Prepared by Ken Pickering (pickerin@umd.edu) - Last updated on January 21, 2021
Kenneth E. Pickering Research Professor Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Emeritus Scientist University of Maryland Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, Code 614 College Park, Maryland 20742 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Phone: (301) 405-7639 Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 Fax: (301) 314-9482 Phone: (301) 614-5986 Fax: (301) 614-5903 pickerin@umd.edu
Dr. Pickering is a Research Professor in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOSC) Department at the University of Maryland, where he advises graduate student research and collaborates with other faculty members. He also is Emeritus Scientist in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Pickering leads analyses of NO2 data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA?s Aura satellite and from the TROPOMI instrument on the Copernicus Sentinel 5P satellite for the purpose of estimating the amount of NOx production by lightning. Dr. Pickering also has led air quality applications using data from OMI. He leads cloud-resolved model simulations to examine convective transport of trace gases by deep convective clouds and lightning NOx production. He has also directed regional air quality modeling simulations using the CMAQ and WRF-Chem models. He served as Co-Chair of the Air Quality Working Group for the Aura Science Team and has directed projects sponsored by NASA's Applied Sciences Air Quality Program. Dr. Pickering was the Project Scientist for the NASA Earth Venture - 1 DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically-Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality) project under which major field experiments were conducted in the Baltimore-Washington area, the San Joaquin Valley, Houston, and the Front Range region of Colorado from 2011 to 2014. He has led other projects aimed at evaluating convective transport in NASA's global chemical transport model (GMI) and chemistry and climate model (GEOS-5 CCM). From 2005 to 2016 he was a Senior Physical Scientist, employed by NASA Goddard, and from 1994 to 2005, Dr. Pickering was a research faculty member in AOSC at the University of Maryland, where he conducted model development and applications on scales ranging from individual convective clouds to regional and global domains. From 1988 to 1994, Dr. Pickering worked for research organizations on-site at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. From 1976 to 1984, he performed air quality modeling for GEOMET, Inc. in Rockville, MD. Dr. Pickering received his Ph. D. in Meteorology from the University of Maryland in 1987, a MS in Atmospheric Science from the State University of New York at Albany in 1975 and a BS in Meteorology from Rutgers University in 1973.
Chemical transport modeling
Modeling on scales ranging from individual convective clouds, to regional scales, and to global scales
Convective transport of trace gases
Analysis of aircraft and satellite data to estimate transport of trace gases from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere
Cloud-resolving model simulations of convective storms and their tracer transport
Lightning NOx production
Estimating production of NOx by lightning through use of the combination of cloud-resolved modeling and aircraft observations in thunderstorm anvils
Estimates of NOx production per flash based on NO2 observations by Aura/OMI and Sentinel 5P TROPOMI
Investigation of relationship between column amounts of trace gases and surface air quality
Project Scientist for NASA Earth Venture - 1 DISCOVER-AQ mission
Application of satellite observations for air quality
Evaluation of regional air quality models using Aura data
Continental export of air pollution
Regional and global model estimates of fluxes of trace gases entering and leaving North America
DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically-Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality); DISCOVER-AQ Project Scientist; Led forecasting/flight planning team; Led regional modeling efforts for individual study regions.
Tropospheric Transport Processes for Trace Gases and Aerosols: Regional to Global Effects on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate; Global and regional modeling of trace gases and aerosols over North America and East Asia; Examination of role of anthropogenic and natural emissions on tropospheric ozone and its radiative forcing over and downwind of North America; Simulation of aerosol effects on radiative forcing in East Asia
Estimates of Lightning NOx from OMI and TROPOMI; Development and application of a retrieval algorithm for lightning NOx using NO2 data from Aura/OMI and Copernicus Sentinel 5P/TROPOMI; Produced estimates of lightning NOx production per flash
3/2017 - Present Research Professor Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland
9/2005 - 9/2016 Senior Physical Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD Modeling, analysis, satellite application, atmospheric field studies. Adjunct Professor - University of MD
4/1994 - 9/2005 Research Professor Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Modeling and analysis, atmospheric field studies, teaching, advising graduate students
4/1991 - 4/1994 Associate Research Scientist Universities Space Research Association, Greenbelt, MD Modeling and anaysis, atmospheric field studies
4/1988 - 4/1991 Associate Scientist Applied Research Corporation, Greenbelt, MD Modeling and analysis.
8/1984 - 4/1988 Graduate Research Assistant Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Modeling and analysis, atmospheric field studies
2/1976 - 8/1984 Research Scientist GEOMET, Inc., Rockville, MD Air quality modeling, wind energy analysis
6/1975 - 2/1976 Meteorologist NOAA, Marlow Heights, MD Improve satellite temperature and moisture profile retrievals
8/1973 - 6/1975 Graduate Research Assistant State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY Atmospheric field studies
Ph.D. Meteorology, 1987 University of Maryland, College Park
M.S. Atmospheric Science, 1975 State University of New York at Albany
B.S. Meteorology, 1973 (with highest honors) Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
American Geophysical Union, 1984 - Present
American Meteorological Society, 1973 - Present
Air and Waste Management Association, 1977 - Present
European Geosciences Union, 2005 - Present
Reviewer for: Journal of Geophysical Research; Geophysical Research Letters; Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology; Atmospheric Environment; Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry; Meteorologische Zeitschrift; Atmosphere; Atmospheric Research; Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Research proposal reviewer for: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); UK Natural Environment Research Council
Member American Meteorological Society, Committee on Atmospheric Chemistry, 1999-2001; 2016-present
Member of UCAR University Relations Committee, 1999-2005
Contributor: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group 1 - Scientific Assessment of Climate Change, Third Assessment Report, 2000.
Contributor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criteria Document for Ozone, Spring 2003
Served as State Climatologist for Maryland, November 1998-September 2005. Provided climate data to researchers, students, the media, and the general public.
Served as a member of NCAR-led Steering Committee for planning the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3)field project.
Served as Co-Chair of the Air Quality Working Group for the Aura Science Team (2006 to 2011).
Serving as a member of the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Service Center User Working Group (2009 to 2016).
Funded as a member of the Scientific Working Group for planning NASA's GEO-CAPE satellite (2009 to 2018).
1993 - Universities Space Research Association Scientific Excellence Award
2003 - University of Maryland, Dept. of Meteorology Distinguished Alumnus Award
06/01/2010 - 09/30/2015 DISCOVER-AQ, Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically-Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality?, Earth-Venture-1 mission, NASA, Earth Venture - 1; Project Scientist
01/01/2009 - 09/30/2012 Convective Transport and Wet Removal in the GEOS-5 CCM and GMI CTM, NASA Modeling, Analysis and Prediction Program; Principal Investigator
04/01/2008 - 09/30/2010 Monitoring Air Quality Effects of Anthropogenic Emission Reductions and Estimating Emissions from Natural Sources, NASA, Applied Sciences Air Quality Program; Principal Investigator
04/01/2011 - 09/30/2013 Observations of Lightning NOx from OMI, NASA Aura Science Team; Principal Investigator
04/01/2014 - 09/30/2016 Observations of Lightning NOx from OMI: Global, National, and Case Study Analyses, NASA Aura Science Team; Principal Investigator
04/15/2011 - 06/30/2015 DC3 Lightning NOx Investigations using WRF-Chem, National Science Foundation, Principal Investigator
08/5/2015 - 10/31/2020 Cloud-Resolved Chemistry Simulations of Selected DC3 Thunderstorms, National Science Foundation, Principal Investigator
Serves as Research Advisor for graduate students: Graduates: 7 PhD 8 MS degrees Co-Advised graduates: 6 PhD degrees