Sue van den Heever

Sue van den Heever is a University Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU), affiliated with the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering. She earned her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from CSU and has held significant roles, including PI of the NASA INCUS mission and Visiting Professor at Oxford University. Her research focuses on cloud processes, aerosol-cloud interactions, and numerical modeling, with over 30 graduate students supervised.

Education:

• Ph.D., Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 2001
• M.S., Physical Geography, University of the Witwatersrand, 1994
• B.S. and B.S. Hons, Mathematics and Geography, University of the Witwatersrand, 1990

Research Interests:
Van den Heever's work emphasizes deep convective cloud systems, aerosol effects, and model development. She leads the INCUS mission to study tropical convective storms and oversees the RAMS model. Her research integrates field campaigns (e.g., CAMP 2 Ex, BACS) with advanced simulations to address climate and weather dynamics.

Grants & Campaigns:

• Principal Investigator of NASA INCUS mission (2021–current)
• Co-PI of NSF BACS field campaign (2022)
• PI of C³LOUD-Ex (2016–2017)

Awards:

• AMS Edward N. Lorenz Teaching Excellence Award (2018)
• Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (2021)
• Multiple NASA and NSF awards for leadership and research

Labs & Teams:
Leads the van den Heever Cloud Processes Group at CSU, collaborating with NASA, NSF, DOE, and ONR on field campaigns and model development.