Sylvia Sullivan

Sylvia Sullivan is a Joint Assistant Professor in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences and an Assistant Professor (home department) in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on multiscale atmospheric interactions, including ice crystal nucleation, storm dynamics, and climate modeling. She leads the Lab for Multiscale Cloud Modeling and Experimentation, which integrates benchtop experiments with high-performance computing to study cloud processes and their impacts on precipitation and energy balance.

Dr. Sullivan holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a BS in Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science from the California Institute of Technology. Her expertise spans computational modeling, remote sensing, and atmospheric chemistry, with emphasis on aerosols, cloud physics, and radiative processes.

Her research interests include mesoscale convective systems, tropical cloud dynamics, and the climatic impacts of precipitation patterns. She explores how microphysical processes influence large-scale atmospheric phenomena, particularly in the context of climate change. Recent work addresses extreme weather events, such as monsoon rainfall variability and dust storms in the Sonoran Desert.

Dr. Sullivan has contributed to studies on cloud-radiative heating sensitivity, storm-resolving model validation, and the radiative impacts of convective systems. Her 2016 Waldemar T. Ziegler Award recognizes contributions to atmospheric science. She collaborates with NASA through projects like EXCITE, advancing Earth sciences research at Hispanic-serving institutions.

Her work bridges laboratory experiments and global climate models, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to address pressing environmental challenges. Current projects include quantifying ice microphysics uncertainties and developing frameworks to assess future precipitation extremes driven by atmospheric dynamics.