Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.
• Melendez, D., A.H. Young, and D.L. Carlis, 2018: Trends in Federally Employed Women and Minorities in STEM at the Leading U.S. Science Agencies. American Meteorological Society 27th Symposium on Education, Austin, TX.
• Young, A.H., D.L. Carlis, and D. Melendez, 2017: Are there any upticks in federally employed women and minorities in STEM at the leading U.S. science agencies? American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2017, New Orleans, LA.
• LaPorta, R. and D. L. Carlis, 2014: Predictive Skill of the Seasonal CFSv2 Forecasts for Extreme Weather Patterns in the Southern Plains. American Meteorological Society 13th Annual Student Conference, Atlanta, GA. 
• Carlis, D. L. and M. Miller, 2013: Embedding Environmental Scientists in Informal Science Educational Institutions: Perspectives of an Embedded Meteorologist at the Exploratorium. American Meteorological Society 22nd Symposium on Education, Austin, TX. 
• Miller M., D. L. Carlis, M. Mileham, and A. Richardson, 2013: Embedding Environmental Scientists in Informal Science Educational Institutions: Strategies and Rewards. American Meteorological Society 22nd Symposium on Education, Austin, TX. 
• Ballish B. A., D. L. Carlis, V. K. Kumar, J. C. Alpert, S. Liu, and Y. Ling, 2013: An Analysis of VAD Radar Wind Impact on the NCEP GFS Slow Speed Bias: American Meteorological Society 17th Conference on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), Austin, TX. 
• Johnson C. D., D. L. Carlis, and V. K. Kumar, 2013: Extreme Analysis Differences between the ECMWF and GFS Models. American Meteorological Society 12th Annual Student Conference, Austin, TX. 
• Kumar V. K, J. C. Alpert, D. L. Carlis, and B. A. Ballish, 2013: A Sensitivity Study of the November 25, 2011 GFS Dropout Using the GSI Hybrid EnKF vs GSI 3DVAR. American Meteorological Society 17th Conference on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), Austin, TX.
• Plakkot, S., V. K. Kumar and D.L. Carlis, 2012: Comparison of the 2011 South Asian Monsoon Onset Characteristics in the GFS and ECMWF Models. American Meteorological Society T.N. Krishnamurti Symposium, New Orleans, LA. 
• Foley, E., D.L. Carlis and V. K. Kumar, 2012: Graphical Interface for NCEP's Global Data Assimilation System Observational Database. American Meteorological Society 28th Conference on Interactive Information Processing Systems, New Orleans, LA.
• Alpert, J. A., D.L. Carlis, B. Ballish, and V. K. Kumar, 2012: NCEP GFS Forecasts From ECMWF Analysis. American Meteorological Society Wiin-Nielsen Symposium III, New Orleans, LA.
• Schwantes, A., D. L. Carlis, E. Foley, S. Plakkot, and V. K. Kumar 2012: Observing System Experiments of the 2011 South Asian Monsoon Using Ncep's GFS Model. American Meteorological Society T. N. Krishnamurti Symposium, New Orleans, LA.
• Carlis, D. L., V. K. Kumar and J. C. Alpert, 2011: Estimation of Observation Impact using the Adjoint of the GSI Analysis at NCEP. American Meteorological Society 15th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), Seattle, WA.
• Schwantes, A., D. L. Carlis, 2011: GFS vs. GFS Parallel Model Verification for the May 1st–2nd Nashville, TN Flood. American Meteorological Society 15th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), Seattle, WA.
• Carlis, D. L., J. C. Alpert, B. A. Ballish, and V. K. Kumar, 2010: Update on the NCEP GFS Forecast Skill Score Dropouts. American Meteorological Society 14th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), Atlanta, GA.
• Carlis, D. L., 2009: Come experience NOAA. 5th NOAA Education and Science Forum at Howard University, Washington, DC.
• Carlis, D. L., Y-L. Chen, V. R. Morris, 2006: Numerical simulations of the Maui Vortex under summer trade-wind conditions.  University of Hawaii Meteorology Department 2007, Honolulu, HI.
• Carlis, D. L., Y-L. Chen, V. R. Morris, 2006. Numerical simulations of the diurnal variations of Maui Vortex and island-scale airflow under summer trade-wind conditions.  NOAA Educational Partnership Program Education and Science Forum 2006, Tallahassee, FL.
• Carlis, D. L., Y-L. Chen, V. R. Morris, 2004. Numerical model validation of summer trade-wind conditions on Maui. American Meteorological Society 26th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Miami, FL.
• Carlis, D. L., J. B. Halpern, T. J. McGee, J. B. Burris, 2001. UV (280-325 nm) temperature dependent (197-295 K) absorption cross-sections of SO2.  American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2001, San Francisco, CA.

• NOAA’s Challenge to Improve Weather Forecast Modeling
• NOAA Research Black History Month Profile: Dr. DaNa Carlis
• Spotlight on Commerce: DaNa Carlis, Meteorologist and Program Manager, Office of Weather and Air Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Can a ‘Crowdsourcing’ Approach Make the American Weather Model Best in the World
• DaNa Carlis to receive two OAR awards
• Booker T. Hall of Fame Inductions 2018 DaNa Carlis, Michael Mims and Larry McGee
• Calling Scientists of all Colors
• BDPA Today Earth Day Tech Summit Edition April 2017 
• Why Do Many Minorities Avoid Science
• Weathering the Storm: African-Americans in Meteorology
• NCAS Biographical Sketch
• WX Geeks Facebook Page (DaNa Carlis is Weather Geek of the Week)
• NOAA Interns Discuss Diversity and STEM on Capitol Hill 
• The NCAS Community Science Festival at Dorothy Height Community Academy