Participants' Profiles - First IAI/UM Summer Institute

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Short Profile of Institute Participants

This brief description of the academic backgrounds, research interests and current activities of the Summer Institute participants was assembled from the material submitted in the participants' application forms. The 20 participants come from 12 countries in the Americas.

Cecilia Conde has an M.S. in Physics (1996) from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She has been involved in various projects studying the impacts of climate change and climate variability on agricultural production and water resources in Mexico. She has acted as a "translator" between climate and agricultural researchers, and participated in various workshops involving decision- and policy-makers.

Marcos Costa received a Ph.D. degree (1998) in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA. The title of his thesis was "Water resources of the Amazon Basin: potential effects of environmental change." He is currently an Associate Professor at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil. His main research interests include the potential effects of climate variability on human activities, especially water resources, but also agriculture.

Claudine Dereczynski has an M.S. degree in Meteorology (1995) from Brazil's Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE, Space Research Institute). She is now a Ph.D. student in the Meteorology Department of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Her thesis studies the limits of seasonal and inter-annual climate predictability for tropical South America using an atmospheric general circulation model. She has been exploring the influence of Atlantic SSTs on modulating ENSO influences on precipitation in northeastern Brazil.

Kirstin Dow received a Ph.D. in Geography (1996) from Clark University, USA, and she is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, University of South Carolina. Her general research interests include the areas of risk, vulnerability, how people integrate various types of scientific knowledge into their decision-making about risks, and the human dimensions of global environmental changes.

Simone Ferraz is pursuing a Master's degree in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The title of her thesis is "Intraseasonal oscillations in the south and southeast of Brazil." Mrs. Ferraz has been involved in several analyses of the ENSO signal on precipitation in southeastern South America.

Alexandre Gagnon is pursuing a Master's degree in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada. For his thesis work, Mr. Gagnon is correlating ENSO-related climate anomalies in countries where dengue and malaria are endemic with the outbreak or lack of outbreak of these diseases. He is also considering other factors that may influence outbreaks, such as increased population movements and financial constraints for the control of vector-borne diseases.

Patricia Jaime has an undergraduate degree in Water Resources Engineering (1985) from the Universidad del Litoral, Argentina, and an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering (1995) from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is currently a researcher at Argentina's Instituto Nacional del Agua, where she is involved in the implementation, calibration and validation of hydrodynamic models. In particular, she has contributed to implementing the hydrodynamic model of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers, which is the basis for a Hydrological Alert System in Argentina.

Alejandro León has a B.S. in Agriculture (1982) from the Universidad de Chile and a Master's degree in Business Administration (1994) from the Catholic University of Chile. He is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Universidad de Chile, and also has worked in the Chilean private agribusiness sector. Mr. León is completing a Ph.D. in the Arid Lands Resources Sciences program at the University of Arizona. His dissertation links climate variability, desertification processes, and socioeconomic indicators of human vulnerability in the Chilean semi-arid and drought-prone region of Coquimbo.

Ileana Mora has a B.S. in Meteorology (1998) and is now pursuing a Master's degree in Atmospheric Sciences at the Universidad de Costa Rica. Her thesis deals with the influence of ENSO and regional climate systems. on the Arenal Reservoir, Costa Rica. A hydroelectric power plant located near that site provides almost half of the electricity produced by Costa Rica.

Lino Naranjo has a Doctorate in Geographical Sciences (1973) from the Academy of Sciences, Cuba. He is currently a researcher at Cuba's Instituto de Meteorología. Dr. Naranjo's interest focus on interannual climate variability, including the physics of ENSO events, and their influence on climate and society. He is co-PI of a Cuban program on climate variability.

Giampaolo Orlandoni has an undergraduate degree in Economics and an M.S. in Econometrics (1978) from Iowa State University. He is now a professor at the University of Los Andes, Venezuela, where he is involved in the statistical analysis of time series (economics, education, climatology), project analysis (economic and environmental), and in modeling and simulation (econometrics and system dynamics).

Thomas Pagano is a Master's student in the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona. His thesis investigates the use and usability of climate forecasts for making water management decisions, using the activities of agencies in Arizona during the 1997-98 El Niño event as a case study.

Andrea Ray has an M.S. in Oceanography (1989) from the University of Delaware, USA. She currently works for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as manager of a program on Pan-american climate research. She is also working on a Ph.D in Geography at the University of Colorado. Her dissertation will investigate use of seasonal climate forecasts in water resource management of the Upper Colorado River. Her research interests include how predictions of wet and dry years can assist in managing dams to satisfy multiple objectives

Alvaro Roel has an M.S. degree in Agronomy (1996) from Texas A&M University, USA. He is currently a researcher at Uruguay's Agricultural Research Institute (INIA). He has been involved in several projects studying the effects of climate variability on crops and pastures. His activities include the use of crop simulation models and extensive interaction with local farmers and farmers' organizations. He is currently involved in a project on irrigation management for rice.

Sonia Rojas has a B.S. in Physics (1996) from the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), Paraguay. She is currently a researcher at the UNA. Although her work was focused originally on ozone measurements, Ms. Rojas became interested in climate variability issues after the strong 1998 Niño event, which had extremely damaging socioeconomic consequences for Paraguay. She will be involved in an IAI-CRN project in southeastern South America.

Silvina Solman has a Doctorate in Atmospheric Science (1993) from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. She is currently an Assistant Professor at UBA's Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. Solman developed statistical downscaling techniques to assess regional consequences on Argentine agriculture of climate change predicted by global GCMS. Dr. Solman will participate in the IAI-CRN project led by Dr. Mario Núñez.

Michael Taylor has a Master of Philosophy degree (1996) in Physics from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. He is close to completing a Ph.D. in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Maryland. Mr. Taylor's dissertation focuses on the interannual variability of Caribbean climate, specifically how the occurrence of an El Niño event affects early-season Caribbean rainfall.

Marta Vinocur received an M.S. degree in Crop and Soil Sciences (1997) from Michigan State University, USA, with support from a Fulbright Scholarship. She is currently an instructor and researcher at the Universidad de Rio Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina. Ms. Vinocur is working on a Ph.D. dissertation focusing on the effects of climate variability on crop production, and is the PI of a project funded by Argentina's Science & Technology Council (CONICET).

Antoinette Wannebo has a Master of Environmental Studies degree (1996) from Yale University, USA. She is currently a researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), where she uses remote sensing and GIS technologies to study the impact of interannual climate variability on agricultural systems. She is involved in a NASA-funded project focusing on agricultural impacts of ENSO in five regions: the US Cornbelt, northwest Brazil, southeastern South America, the Cerrados, and Zimbabwe.

Departed early:

Angel Villalobos has a Master of Engineering degree (1996) from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He is a researcher at the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA), where he has been involved in projects related to water resources planning and management, and optimal water allocation policies in watersheds. He is currently participating in an IAI-ISP3 program to characterize ENSO impacts on streamflow and crop yields in one of the most important irrigation districts in Mexico.

Cancelled Participation:

Mario Tiscareño-López has a Ph.D. in Watershed Management (1994) from the University of Arizona. He is now an investigator at Mexico's agricultural research institute (INIFAP), where he led the Climate and Crop Modeling program. His current research focuses on the effects of ENSO-related climate variability on Mexican agriculture.

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Page Last Updated: July 13, 1999

Contact Information: Guillermo Podestá, Institute Science Coordinator
e-mail: gpodesta@rsmas.miami.edu
Telephone: 1.305.361.4142
FAX: 1.305.361.4622

	Cecilia Conde has an M.S. in Physics (1996) from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She has been involved in various projects studying the impacts of climate change and climate variability on agricultural production and water resources in Mexico. She has acted as a "translator" between climate and agricultural researchers, and participated in various workshops involving decision- and policy-makers.
	Marcos Costa received a Ph.D. degree (1998) in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA. The title of his thesis was "Water resources of the Amazon Basin: potential effects of environmental change." He is currently an Associate Professor at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil. His main research interests include the potential effects of climate variability on human activities, especially water resources, but also agriculture.
	Claudine Dereczynski has an M.S. degree in Meteorology (1995) from Brazil's Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE, Space Research Institute). She is now a Ph.D. student in the Meteorology Department of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Her thesis studies the limits of seasonal and inter-annual climate predictability for tropical South America using an atmospheric general circulation model. She has been exploring the influence of Atlantic SSTs on modulating ENSO influences on precipitation in northeastern Brazil.
	Kirstin Dow received a Ph.D. in Geography (1996) from Clark University, USA, and she is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, University of South Carolina. Her general research interests include the areas of risk, vulnerability, how people integrate various types of scientific knowledge into their decision-making about risks, and the human dimensions of global environmental changes.
	Simone Ferraz is pursuing a Master's degree in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The title of her thesis is "Intraseasonal oscillations in the south and southeast of Brazil." Mrs. Ferraz has been involved in several analyses of the ENSO signal on precipitation in southeastern South America.
	Alexandre Gagnon is pursuing a Master's degree in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada. For his thesis work, Mr. Gagnon is correlating ENSO-related climate anomalies in countries where dengue and malaria are endemic with the outbreak or lack of outbreak of these diseases. He is also considering other factors that may influence outbreaks, such as increased population movements and financial constraints for the control of vector-borne diseases.
	Patricia Jaime has an undergraduate degree in Water Resources Engineering (1985) from the Universidad del Litoral, Argentina, and an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering (1995) from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is currently a researcher at Argentina's Instituto Nacional del Agua, where she is involved in the implementation, calibration and validation of hydrodynamic models. In particular, she has contributed to implementing the hydrodynamic model of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers, which is the basis for a Hydrological Alert System in Argentina.
	Alejandro León has a B.S. in Agriculture (1982) from the Universidad de Chile and a Master's degree in Business Administration (1994) from the Catholic University of Chile. He is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Universidad de Chile, and also has worked in the Chilean private agribusiness sector. Mr. León is completing a Ph.D. in the Arid Lands Resources Sciences program at the University of Arizona. His dissertation links climate variability, desertification processes, and socioeconomic indicators of human vulnerability in the Chilean semi-arid and drought-prone region of Coquimbo.
	Ileana Mora has a B.S. in Meteorology (1998) and is now pursuing a Master's degree in Atmospheric Sciences at the Universidad de Costa Rica. Her thesis deals with the influence of ENSO and regional climate systems. on the Arenal Reservoir, Costa Rica. A hydroelectric power plant located near that site provides almost half of the electricity produced by Costa Rica.
	Lino Naranjo has a Doctorate in Geographical Sciences (1973) from the Academy of Sciences, Cuba. He is currently a researcher at Cuba's Instituto de Meteorología. Dr. Naranjo's interest focus on interannual climate variability, including the physics of ENSO events, and their influence on climate and society. He is co-PI of a Cuban program on climate variability.
	Giampaolo Orlandoni has an undergraduate degree in Economics and an M.S. in Econometrics (1978) from Iowa State University. He is now a professor at the University of Los Andes, Venezuela, where he is involved in the statistical analysis of time series (economics, education, climatology), project analysis (economic and environmental), and in modeling and simulation (econometrics and system dynamics).
	Thomas Pagano is a Master's student in the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona. His thesis investigates the use and usability of climate forecasts for making water management decisions, using the activities of agencies in Arizona during the 1997-98 El Niño event as a case study.
	Andrea Ray has an M.S. in Oceanography (1989) from the University of Delaware, USA. She currently works for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as manager of a program on Pan-american climate research. She is also working on a Ph.D in Geography at the University of Colorado. Her dissertation will investigate use of seasonal climate forecasts in water resource management of the Upper Colorado River. Her research interests include how predictions of wet and dry years can assist in managing dams to satisfy multiple objectives
	Alvaro Roel has an M.S. degree in Agronomy (1996) from Texas A&M University, USA. He is currently a researcher at Uruguay's Agricultural Research Institute (INIA). He has been involved in several projects studying the effects of climate variability on crops and pastures. His activities include the use of crop simulation models and extensive interaction with local farmers and farmers' organizations. He is currently involved in a project on irrigation management for rice.
	Sonia Rojas has a B.S. in Physics (1996) from the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), Paraguay. She is currently a researcher at the UNA. Although her work was focused originally on ozone measurements, Ms. Rojas became interested in climate variability issues after the strong 1998 Niño event, which had extremely damaging socioeconomic consequences for Paraguay. She will be involved in an IAI-CRN project in southeastern South America.
	Silvina Solman has a Doctorate in Atmospheric Science (1993) from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. She is currently an Assistant Professor at UBA's Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Dr. Solman developed statistical downscaling techniques to assess regional consequences on Argentine agriculture of climate change predicted by global GCMS. Dr. Solman will participate in the IAI-CRN project led by Dr. Mario Núñez.
	Michael Taylor has a Master of Philosophy degree (1996) in Physics from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. He is close to completing a Ph.D. in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Maryland. Mr. Taylor's dissertation focuses on the interannual variability of Caribbean climate, specifically how the occurrence of an El Niño event affects early-season Caribbean rainfall.
	Marta Vinocur received an M.S. degree in Crop and Soil Sciences (1997) from Michigan State University, USA, with support from a Fulbright Scholarship. She is currently an instructor and researcher at the Universidad de Rio Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina. Ms. Vinocur is working on a Ph.D. dissertation focusing on the effects of climate variability on crop production, and is the PI of a project funded by Argentina's Science & Technology Council (CONICET).
	Antoinette Wannebo has a Master of Environmental Studies degree (1996) from Yale University, USA. She is currently a researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), where she uses remote sensing and GIS technologies to study the impact of interannual climate variability on agricultural systems. She is involved in a NASA-funded project focusing on agricultural impacts of ENSO in five regions: the US Cornbelt, northwest Brazil, southeastern South America, the Cerrados, and Zimbabwe.