Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News from EconoTimes

Become a contributor

Bookmark Econotimes

Thu, Jan 23, 2025 02:46 PM All times are UTC

Follow Series

©Econometrics LLC . All Rights Reserved.

Rob Thompson

Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Meteorology, University of Reading
I'm a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Reading, currently doing research into rainfall measurement, looking at how we measure rainfall, its accuracy and usefulness, particularly for flood producing rainfall.

Most of my work has been in using dual-polarisation weather radar to get improved rainfall rates - often paired with disdrometers and rain gauges, and dealing with the issues they have during the heavy rains that matter the most, working on problems such as attenuation, beam blocking, the radar bright band and drop size distribution changes. Recent work is moving towards the measurement of rainfall from space on A new technique for measuring global rainfall. Previous work has been under a number of projects, most notably the NERC funded FFIR (Flooding From Intense Rainfall) programme.

I've also spent a number of years as a teaching fellow, teaching abroad range of courses for post- and undergraduate students in meteorology and related disciplines. They have included, fundamentals of synoptic meteorology, hydrology, statistics and computer programming - and have visited and taught in China - where the University of Reading has a partnership with NUIST.

Finally I have done a lot of outreach as I think its really important that the science we do can reach a wide audience, I've visited many schools, given public talks, taken part in national science week, written in magazines and newspapers and appear on TV reasonably frequently.

Education:
2007 University of Reading, PhD Meteorology
2002 University of Reading, BSc (Hons.) Physics and Meteorology

Why forecasting snow is so difficult in the UK

Jan 25, 2023 04:39 am UTC| Nature

Cold winter weather in the UK almost always brings with it talk of snow. British people tend to approach weather forecasts of snow with a combination of excitement and trepidation. Who doesnt like the sight of unspoilt...

Economy

Putin Weighs Economic Strains Amid Trump’s Push for Ukraine Peace

Russian President Vladimir Putin is increasingly concerned about the economic pressures of the ongoing Ukraine war, as former U.S. President Donald Trump, back in office, pushes for a resolution to the conflict. While...

Dollar Holds Steady Amid Tariff Speculations and Rate Decision Anticipation

The U.S. dollar remained steady against major currencies on Thursday, continuing its muted performance over the past two days as markets awaited clarity on tariff policies from U.S. President Donald Trump. Investors are...

China Boosts Stock Market with Major Investments and Policy Support

China has announced plans to inject hundreds of billions of yuan into its equity markets annually, aiming to bolster investor confidence. In the first half of the year, state-owned insurers will invest at least 100 billion...

Singapore Inflation Eases to Over Three-Year Low in December

Singapore's core inflation rose 1.8% in December, exceeding economists' forecast of 1.7%, but marking the lowest level since November 2021, when it was 1.6%. Headline inflation reached 1.6%, slightly above the expected...

Oil Prices Dip Amid Higher U.S. Output, Trump Policies, and Inventory Concerns

Oil prices edged lower in Asian trade Thursday, extending recent declines as traders braced for higher U.S. crude production under President Donald Trump. Brent futures slipped 0.3% to $78.80 per barrel, while WTI futures...

Politics

Elon Musk Criticizes President Trump’s $500B Stargate AI Project

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has voiced doubts over the financial feasibility of President Donald Trumps $500 billion Stargate project, unveiled Tuesday. The initiative aims to establish an advanced artificial intelligence (AI)...

Trump’s Commerce Nominee Howard Lutnick to Face Senate Hearing

The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a January 29 hearing on President Donald Trumps nominee, Howard Lutnick, to lead the Commerce Department. As head of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group, Lutnick has built a prominent...

Macron and Scholz Address U.S. Trade Tensions in Paris Meeting

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met in Paris on Wednesday to emphasize European unity as the continent faces tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump, who has criticized...

South Korean President Faces Indictment for Martial Law Declaration

South Koreas anti-corruption agency has requested prosecutors indict President Yoon Suk Yeol for insurrection and abuse of power following his brief declaration of martial law on December 3. The Corruption Investigation...

DOJ Freezes Civil Rights Litigation from Biden Era

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has paused civil rights litigation initiated during the administration of former President Joe Biden, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The directive halts ongoing...

Science

Most of us trust scientists, shows a survey of nearly 72,000 people worldwide

Public trust in scientists is vital. It can help us with personal decisions on matters like health and provide evidence-based policymaking to assist governments with crises such as the COVID pandemic or climate change. In...

Astronauts on NASA’s Artemis mission to the Moon will need better boots − here’s why

The U.S.s return to the Moon with NASAs Artemis program will not be a mere stroll in the park. Instead it will be a perilous journey to a lunar location representing one of the most extreme environments in the solar...

Why Africa’s young scientists should help check the quality of climate change research

Scientific research is essential for addressing the climate crisis. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body, assesses the science on climate change through its regular assessment...

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy provides in-house science advice for the president

Presidents need science advice. From climate change and pandemics to the governance of AI and the countrys nuclear arsenal, science sits at the center of a range of foreign and domestic policy challenges that reach the...

Double Moonshot: Japan’s ispace and Firefly Launch Lunar Missions

In a significant stride for lunar exploration, Japanese company ispace and U.S.-based Firefly Aerospace launched moon landers aboard a SpaceX rocket from Florida. This rare double mission highlights the growing competition...

Technology

Tesla to Raise Car Prices in Canada Starting February 1

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is set to increase prices for all its vehicles in Canada beginning February 1, as per updates on its Canadian website. The price adjustments will affect the popular Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model...

Meta Joins $10 Billion Databricks Funding Round Amid AI Boom

Meta Joins $10 Billion Databricks Funding Round Amid AI Boom Databricks announced that Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) participated in its $10 billion Series J funding round, valuing the data analytics startup at $62 billion....

HTC Sells XR Unit to Google for $250 Million

Taiwans HTC announced it will sell part of its extended reality (XR) division to Google for $250 million. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, will see some HTC employees join Google, enhancing the...

LinkedIn Faces Lawsuit Over Data Use for AI Training

Microsofts LinkedIn is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit, accused of sharing private messages from Premium users without permission to train generative AI models. The complaint, filed in federal court in San Jose,...

SoftBank and OpenAI Lead $19B Investments in Stargate AI Initiative

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) and OpenAI have each pledged $19 billion to Stargate, a groundbreaking technology initiative focused on AI data centers, The Information reports. OpenAI and SoftBank will each hold a 40%...