 Andrew Kleit
Center Director and Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics
503 Walker Building
Telephone: 814.865.0711
FAX: 814.865.3663
Email: ank1@psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Kleit’s research agenda involves the analysis of the financial risk created by
changes in weather. This includes analysis of markets for weather related financial derivatives,
as well as the weather related risk that electric utilities face. In particular, Professor
Kleit has gained funding from the National Science Foundation to study markets and decision-making
in the context of weather forecasts. In this study, the research team operates markets
on weather outcomes. The results of those markets to used to predict the weather, with
accuracy consistent with major public forecasting sources. In addition, these markets are
estimate forecast standard deviation, which is a tradition weak point in meteorological
research. The research team also conducts experiments on providing weather information,
to determine what types of forecasts are most useful for weather information consumers.
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 Keith Crocker
The William Elliott Chaired Professor of Insurance and Risk Management
333 Business Building
Telephone: 814.853.0664
Email: kcrocker@psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Crocker's research has focused on the economic issues of adverse selection and moral hazard insurance, with a particular emphasis on the role of risk classification in promoting market efficiency. He also has examined the economic tradeoffs in the design and duration of long-term contracts, and most recently the role of earnings management in the design of executive compensation arrangements.
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 Jenni Evans
Professor of Meteorology
509 Walker Building
Telephone: 814.855.3240
FAX: 814.865.3663
Email: jle7@psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Evans research during the past decade has focused on the extratropical transition of tropical cyclones - the evolution of initially tropical storms into potentially devastating midlatitude stroms affecting countries outside the tropics. She recently has been involved in review of physically-based models utilized to set hurricane insurance rates. |
 Klaus Keller
Assistant Professor of Geosciences
208 Deike Building
Telephone: 814.865.6718
Email: kkeller@geosc.psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Keller's research focuses on detecting and predicting potential anthropogenic threshold responses of the climate system, which he then uses in the analysis and design of risk management strategies. He is currently interested in the North Atlantic Meriidional Overturning Circulation (MOC), an ocean circulation system that transports heat from low latitudes to the North Atlantic basin and the surrounding regions. The geologic record and model simulations suggest that the MOC may weaken or even collapse in response to climate forcing. Such a threshold response could be associated with considerable ecological and economic impacts. The current MOC predictions are, however, deeply uncertain. Reducing this uncertaintly pses nontrivial scientific and operational challenges and can provide a large economic valure of information. |
 Rudi Slingerland
Professor of Geology
513A Deike Building
Telephone: 814.865.6892
Email: sling@geosc.psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Slingerland conducts research on issues such as the measurement of bedlad transport
in natural bedrock channels, the origin of natural levels, and the landform response
to the Mendocino Crustal Conveyor in the northern coastal ranges of California, which
has important impacts on the San Andreas Fault. His rsearch interests involve applying
probabilistic analysis to geological phenomena. |
 Brent Yarnal
Professor of Geography
311 Walker Building
Telephone: 814.863.4894
Email: alibar@essc.psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Yarnal's research during the last decade has included diverse interests ranging from the vulnerability of Bulgarian agriculture to climate change, increase in flooding associated with climate change in the mid-Atlantic region, and coastal zone enhanced hurricane storm surge resulting from sea-level rise. Much of his research, teaching, and graduate mentoring focuses on vulnerability and risks associated with hazards, climate variation, and climate change.
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 George Young
Professor of Meteorology
620Walker Building
Telephone: 814.863.4228
Email: young@meteo.psu.edu
Department webpage
Research Interests:
Dr. Young's has focused his career on interdisciplinary and computational methods for weather and impacts prediction. His recent research has involved analysis and prediction of weather impacts on avian migration and hazardous aerosol dispersion, as well as analysis of the impact of forecast quality on the hurricane reinsurance industry. |
