Katharine Kanak

{{Short description|American meteorologist}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Katharine M. Kanak

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| fields = Meteorology

| workplaces = University of Oklahoma, School of Meteorology/ CIMMS (now CIWRO)

| alma_mater = University of Oklahoma (B.S., 1987)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (M.S., 1990)
University of Oklahoma (Ph.D., 1999)

| thesis_title = On the Formation of Vertical Vortices in the Atmosphere

| thesis_url =

| thesis_year = 1999

| doctoral_advisor = Douglas K. Lilly
John T. Snow

| academic_advisors = Gregory J. Tripoli

| doctoral_students =

| notable_students =

| known_for = Turbulent boundary layer structures; Dust devils on Earth and Mars; Tornadoes and supercells; Mammatus clouds; Hailstorms

| influences =

| influenced =

| awards = University of Wisconsin-Madison: Schwerdtfeger Award and Lettau Award. University of Oklahoma: Graduate Teaching Award

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Katharine M. Kanak is an American atmospheric scientist with noted publications on the dynamics and morphologies of atmospheric vortices, including tropical cyclones, supercell storms, tornadoes, and convective boundary layer vortices, such as dust devils,{{Cite web|last=Speckman|first=Stephen|date=2001-07-24|title=Utah a dust-devil haven|url=https://www.deseret.com/2001/7/24/19597944/utah-a-dust-devil-haven|access-date=2021-10-11|website=Deseret News|language=en}} both terrestrial{{Cite journal |last=Kanak |first=Katharine M. |last2=Lilly |first2=Douglas K. |last3=Snow |first3=John T. |date=October 2000 |title=The formation of vertical Vortices in the convective boundary layer |url=https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qj.49712656910 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |language=en |volume=126 |issue=569 |pages=2789–2810 |doi=10.1002/qj.49712656910 |issn=0035-9009}}{{Cite journal |last=Kanak |first=Katharine M. |date=2005-04-01 |title=Numerical simulation of dust devil-scale vortices |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1256/qj.03.172 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |language=en |volume=131 |issue=607 |pages=1271–1292 |doi=10.1256/qj.03.172}}and Martian.{{Cite journal |last=Kanak |first=Katharine M. |date=October 2006 |title=On the numerical simulation of dust devil–like vortices in terrestrial and Martian convective boundary layers |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2006GL026207 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |language=en |volume=33 |issue=19 |doi=10.1029/2006GL026207 |issn=0094-8276}}{{Cite journal |last=Cantor |first=Bruce A. |last2=Kanak |first2=Katharine M. |last3=Edgett |first3=Kenneth S. |date=December 2006 |title=Mars Orbiter Camera observations of Martian dust devils and their tracks (September 1997 to January 2006) and evaluation of theoretical vortex models |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2006JE002700 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |language=en |volume=111 |issue=E12 |doi=10.1029/2006JE002700 |issn=0148-0227}} She has also published papers on mammatus clouds,{{Cite journal |last=Schultz |first=David M. |last2=Kanak |first2=Katharine M. |last3=Straka |first3=Jerry M. |last4=Trapp |first4=Robert J. |last5=Gordon |first5=Brent A. |last6=Zrnić |first6=Dusan S. |last7=Bryan |first7=George H. |last8=Durant |first8=Adam J. |last9=Garrett |first9=Timothy J. |last10=Klein |first10=Petra M. |last11=Lilly |first11=Douglas K. |date=2006-10-01 |title=The Mysteries of Mammatus Clouds: Observations and Formation Mechanisms |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/JAS3758.1 |journal=Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences |language=en |volume=63 |issue=10 |pages=2409–2435 |doi=10.1175/JAS3758.1 |issn=1520-0469}}{{Cite journal |last=Kanak |first=Katharine M. |last2=Straka |first2=Jerry M. |last3=Schultz |first3=David M. |date=2008-05-01 |title=Numerical Simulation of Mammatus |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/2007JAS2469.1 |journal=Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences |language=en |volume=65 |issue=5 |pages=1606–1621 |doi=10.1175/2007JAS2469.1 |issn=1520-0469}}{{Cite journal |last=Kanak |first=Katharine M. |last2=Straka |first2=Jerry M. |date=October 2009 |title=Effects of linear, ambient wind shear on simulated mammatus‐like clouds |url=https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asl.224 |journal=Atmospheric Science Letters |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=226–232 |doi=10.1002/asl.224 |issn=1530-261X|doi-access=free }} hailstorms, and hail processes{{Cite journal |last=Straka |first=Jerry M. |last2=Kanak |first2=Katharine M. |last3=Gilmore |first3=Matthew S. |date=2007-08-01 |title=The Behavior of Number Concentration Tendencies for the Continuous Collection Growth Equation Using One- and Two-Moment Bulk Parameterization Schemes |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/JAM2527.1 |journal=Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology |language=en |volume=46 |issue=8 |pages=1264–1274 |doi=10.1175/JAM2527.1 |issn=1558-8432}} and numerical techniques.

Kanak earned a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma in 1987, majoring in meteorology and minoring in mathematics. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison she completed an M.S. in meteorology in 1990 with the thesis, Three-Dimensional, Non-Hydrostatic Numerical Simulation of a Developing Tropical Cyclone. She returned to the University of Oklahoma and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1999 with the dissertation On the Formation of Vertical Vortices in the Atmosphere. Kanak has developed three-dimensional numerical models for atmospheric simulation for both Earth and Mars and collaborated in field research. She was assistant field coordinator for Project VORTEX in 1994-1995 and participated in [https://www.eol.ucar.edu/field_projects/steps/ STEPS] in 2000,{{cite web |last = Kanak |first = Katharine M. |title = Vitae |publisher = University of Oklahoma |date = Jun 2012 |url = http://hal9000.ou.edu/kkanak/vitae.html |accessdate = 2014-05-17 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140517115446/http://hal9000.ou.edu/kkanak/vitae.html |archivedate = 2014-05-17 |url-status = dead }} as well as serving as a co-PI for [https://www.eol.ucar.edu/field_projects/vortex2/ VORTEX2] in 2009-2010.{{Cite web |url=http://www.vortex2.org/PI/crew.html |title=VORTEX2: Our Team |access-date=2014-05-19 |archive-date=2016-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801235842/http://www.vortex2.org/PI/Crew.html |url-status=dead }}

See also

References