Graduate Student
Mr. Trostel’s research area concerns the diagnosis and modeling of recent precipitation trends in the Southeastern United States. The frequency and intensity of precipitation events on seasonal and annual scales are being investigated. Trends in these events over the last several decades are being examined to determine the dominant forcing mechanisms. The major mechanisms will be investigated and modeled in an effort to explain the observations and forecast future trends.
Mr. Trostel received his B.S. in Meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in 1979 and his M.S. In Physics from Clemson University in 1983. Since that time, he has been employed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Mr. Trostel is Director of the Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC) at GTRI. The SSRC is involved in the study of the meteorology of severe storms, particularly the detection of lightning and it’s relation to severe storm development. The SSRC is also involved in the development of cutting edge methods of storm detection using lightning mapping and infrasonic detection technologies.
Other efforts at GTRI that Mr. Trostel has been involved with include the development of data acquisition and analysis systems, effects of meteorological phenomena on millimeter wave (MMW) propagation and backscatter, and general physics and meteorological expertise. He is part of a GTRI team tasked to support the FAA in the development of a Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) system and was involved in investigations of MMW backscatter characteristics of snow-covered ground, atmospheric acoustics, and underwater sonar development.
Mr. Trostel is an active member of the American Meteorological Society, National Weather Association, American Geophysical Union and the American Physical Society.