Dr. Kawser Ahmed
University of Dhaka
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Phone: + 880-2-9661920 ext. 7779
Fax: + 880-2-8615583
kawser_du_at_yahoo.com, kawser@univdhaka.edu

Dr. Ahmed is a Professor at the University of Dhaka.  He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Environmental Science, Global Climate Change, Ecological and Environmental Modeling, and Oceanography and has recently been engaging in various environmental related research projects. Dr. Ahmed graduated in 1997 with a PhD from the Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo under a Japanese Government Scholarship (MONBUSHO). His doctoral research focused on use of physical-ecological modeling (specifically three dimensional physical-ecological coupled environmental models) to understand the impact of Westerlies on the bio-geo-chemical cycling in the Pacific Ocean. 

Was not able to attend the institute.

Dr. Edvin Aldrian
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology
(BPP Technology – Indonesia)
Jl. MH Thamrin no 8, Jakarta 10340, Indonesia
Phone: + 62-21-316-8832
Fax: + 62-21-390-6225
edvin_at_webmail.bppt.go.id 

Dr. Aldrian’s is a staff member at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology where his main research focus is climate research. He recently finished several collaborative projects on climate and water studies, most of which involved partners from other countries.  He also is a lecturer at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta and the Bogor Institute for Agriculture, Jakarta. Dr. Aldrian graduated with a PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg Germany.  His PhD work was on climate modeling research focusing on the Indonesian Monsoon and involved a multi scale atmospheric, ocean and coupled ocean-atmospheric modeling approach.

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Ms. Kyong-Hee An
APCC (APEC Climate Center)
National Pension Corporation Busan Bldg. 12Fl.
Yeonsan 2(i)-dogn, Yeonje-gu, Busan, 611-705, Republic of Korea
Phone: + 82-51-668-7470~2
Fax: + 82-51-668-7473
khan_at_apcc21.net
 

Ms. An is a junior research assistant of the APEC Climate Center (APCC) where she also studies the extra-tropical predictability and the impact of tropical heating correction using GCM. Ms. An is currently involved in the production of APCC Seasonal Forecast and she is the focal point of APCC international joint research project conducted by CliPAS(Climate Predication and its Application to Society). She holds a Master of Science in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the Seoul National University.

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Ms. Francia B. Avila
Manila Observatory
Ateneo de Manila University Campus
Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
Phone: + 63-2-426-5921
Fax: + 36-2-426-0837
franz_at_observatory.ph 

Ms. Avila is a research assistant at the Regional Climate Systems Program of the Manila Observatory.  Her current research involves rainfall change and variability in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, climatology and forecasting of tropical cyclones, and assessment of disaster risks due to climate and weather related hazards.  Ms. Avila is pursuing a Master of Science in Physics at Ateneo de Manila University.  She currently holds a Bachelor of Science degree in both Computer Engineering and Physics.

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Dr. William Boos
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave., Room 54-1721
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Phone: + 617-253-5935
Fax: + 617-253-6208
billboos_at_alum.mit.edu

Dr. Boos has spent the past five years in graduate studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), examining the role played by wind-dependent surface heat fluxes in the abrupt onset of monsoon circulations.  In particular, his thesis used theory, numerical models, and observations to examine seasonally-varying monsoon circulations in a framework where moist convection redistributes energy in the vertical to maintain the atmosphere in a quasi-equilibrium state.  In addition to academic research, he has done some applied work on the impacts of climate variability in developing countries through intensive workshops and collaborative efforts. Dr. Boos recently defended his thesis and now holds a PhD in Atmospheric Science from MIT.

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Dr. Roongroj (Kij) Chokngamwong
Center for Earth Observing and Space Research
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Phone: + (703) 209-5705 (cell)
rchoknga_at_gmu.edu

Dr. Chokngamwong is a System Administrator and Research Assistant at the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research, George Mason University.  He is responsibilities include managing and maintaining the server for the Polar Satellite Precipitation Data Center (PSPDC), processing and evaluating satellite data, and developing a technique for rain estimation using satellite using microwave and infrared data. He is especially interested in evaluation and development of satellite rainfall estimation from hydrological remote sensing data.  Dr. Chokngamwong holds a PhD in Computational and Informatics from George Mason University.

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Dr. Dulakshi Karunasingha
Dept. of Engineering Mathematics
Faculty of Engineering
University of Peradeniya
Sri Lanka
Phone: + 94812393354
Fax: + 94812388158
dulakshi_at_yahoo.com

Dr. Karunasingha obtained her Ph.D. degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2006. She graduated from University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, specializing in Civil Engineering and worked as a Research Assistant and then as a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Peradeniya, prior to joining NUS as a Research Scholar to pursue her Ph.D. Currently she is employed in the Dept of Engineering Mathematics, University of Peradeniya as a Senior Lecturer. Her research area is Investigation of data-driven techniques in solving problems of hydrology. Her research interests include Hydro-informatics, Data mining, Data assimilation, Mathematical modeling and Machine learning (e.g. Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines) applications in Engineering.

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Dr. Pankaj Kumar
C & H Division
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune – 411008, Maharashtra, India.
Phone: + 91-20-25893600 Ext. 363
Fax: + 91-20-25893825
pankaj_at_tropmet.res.in

Dr. Kumar is a research associate at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.  He is currently working on a funded project on the “Development of Regional Atmosphere-Ocean Coupled Modeling Strategy for Predicting Indian Summer Monsoon.” His research interests are in the South Asian Monsoon, climate modeling, diagnostics, and development of future climate scenarios to study the inter-annual and long-term variations in the monsoon systems. Dr. Kumar holds a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from Pune University.

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Dr. Ju Neng Liew  
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 
Marine Science Program
Faculty of Science and Technology
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600, Bandar Baru Bangi
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia         
Phone: + 603-89215870      
Fax: + 603-89253357
juneng_at_ukm.my

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Dr. Lin Liu
The First Institute of Oceanography
State Oceanic Administration
No. 6 Xian-Xia-Ling Road,  Hi-Tech Development Area, Room 615
Qingdao 266061  P. R. CHINA 
Phone: +86-(0)532-88961173
Fax: +86-(0)532-88967403
liul_at_fio.org.cn

Dr. Liu joined the First institute of Oceanography after he earned his PhD in 2006.   He is currently involved in two projects.  One is a collaborative project with Indonesian Agency of Marine and Fisheries Research (AMFR) in which he is collecting in-situ observations at the tropical southeastern Indian Ocean. The second involves identifying the influence of the monsoon seasonal cycle on the development of the inter-annual climate anomalies, i.e., the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).  He is especially interested in detecting new phenomena and exploring the fundamental principles of air-sea interactions in the tropical region.  He holds a PhD from the College of Physical and Environmental Oceanography, Ocean University of China.

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Mr. Shahbaz Mehmood 
Global Change Impact Studies Centre 
1st Floor, Saudi Pak Tower
61/A Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area
Islamabad, Pakistan 
Phone: + 92-51-9219785, +92-333-5481767 
Fax: + 92-51-9219787
shahbaz.mehmood_at_gcisc.org.pk

Mr. Mehmood is a Research Fellow with the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), Islamabad, Pakistan.  His area of research is climate change and climate modeling using regional climate models.  Currently he is working on the development of climate change scenarios for the South Asia region using regional climate model RegCM3 corresponding to SRES A2 scenarios. In the future he would like to analyze the possible future trends in the Monsoon System in the South Asia region using the output of aforementioned scenarios.  Mr. Mehmood holds a M. Phil degree in Physics form Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan.

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Mr. Robert Nicholas
Department of Atmospheric Sciences 
University of Washington 
Box 351640
Seattle, WA 98195-1640 USA
Phone: + 206-685-9523
Fax: + 206-543-0308
rnicholas_at_atmos.washington.edu

Following an early career as a math and science educator at several boarding schools and small colleges, Rob is currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington and is a participant in University of Washington’s interdisciplinary Program on Climate Change.  His research focuses on the impact of large-scale climate variability on local temperature and precipitation on seasonal to decadal timescales, with particular application to agriculture and water resources management in developing countries.  He holds a Master of Arts in Teaching (Natural Science) from Colgate University.

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Dr. Ajayamohan Ravindran
Canadian Center for Climate Modelling & Analysis
University of Victoria, P.O Box 1700, STN CSC
VICTORIA, BC, V8W 2Y2, CANADA.
Phone: + 1-250-3638229
Fax: + 1-250-3638247
ajayanrs_at_gmail.com

Dr. Ravindran is currently working on the simulation characteristics of low-frequency atmospheric oscillations in coupled general circulation models at the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling & Analysis, Canada.  He has a Masters in Applied Physics and became interested in Monsoons after taking a few courses in Meteorology.  His doctoral theses focused on the role of monsoon intra-seasonal oscillations on the inter-annual variability of monsoon. Since then, he has been working on various aspects of South-Asian summer monsoon and Indian Ocean Climate.  Dr. Ravindran holds a PhD in Atmospheric Science from the Indian Institute of Science.

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Ms. Archana Shrestha    
Department of Hydrology and Meteorology
Babarmahal, P.O. Box: 406, Kathmandu Nepal 
Phone: + 977-1-4255920
Fax:  + 977-1-4254890
archanamet_at_yahoo.com

Ms. Shrestha has been working as a Meteorologist in the Climate Section of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Government of Nepal since December 2003.  Her special interest in researching weather related disasters has lead her to become involved with several weather related vulnerability assessments and adaptation projects. Among other projects, she is currently involved as a Country Coordinator in the APN project on Assessing vulnerability of communities and understanding policy implications of adaptation responses to flood-related landslides in Asia and as an assistant coordinator in the ACCCA (Advancing Capacity to Support Climate Change Adaptation) Project on  Application of Community Based Adaptation Measures to Weather and Climate related Disasters (WCD) in Western Nepal: Preparation for the Potential Climate Change Signal funded by UNITAR. Ms. Shrestha most recently earned Masters of Science degrees from University of Guelph while studying Deterministic Hydrological Modeling, Environment Resources Evaluation, and Sedimentary Processes and is currently also a Junior Associate at The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.

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Ms. Soo-Jin Sohn
APEC Climate Center (APCC)
National Pension Corporation Busan Bldg.12Fl., Yeonsan 2(i)-dong,
Yeonje-gu, Busan, 611-705, Republic of Korea
Phone: + 82-51-668-7470~2
Fax: + 82-51-668-7473
jeenie7_at_apcc21.net

Since Ms. Sohn joined the APEC Climate Center (APCC) in September 2005, she has been working on several research projects, including application of climate index for seasonal forecast and model diagnostics focusing on the Asian winter monsoon from the inter-comparison of multi-models. Currently she is responsible for production of the APCC Seasonal Forecast and for monitoring of the current climate condition.  Her research interests include, climate variability and predictability of East Asian winter monsoon, seasonal predictability and climate index service and application of climate information, and study of GCM predictability. Ms. Sohn holds a Masters of Science in Atmospheric Science from Pusan National University.

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Mr. Trong Tran
Vietnam Institute of Meteorology Hydrology and Environment
5/62 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Dongda District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Phone: + 84-977311164
Fax: + 84-48355993
trongtrandinh_at_yahoo.com, trongkh@vkttv.edu.vn 

Mr. Tran is a researcher at the Vietnam Institute of Meteorology Hydrology and Environment where he is involved in a number of climate projects.  These projects include; “Applying satellite imagery data to determine Centers and intensities of Tropical Cyclones for predicting Tropical Cyclones and Heavy Rains” and “Applying information of climate and climate prediction on socioeconomic sectors and natural calamity prevention in Vietnam,” as well as additional projects to take place in 2008.  Mr. Tran holds a Masters in meteorology from The University of Adelaide.

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Ms. Deepthi Varier 
Department of Climate Dynamics, George Mason University
4041 Powder Mill Rd, Suite # 302, Calverton, MD, 20705, USA
Phone: + 1 301-902-1279    
Fax: + 1 301-595-9793
deepthi_at_cola.iges.org

Ms. Varier is currently working on her Ph.D. dissertation under the guidance of Prof. V. Krishnamurthy, in the Department of Climate Dynamics, George Mason University, VA, USA. Her research interests consist of Indian monsoon variability, both in the inter-annual and the intra-seasonal time scales and the potential for seasonal mean monsoon predictability. She is also interested in the influence of the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the monsoon intra-seasonal oscillations and the relation between summer and winter tropical intra-seasonal oscillations. Ms. Varier holds Masters degree in Agronomy, focusing on Agricultural and Boundary Layer Meteorology, from the University of Georgia.

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Dr. Zhongfeng Xu
START Regional center for Temperate East Asia
Institute of Atmospheric Physics
Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP/CAS)
Qijiahuozi Huayanli 40#, P.O.Box 9804
Beijing 100029, P.R.China
Phone: +86-(0)10-82995317
Fax: +86-(0)10-82995135
xuzhf_at_tea.ac.cn

Dr. Xu is a postdoctoral fellow in climatology and global change at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).  He is exploring the effects of various land-sea distributions, orography and land covers on Asian monsoon, especially for their relative contributions to Asian monsoon. His ongoing research includes two topics: (1) A new tropical Asian summer monsoon index (MV) defined by relative vorticity (RV) and equivalent potential temperature (EPT). (2) The influence of vegetation and its seasonal variation on Asian monsoon. His interest areas are global change and Asian monsoon. Dr. Xu holds a PhD. in of Atmospheric Sciences from Nanjing University.

Was not able to attend the institute.

Ms. Soo-Hyun Yoo    
Climate Prediction Center/NCEP
5200 Auth Rd. Rm. 605, Camp Springs, MD 20746
Phone: + 1 301-763-8000 x7544    
Fax: + 301-763-8125
soo-hyun.yoo_at_noaa.gov

Ms. Yoo is currently completing her PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from Seoul National University and working at the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC).  Her PhD thesis partially focuses on the variability of Indian Ocean SST and its impact on the Asian-Australian monsoon climate. She has published several papers on the Asian-Australian and North American monsoons, the Indo-Pacific climate, and relationships between the variations of soil moisture and precipitation.  She is also heavily involved in the diagnostics and evaluations of monsoons in NCEP models. Ms. Yoo holds a Master of Science in Atmospheric Sciences from Seoul National University.

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Dr. Deming Zhao
START Regional Center for Temperate East Asia
Institute of Atmospheric Physics
Chinese Academy of Sciences
#40 Huayanli, Qijiahuozi, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100029, P. R. China
Phone: + 86-10-82995317
Fax: + 86-10-82995135
zhaodm_at_tea.ac.cn

Dr. Zhao is currently doing postdoctoral work at the START Regional Center for Temperate East Asia, Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment Research for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.  He is currently working on several projects including, testing a new Regional Integrated Environment Modeling System (RCM RIEMS2.0), participating in an aridification study over Northern China, and exploring the energy water cycle through soil moisture retrieval from remote sensing data and Land Data Assimilation system (LDAS) development in China. Soil moisture retrieval and its applications in RCM are of special interest to him.  Dr. Zhao holds a PhD in Meteorology from the Nanjing University.

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Ms. Jung Choi is currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate in Yonsei University. Her current research involves ENSO dynamics, especially timescale interactions. She is focused on mutual effects between ENSO and decadal variability in tropical Pacific and will study the interaction between ENOS and annual cycle in the future.

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