PNNL

Congratulations to Dr. Jiwen Fan, atmospheric scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Fan was selected to receive a 2017 Early Career Research Program award from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Fan is one of 59 recipients nationwide — including 17 at national laboratories — to receive the award this year. She will use the award to study severe thunderstorms in the central United States — storms that produce large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes, and torrential rainfall. Fan will look at how the storms form, why they're changing and how they're influenced by several factors, including the growth of cities as well as the effects of wildfires hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

The Early Career Research Program, now in its eighth year, is managed by DOE's Office of Science and awards research grants to young scientists and engineers at U.S. universities and national laboratories. The grants are designed to bolster the nation's scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during the crucial early years of their careers.

Fan, who has been at PNNL for 10 years, will receive $2.5 million over the next five years to further her research. The funds will support Fan and several postdoctoral research associates.