About Us

Atmospheric Sciences (formerly Meteorology) has been an independent department at Texas A&M since 1965. The department went through a growth period in the late 1990 and early 2000, and we are currently one of the largest such department in the nation, with research activities covering virtually all branches of the discipline: atmospheric dynamics, boundary layer – surface interactions, climate dynamics and change, numerical modeling, atmospheric chemistry, aerosol – cloud interactions, synoptic and mesoscale meteorology, and radiative transfer and remote sensing.

The Department of Atmospheric Sciences occupies most of the upper floors of the Eller Oceanography and Meteorology Building. This space includes offices for faculty, students, and staff; research laboratories; two computer teaching laboratories; a radar operations room; a media room; a combined weather center and broadcast studio for real-time observations and forecasting; a seminar room; two small meeting rooms; and the department administrative offices. In the college server room (Eller B04), the department occupies approximately one row of rack space for departmental and principal investigators’ computers.

The department maintains the Aggie Doppler Radar (ADRAD) on the roof of the Eller Building. A number of individual professors deploy instruments in the field for research projects using trailers, fixed sites, and aircraft. This includes the Houston Lightning Detection and Ranging network. Furthermore, the TAMU Supercomputing Center, as a university facility, is also an important resource for a number of faculty members in the department.

The department is home to approximately 100 undergraduate Meteorology/Atmospheric Science students, and has recently awarded between 20 and 40 B.S. degrees annually. Our graduate student body has fluctuated between 30 and 60 students recently, and we award about 7-12 M.S. and 2-9 Ph.D. degrees annually. Various departmental faculty members also participate in the interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Environmental Geosciences, and Water Management and Hydrologic Science degree programs.

Career opportunities for Aggie Meteorologists are sky high! The Department of Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Geosciences is one of the largest meteorology programs in the nation and the only comprehensive undergraduate, graduate, and research programs in Texas.

An undergraduate degree in atmospheric science is not a prerequisite for graduate or postdoctoral study in atmospheric science. Undergraduates with backgrounds in physics, chemistry, math, statistics, or engineering are especially encouraged to pursue graduate education in atmospheric science. Indeed, the faculty in our department come from a variety of undergraduate STEM disciplines.