Sue van den Heever is a Monfort Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. She joined the CSU faculty in 2008 after obtaining her B.S. (Honors) in Mathematics and Physical Geography from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from CSU, and spending several years as a research scientist. Professor van den Heever's research is focused on cloud processes, specifically the microphysical and dynamical characteristics of deep convective cloud systems, aerosol-cloud feedbacks, and the representation of these processes in numerical models.
Dr van den Heever oversees the development of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling Systems (RAMS), a sophisticated cloud-resolving numerical model that was first developed at CSU in the 1980s. She teaches graduate classes in cloud physics, advanced microphysics, cloud dynamics, mesoscale modeling, mesoscale meteorology and synoptic meteology, and is a co-author of the book, Storm and Cloud Dynamics. The van den Heever research group is supported by funding from NASA, NSF, ONR and the DOE and Dr van den Heever serves on several science teams. She is also the PI of C3LOUD-Ex, a field campaign held recently in Northern Colorado to investigate supercell cold pools and updrafts, and served as P-3 flight scientist and dropsonde PI in the recent NASA-funded CAMP2Ex field campaign conducted in the Philippines and surrounding oceanic regions.
Ph.D., Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 2001
M.S., Physical Geography, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1994
H. Dip. Ed, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1989.
B.S. and B.S. Hons, Mathematics and Geography, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1990
Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, AMS, 2021.
MIT Houghton Lectureship, MIT, 2021.
American Meteorological Society Edward N. Lorenz Teaching Excellence Award, AMS, 2018
American Geophysical Union ASCENT award, AGU, 2016
Editor's Citation for Excellence in Refereering in Nature in 2015, Nature Publications, 2016
Monfort Professor, Colorado State Univeristy, 2015
Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 2015
Graduate Student Council Award for Graduate Student Advising and Mentorship, Colorado State Univeristy, 2015
Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 2013
George T. Abell Outstanding Early-Career Faculty Award, College of Engineering, Colorado State University, 2012
Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 2009
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Socienty Review Award for 2008, Royal Meteorological Society, 2009
NASA's Group Achievement Award to CRYSTAL-FACE Science Team, NASA, 2002
Elected to the Sigma Xi (1999) and Phi Kappa Phi (2003) honors socities
Visiting Professor, Physics, Oxford University, 2020 - current.
Science Advisory Board of the DFG "Waves to Weather" Transregional Collaborative Research Center, 2019-2023.
Co-Chair of the Science Community Committee (SCC) of NASA's 2017 Decadal Survey A-CCP (Aerosols - Clouds, Convection and Precipitation) Pre-formulation Study, 2018-2022.
Editor of the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, AMS, 2017 - current.
Guest Editor of Special Collection at Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, EGU, 2017 - current.
Associate Department Head, Department of Atmospheric Science, CSU, 2017-current
AGU Atmospheric Sciences Executive Committee Secretary, 2019-2020
Co-Chair of the GEWEX Aerosol and Precipitation (GAP) Process Evaluation Studies (GEWEX PROES) (2015-current)
American Meteorological Society: Committee on Mesoscale Processes (2012-2018); Committee on Reseracher Involvement (2015-2018); Co-Chair of the 16th Conference on Mesoscale Processes (2015); Conference committee and/or co-convener of the Aerosol-Cloud-Climate Interactions Symposium (2013, 2015, 2017)
American Geophysical Union: Executive Committee Secretary (Physics, Dynamics and Climate) (2019-2020); Co-convener of Sessions on "Tropical and Midlatitude Convective Storm Systems" (2011-2017)
International Commission on Clouds and Precipitation (ICCP): Committee Member, 2016-present
Aerosols, Clouds, Precipitation and Climate (ACPC): Co-Chair of the Deep Convection Working Group; Committee Member, 2016-present
Africa Center: Board Member (2016-current)
Global Energy and Water Cycle Exchange (GEWEX) Data and Assessments Panel (GDAP): Commmittee Member (2007-2016)
DOE ASR white paper author of the ASR TRACER campaign [PDF]
NASA CAMP2Ex, White paper author, Modeling Lead, Dropsonde PI and P-3 flight scientist, Philippines, Fall 2018
DOE ASR CACTI, Co-PI, Argentina, Fall 2018-Spring 2019
ONR PISTON, Science Team Member, Philippines and MC, Fall 2018
Monfort C3LOUD-Ex, PI, Northern CO, Summer 2016 and 2017
NSF PECAN, research group participation, Central USA, Summer 2015
NASA HS3, reserach group participation, Wallops Island, Fall 2013
NSF DYNAMO, reserach group participation, Indian Ocean, Dec 2011 - Jan 2012
NSF ICE-T, research group participation, St Croix, Summer 2011
NSF BAMEX, flight coordinator and forecaster, St Louis, MO, Summer 2003
NASA CRYSTAL-FACE, flight scientist of NRL P-3, Florida, July 2002
Last Updated: 11/2019
