Eve Gruntfest
Inventing and developing the WAS*IS movement have been the work I’ve enjoyed most in my long career.
I was a Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CO from 1980 until 2007. My career is originally based on what we can learn from the Big Thompson Flood in Colorado. That catastrophic flash flood occurred in July 1976 and 144 people were killed. I have published widely and I am an internationally recognized expert in the specialty areas of warning system development and flash flooding. In 2008 we are wrapping up a five- year National Science Foundation project evaluating warnings for short fuse weather events, particularly tornadoes and flash floods.
As a social scientist giving many presentations to the world of engineers and physical scientists, often early career folks would tell me that they wanted to do work that integrated social science and meteorology but they didn’t know how and they didn’t know other folks who were doing that kind of work. WAS*IS recognizes the need to bring social science methods into meteorology and to develop cadre of physical scientists who understand the benefits and tools of social science.
Beginning in May 2008 I will be directing a new initiative that build on the WAS*IS movement. SSWIM stands for Social Science Woven into Meteorology. With the expert assistance of WAS*ISers Heather Lazrus, Kim Klockow and Gina Eosco we will integrate social science into the multi-faceted National Weather Center in Norman, OK. Our project is funded jointly by University of Oklahoma and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We are thrilled that so many meteorology students recognize the importance of including societal impacts in their work. Stay tuned for exciting news of our projects.