Daniel Chavas

Dr. Daniel Chavas is an Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University. He leads the Extreme Weather Laboratory, focusing on extreme weather dynamics in a warming climate. His research spans tropical cyclones, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and climate change impacts, with emphasis on hazard physics and societal risk analysis. Chavas holds a PhD from MIT and B.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has held postdoctoral and research roles at institutions including Princeton University and the Joint Global Change Research Institute.

Research interests include advancing understanding of hurricane formation mechanisms, tornado climatology, and severe storm environments. He has received the NSF CAREER Award and the AMS Early Career Award, and leads initiatives like the Purdue Weather Risk Internship program. Chavas is involved in interdisciplinary projects such as the Institute for a Sustainable Future's Risk and Resilience Research Community, integrating climate science with societal applications.

His work bridges fundamental atmospheric processes with applied research, including collaborations on exoplanetary weather modeling and historical cyclone exposure analysis. Notable contributions include studies on tropical cyclone size expansion, tornado-terrain interactions, and the climatological relationship between U.S. tornadoes and extratropical cyclones.

Scientific awards include the 2024 Outstanding Early Career Award from AMS's Tropical Meteorology Committee and NSF CAREER funding. His research has been published in top journals like PNAS, Journal of Climate, and Geophysical Research Letters.

Chavas advises students through Purdue's EAPS department and has mentored interns in weather-dependent decision-making roles. His lab's work addresses both basic science questions and real-world applications, such as improving cyclone risk assessments and understanding future storm environment changes under global warming.