Contact Information
Biography
Dr. Trapp is a Professor and Head of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining Illinois in 2014, he was a Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Purdue University from 2003-2014, and a research scientist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory (through the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies) in Norman, Oklahoma from 1996-2003. Four years of his tenure with NSSL were spent as a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
Dr. Trapp's research interests include the dynamics and observations of mesoscale convective systems, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes; mesoscale modeling and predictability.
Trapp received his B.S. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, M.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and Ph.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma. He was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow.
Education
- Ph.D. in Meteorology, The University of Oklahoma, 1994
- M.S. in Meteorology, Texas A&M University, 1989
- B.S. in Agriculture/Atmospheric Science, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1985
External Links
Recent Publications
Goodnight, J. S., Chehak, D. A., & Trapp, R. J. (2022). Quantification of QLCS Tornadogenesis, Associated Characteristics, and Environments across a Large Sample. Weather and Forecasting, 37(11), 2087-2105. https://doi.org/10.1175/waf-d-22-0016.1
Lasher-Trapp, S., Jo, E., Allen, L. R., Engelsen, B. N., & Trapp, R. J. (2021). Entrainment in a Simulated Supercell Thunderstorm. Part I: The Evolution of Different Entrainment Mechanisms and Their Dilutive Effects. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 78(9), 2725-2740. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-20-0223.1
Nesbitt, S. W., Salio, P. V., Ávila, E., Bitzer, P., Carey, L., Chandrasekar, V., Deierling, W., Dominguez, F., Dillon, M. E., Garcia, C. M., Gochis, D., Goodman, S., Hence, D. A., Kosiba, K. A., Kumjian, M. R., Lang, T., Luna, L. M., Marquis, J., Marshall, R., ... Grover, M. A. (2021). A storm safari in subtropical South America: Proyecto RELAMPAGO. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 102(8), E1621-E1644. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0029.1
Raupach, T. H., Martius, O., Allen, J. T., Kunz, M., Lasher-Trapp, S., Mohr, S., Rasmussen, K. L., Trapp, R. J., & Zhang, Q. (2021). The effects of climate change on hailstorms. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 2(3), 213-226. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-00133-9
SCHUMACHER, RUSS. S., HENCE, DEANNA. A., NESBITT, STEPHEN. W., TRAPP, ROBERT. J., KOSIBA, KAREN. A., WURMAN, JOSHUA., SALIO, PAOLA., RUGNA, MARTIN., VARBLE, ADAM. C., & KELLY, NATHAN. R. (2021). Convective-storm environments in subtropical south america from high-frequency soundings during relampago-cacti. Monthly Weather Review, 149(5), 1439-1458. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-20-0293.1
