Dr. Robert G. Fovell is Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he serves as cofounder and cochair of the Interdepartmental Program in Mathematics/Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A committed classroom teacher, Professor Fovell teaches courses on topics including atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, weather prediction and forecasting, and cloud dynamics. In 2005, he was awarded a UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award (the Harvey L. Eby Award for the Art of Teaching). He has also taken his insights to a broader audience while serving as a commentator for programs on the National Geographic Channel and the Discovery Channel. Outside the classroom, Professor Fovell is an active researcher. He is affiliated with UCLA's Institute of the Environment and the Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and is a member of the American Meteorological Society, the Royal Meteorological Society, and the American Geophysical Union. He has published extensively, particularly on the subjects of squall lines and storm dynamics, and has served as an associate editor of the Monthly Weather Review.