College
- Texas A&M University, Meteorology, B. S., 1988
- Texas A&M University, Meteorology, M.S., 1992. Advisor: Dr. Dusan Djuric
- Colorado State University, Meteorology, Ph.D., 1995. Advisor: Dr. Bill Gray
Employment
- 08/2019-present: Prof. Asst Professor and Program Coord., Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
- 08/2006-present: Consultant; hurricane, storm surge, expert witness, forecasting, software
- 01/1998-present: Consultant and forecaster, WorldWinds, Inc.
- 05/2001-03/2019: Associate Research Professor, Mississippi State University
- 08/2016-05/2017: Adjunct professor and online instructor, Jackson State University
- 01/1996-05/2001: Assistant Professor, Jackson State University
- Summer 1996: Visiting Researcher, Colorado State University
- 07/1994-11/1994: Hurricane Forecaster, Shell Oil Company
- 01/1992-12/1995: Graduate Assistant, Dept. of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University
- 09/1989-12/1991: Graduate Instructor, Department of Meteorology, Texas A&M University
- 09/1988-08/1989: Graduate Assistant, Department of Meteorology, Texas A&M University
Activities
- 08/2019-present: Program Coordinator and professor for TAMU-CC's atmospheric science program. Classes taught include: Introduction to Meteorology; Broadcast Meteorology; Weather Observations; Synoptic Meteorology; Dynamics I; Dynamics II; Physical Meteorology; and Communicating Science. Program Coordinator responsibilities include program planning and development; budgeting; and recruitment.
- 05/2001-03/2019: Mississippi State University activities include: hurricane intensity research; hurricane modeling; unmanned vehicles in hurricanes; hurricane climate; storm surge modeling; wetland impact on storm surge; development of operational forecasting capabilities; validation studies of forecasts; development of diverse data assimilation capabilities (Optimum Interpolation, 3DVAR, 4DVAR) and quality control algorithms; coupling weather models and ocean wave models; development of new ocean wave growth algorithms; development of web portal project for models, Observing System Simulation Experiments; visualization methods; oil spill modeling for the Deepwater Horizon event; consortium studies on water movement and organism distribution in river plumes and its relationships to future oil spills; severe weather studies; and sea breeze studies.
- 08/2016-06/2017: Online instructor for Jackson State University as an adjunct professor. Classes were dynamics; synoptic meteorology; and numerical methods through weatherclasses.com. Instruction was done via video-conferencing using Zoom software, supplemented by online notes and video. Most lectures are recorded and made available on the website. Students also participate in weather discussions with research groups such as the Hurricane Research Division.
- 01/2015-Present: co-PI in CONCORDE consortium, funded by GOMRI. The primary emphasis is on near-shore waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico and how rivers influence the transport, fate, and toxicity of oil as it interacts with coastal waters and biology. The research includes four field programs and high-resolution ocean modeling in regions impacted by river plumes.
- 05/2006-Present: Expert testimony and reports in legal cases involving hurricanes such as Katrina, Ivan, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Wilma, and Frances, as well as other weather events.
- 06/2018-Present: Forecaster for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
- 08/2015-Present: Consultant to Taylor Engineering for hurricane climatology and for hurricane wind input to the ADCIRC storm surge model, in conjunction with surge threat assessment for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. More information here.
- 05/2001-Present: Community service as governor-appointed commissioner on the St. Tammany Levee, Drainage, and Conservation District Board; conference committees; HOA officer; journal peer-review; proposal peer-review; and weather forecaster. More information is available in the community service section.
- 11/2011-9/2013: Participated in a NOAA SBIR Phase 2 with WorldWinds, Inc., and Baron Services. This R&D effort processed cutting-edge NOAA operational datasets into commercial products, such as drought, smoke, tropical cyclone, satellite-derived radar, sea ice, ocean, and dust products (more information here). This research has been incorporated into Baron's Insight Package utilized by TV broadcasters, as well as other future internet products by these two companies.
- 10/2012-5/2013: Consultant for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East and Woods Hole Group to examine wind and surge assumptions made in the JPM-OS method used to upgrade the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System to 100-year protection
- 01/1998-01/2006: Lead R&D effort for WorldWinds, Inc. with support provided by NASA's Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative (MSCI), a partnership between Stennis companies. [This program later became the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, or EIGS.] WorldWinds provides weather data and performs operational runs of numerical weather models (COAMPS and MM5) on the company's Linux cluster. These forecasts and data are transmitted by XM Radio to marine interests through the WxWORX product. WorldWinds is also developing storm surge software using the ADCIRC model. This includes operational forecasts, hindcast studies, sensitivity studies, and hypothetical scenarios. An option to include a new elevation database based on IFSAR data for Mississippi was also developed.
- 05/1999-Present: Community service for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), CONCORDE consortium, St. Tammany Levee Board, National Hurricane Conference History Committee, the East St. Tammany Storm Protection Committee, and the American Meteorological Society Coastal Environment Committee.
- 05/1999-Present: Author of "Hurricanes - a Reference Handbook." This book contains chapters on: hurricane structure and forecasting; a chronology of historic events and achievements in hurricane science; biographies of influential hurricane researchers; a description of important organizations (i.e., the National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service, the American Red Cross, etc); tables, letters, government documents, mitigation issues; a comprehensive list and description of hurricane publications; electronic sources for hurricane information; and a glossary. The second edition was released in November 2005, and the third edition will be published in 2020.
- 01/1996-05/2001: Assistant Professor, Jackson State University. Taught most undergraduate meteorology classes, undergraduate general science classes on technology, and a UNIX system administration class. Conducted mesoscale modeling and hurricane research. Upgraded facilities with a state-of-the-art computer lab.
- Fitzpatrick's publications, teaching material, presentation, posters, and other information are available on this website, as well as www.gri.msstate.edu, weatherclasses.com, worldwindsinc.com, wxworx.com, and baronweather.com. Legal an d weather forecast activities are documented on weathercsi.net. Google Scholar also provides publication information at this link.
