Hripsime Mkrtchyan

Dr. Hripsime Mkrtchyan is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading. Previously, she held a Fullbright postdoctoral fellowship at MIT’s Civil and Environmental Engineering department, focusing on thundercloud radiation and electrical structures. She also served as an assistant professor at the American University of Armenia, teaching environmental sciences courses. Her research interests include atmospheric electricity, lightning climatology, high-energy atmospheric phenomena, and remote sensing techniques.

Education & Professional Background

• Marie Curie Research Fellow, University of Reading (current)
• Fullbright Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT (prior to Reading)
• Assistant Professor, American University of Armenia

Research Interests

• Thunderstorm Ground Enhancements (TGEs) and their mechanisms
• Electric field measurements in mountainous regions
• Lightning climatology and aerosol charging
• Remote sensing applications in meteorology

Research Trends Her publications emphasize TGEs, fair-weather electric field variations, and interdisciplinary approaches to atmospheric physics. Recent work explores historical atmospheric data (e.g., Lerwick Observatory) and citizen science initiatives.

Labs/Teams Collaborates with global atmospheric electricity monitoring networks and the Aragats Scientific Station in Armenia for TGE studies.