August 25, 2020

The main takeaway from the August Officer meeting was discussing the SCAN/OWL Join Meeting that will be held on Tuesday, September 1st from 6-8 pm CDT. It will feature Elizabeth Smith who is going to talk about tornadoes/TORUS as well as her path to becoming a research scientist.

Furthermore, the SCAN section of the meeting will feature elections for two (2) Freshman Representatives and one (1) Graduate Representative. Nominations for the positions will be via the Zoom chat. We will then have them turn on the video to present speeches and then send out a google survey for them to fill out in order to vote. Dues will need to be paid in order to be eligible to vote. Dues will be $5 for the Fall semester. We are still working to have the capability to have dues paid virtually via Venmo or PayPal.

OU SCAN is also currently taking submissions for the LCAC photo contest. We are accepting submissions through September 15th, and the chapter will end up voting on their favorite to be our chapter’s submission.

The officers are currently planning a virtual social event for September. It will be a Kahoot style of trivia night with different opportunities to play and win. 

Plans are currently underway for the October and November General meetings. We are currently planning for the October General meeting to feature a broadcast meteorologist and the November General meeting to feature diversity in the SoM.

There were other talks about fundraising for different causes like the impacts from hurricane Laura or the wildfires in California and Colorado. Stay tuned for more information about how you can help.

July 7, 2020

All currently elected officers were present at the meeting. The meeting was characterized by a few main headlines for the next school year: how will scheduling work, chapter poster, how the budget looks, how to proceed with new merchandise, and possible speakers.

SCAN will operate in one of three different methods which are normal in-person meetings, limited meetings with zoom options, fully online options. One method will be chosen once guidance is provided from the University. Furthermore, when looking at speakers, the overarching themes included current research going on at OU, private sector meteorology, and broadcast meteorology. 

When discussing the budget, dues were discussed in reference to the three different options, and a discounted dues amount would be offered for zoom options. Exact prices have not been set at this time. While discussing the budget, merchandise was a large topic of the meeting and many ideas were thrown around. New T-shirt designs and other potential items were looked at. Potential fundraisers could be used to both sell merchandise and raise money for the chapter.

Another thing that we discussed was possible different social media ideas including throwback Thursday, research spotlights, alumni spotlights, etc. Furthermore, social media takeovers and highlighting member achievements are possible this upcoming year. Having a larger social media presence is important moving forward especially with potentially online options for meetings. Furthermore, updates to the website have been ongoing and are continuing.

Finally, new outreach opportunities were discussed. One idea was a severe weather guide that discusses a specific severe hazard that Oklahoma can experience (winter weather, severe weather, flash flooding, etc.). The idea could be uploaded to the SCAN website and be downloaded and printed out by people that want them.

April 7, 2020

Amendments:
the active member definition will be changed to include service projects yearly instead of semesterly as well as each additional service project can make up for a missed meeting. Vote was unanimous towards the amendment passing, 11-0. Next, the travel award will be an annual minimum of $200 to a board picked member in good standing traveling to a conference, with applications being approved of by our advisor. Vote was unanimous towards this amendment passing, 11-0.
All that’s left this year is our general meeting April 15th with Dr. David Bodine- virtually at 6:30pm CDT. This fall we may be releasing a new t-shirt design, more updates to come. Nominations are still ongoing, email Tyler or SCAN with the position you’re pursuing, or why you want to stay on the board. Voting will happen between April 13th-15th via google form. 

March 11, 2020

Announcements:

We are working on new merchandise so stay tuned for future updates! A goal we’ve had is to win the AMS Student Chapter of the Year and our President Tyler Stanfield presented to us the accomplishments we’ve had this year to hopefully achieve this. We are also considering a constitutional amendment to change the definition of an active member – moving from one service event per semester to one service event during the year. All additional service events will count toward making up missed general meetings! In addition, officer elections will be held next month so be on the look out for future announcements via email.

Gina Dixon is a licensed professional counselor, speaking about Mental Health in STEM. She talked about the differences in anxiety and stress. In addition to this she talked about how importance of a healthy diet, adequate amounts of sleep, exercise, and living a balanced lifestyle can help your mental health. She also talked about anxiety and depression. At the end of the meeting, an anonymous Q&A was done to allow students to ask more pointed questions. Resources to get help, along with information about the resources available to deal with anxiety, stress and depression were passed out.

March 3, 2020

Amendment Update: We revised Article XI, and voted it in unanimously. We are also taking a look at our active membership, by attending 66% of all of our general meetings and be a part of a service project once a semester has been revised to be 66% attendance of general meetings and at least one service project a year. On top of this, any additional service projects done will makeup one missed meeting. Next, the conference travel fund will be a monetary value of $400 up front with specific criteria to be determined. We hope to get this sorted out by AMS 2021. Our current budget is in fine standing, and we are looking to stock up on more merchandise (specifically pet tornadoes) as well as fund food for our last two general meetings. In other news, our time capsule will be postponed to next year to celebrate our 60th anniversary. Elizabeth, in charge of Outreach, is looking to Adopt-A-Highway, be on the look out for that!

The next meeting is March 11h at 6pm in room 1313 with Gina Dixon over Mental Health in STEM. This will be open and free for ALL STEM majors, and pizza and soft drinks will be provided. 

Our April Social Event will be various tour times for RIL throughout the first full week of April. 

The April General Meeting will be April 15th or 16th at 6:30pm in 1313 with David Bodine/Matt Flournoy. This will also be the meeting in which officer positions for 2020-2021 are voted on. To run for an officer position you must be an active member, and to run for President you must have served on the board 2019-2020. Food will be announced closer to the meeting time. 

February 11, 2020

Dr. Somer Erickson is the National FEMA liaison to the Storm Prediction Center. After starting out in a different career path within meteorology looking at research and the NWS, Dr. Erickson was more interested in the impact side of the weather. Her duties as FEMA Liaison to the SPC include monitoring threats, conducting a daily FEMA headquarters briefing, writing reports, giving regional briefings, using GIS support networks, and NRCC responses. The creation of FEMA is a ‘newer’ government branch, and one that has taken some time to perfect. There are a multitude of jobs and careers within emergency management, varying from different aspects of weather to health, to environment, law enforcement, GIS, and more. She made a point to talk about volunteerism within emergency management, as most offices are always busy and could use whatever help they can get. This is beneficial to those wanting to get involved in the field. She urges you to contact your local offices if you want to learn more!”

February 4, 2020

Our poster feedback was received recently from AMS this past January, and our judges loved the clean design! An amendment is being looked at for dissolution of chapter in which the chapter will no longer exist if 66% of all active members vote to dissolve. This will be revisited at our next officer meeting. 

We received some feedback from Ground Hog Day the biggest complaint was that it was hosted on a Tuesday. We will remember this next year to improve Ground Hog Day 2021’s attendance. Glancing at our budget, we will be good to go hosting a hurricane workshop with the Oklahoma Weather Lab(which was postponed to February 19th), food for the next 3 general meetings, and restocking t-shirts! February 11th at 6:30pm is our next general meeting with Dr. Erickson and COCAMS. We’ll provide pizza and COCAMS will supply drinks.

We also need materials for our time capsule, which we may combine with the School to promote. Further information will be given later. Looking ahead to Big Event, Tyler spoke with the Big Event org and decided to make the group a wider label ‘meteorology’. The March 10th general meeting we decided to let members decide who they want to hear in a poll! Possible speakers include the NWS, WDTD, An Indecent Meteorologist, Climate, The Weather Channel, and RIL. Food will be pizza again, and name of speaker will be announced soon. 

Our resume help session on critiquing and editing resumes in prep for career fair speaker: Leslie Illston will be held both Monday, February 24th and Wednesday February 26th. There is a SCAN Volunteer Opportunity 10-11:30am set up for the Career Fair February 28th 1-5pm. 

January 21, 2020

Our officer meetings this semester will be the first Tuesday of every month at 6pm in the board room (NWC 1120). 

A Tiebreaker Clause was proposed to our Constitution in the case of ties during our general elections, and will be voted on tonight. A unanimous decision (11 yays, 0 nays) was made to pass this clause, and it is now accepted into our Constitution. Soon the Constitution will be available on the SCAN website for anyone to read. 

REU and Hollings workshop is nearing, January 24th at 3pm with Daphne Ladue, Liz Leitman, and past REU/Hollings scholars. It’s structured similar to the Grad App help sessions, and will provide information and a run down on how to be a good candidate.

Groundhog Day is also coming up Tuesday, January 28th at 6:30pm at O’Connell’s Irish Pub on Campus Corner. Karaoke and a DJ will be present, with plenty of food options, and drinks for those 21 and up. 

February 5th is our next event, co-hosted with the Oklahoma Weather Lab. It’ll be a Hurricane Forecasting Workshop through Skype with Dr. Michael Brennan, and food/drinks will be provided. It will be a packed few weeks, because we also have a general meeting February 11th with Dr. Somer Erickson, the FEMA Liaison to the SPC, over Disaster Risk and Response, co-hosted with COCAMS/NWA. Food and drinks will also be provided with this meeting.

A 10 year time capsule will be put together by the February 11th meeting, more info to come later.

We have many objectives for this coming year, and we are excited to accomplish more as a growing Student Chapter in 2020.

November 19, 2019 

Addison Alford speaks on the SMART Radar trucks and more at the SCAN November General Meeting:

The SMART Radars offer high-resolution observations of storm-scale evolution of hurricanes, severe continental convection, and lightning. Goals of landfall observations within hurricanes for the SMART team include convective processes that can lead to intensification, rainfall/wind distribution, dynamic processes during landfill,, and near-surface evolution. They observed Hurricane Harvey in a long deployment, as they were ~10 miles inland from Rockport, Texas. Harvey’s landfall proved successful for the Smart Radar Truck team. It was recognized that the storm was propagating against the mean wind, consistent with VRWs. In a partnership with NSSL, Sean Waugh suggested the release of soundings into the hurricanes they deploy into. This was conducted in Hurricane Harvey, showing notable precipitable water into the interior edge of the eye wall of Harvey, likely reaching a record level (3.26 inches) for the United States. The team has also been deployed to Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Dorian, and more. Wrapping up he talks more about the Vortex Southeast campaign with the radar trucks. He speaks on different chases they experienced, and goes over the mesovortices in QLCS events that they were able to see in the radar imagery the trucks generated. April 14th, 2018 they showed that mesovortex tracks can last long periods of time and produce multiple localized tornadogenesis events in additions to straight line wind events. In summary, the utility of mobile radars lies in their ability to get close to their targets, maximizing resolution. “

November 14, 2019

Presented the new tiebreaker clause to the board to be voted on in the January officer meeting.

Made the board member aware of the updated member list and inventory counts. Reviewed September and October financial status. Recouped 2/3 of the cost for the t-shirts. Reviewed attendance of the October meetings, which were significantly up. We received $350 dollars for the rest of this semester from SGA. We also discussed the future of the travel fund.

Gave an update on the YouTube channel. We reviewed what remained in terms of events over the next semester and looked going forward. We confirmed the hurricane forecasting workshop jointly with OWL. We discussed our November General Meeting catering as well as the 100 member celebration.