Kelvin Droegemeier

Professor Kelvin Droegemeier serves as faculty in the Department of Climate, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and holds a special advisory role to the Office of the Chancellor. Previously, he was Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President while concurrently holding professorships at the University of Oklahoma.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (advisor: Bob Wilhelmson)

Droegemeier's research bridges Atmospheric Sciences, Meteorology, and High-Performance Computing, with significant contributions to weather modeling and computational meteorology. His dual-career focus began during graduate studies at UIUC where he contributed to NSF proposals for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). He actively promotes science policy integration, emphasizing how academic research should inform governance and societal decision-making through his White House advisory role.

Scientific Awards:

• Regents’ Professor of Meteorology
• Roger and Sherry Teigen Presidential Professor

During his graduate studies, Droegemeier collaborated with advisor Bob Wilhelmson on NSF proposals that established NCSA, creating foundational infrastructure for U.S. academic high-performance computing. His policy work demonstrates how meteorological expertise translates to national governance, particularly in disaster preparedness and scientific infrastructure development. Droegemeier advocates for students to pursue intrinsically motivating work rather than extrinsic rewards.

He played a pivotal role in NCSA's development at UIUC, which revolutionized computational atmospheric science. His ongoing work integrates storm-chasing field experience with supercomputing to advance severe weather prediction, while his policy background informs national science strategy development.