Three graduate students honored with Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three Penn State graduate students ─ John Banghoff, Min Liew, and Elena Vazquez ─ have been awarded the Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award.

April 27, 2018
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John Banghoff and Eric Barron

The award recognizes excellence in master’s-level thesis research in any of the disciplinary areas of arts and humanities; social sciences; physical and computational sciences; life and health sciences; and engineering.

Banghoff is a master’s student in meteorology. His research involves a radar-based analysis of structures in the lowest few kilometers of our atmosphere, which is known as the planetary boundary layer, or PBL.

In particular, Banghoff is focusing on features known as horizontal convective rolls, which serve as an engine of heat, moisture, and momentum transport within the lower portion of the atmosphere. They also influence the distribution of turbulence within the PBL and can lead to the initiation of severe storms.

One nominator expressed his belief that Banghoff’s research “will increase research using weather radars and lead to improved weather forecasts.”

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Three graduate students honored with Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award