Climate provokes senior to save lives
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 06/20/2007
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This current heat in Indiana may be distressing to some, but for senior Dan Bowman, it's a just another wonder to study.
"It's looking to be a pretty big issue this summer," said Bowman, a research assistant at the Indiana State Climate Office and student of the College of Science.
After completing the monthly report for May, Bowman found that levels of precipitation in Indiana are only 40 percent of what they should be. And even though some rain has come through, assistant professor and Indiana State climatologist Dev Niyogi says the effects of Tuesday's rains are undetermined because of the serious deficit of moisture.
Because of this, harvests may have low yields, and crops such as corn may become more expensive.
Niyogi has worked closely with Bowman on soil moisture studies and other research.
"I can see the spark in his eye when we're talking about these modeling activities," said Niyogi. "I've seen him get very excited and work with a great deal of enthusiasm when coming up with a detailed analysis of any situation."
And Bowman's passion for weather is why Sunday's rare storm snared his attention.
He was in the Union ballroom when the storm's fury blew through campus, he said, and his friends had to shake him out of his trance while he stared out the windows. "I used to be really scared of thunderstorms," said Bowman. "Even now, when a thunderstorm comes through, I still get a nice adrenaline rush."
And yet, he has chosen to dedicate his life to studying nature's phenomenons.
It took him three majors to realize it, but looking back, Bowman innately knew that the weather is his passion.
"As a little kid, I would always wake up at 6 a.m. ... and terrorize my parents every five minutes to tell them what the temperature was," he said. "I would literally be glued to the Weather Channel as a child for hours and hours.
He was once an engineering student, but "I can't design my way out of a paper bag, much less a building," he wrote in an e-mail. "I decided, 'you know, I've liked weather since I was a fetus, maybe I should, you know, pursue a career in it.'
"Even though I'll be working as hard as an engineer but earning half as much, at least I'll be doing what I love."
Since then, he has written monthly climate reports for the state and studied historical weather and soil moisture data for the Indiana State Climate Office located on Purdue's campus.
After analyzing his May report, he says that people should be attentive to the amount of rainfall, but "I don't think there's any place necessarily in danger of running out of water."
And while he can't control the weather or call for more rain, "the next best thing I can do is alert the public (with my research)," Bowman said.
"My ultimate goal is just to save lives, I guess."