Hi, I’m Esther Mullens (formerly White), Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Florida. Prior to this, I was a Postdoctoral Researcher with the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (SC-CASC). My background is in Atmospheric Scientist, with a Bachelors degree from the University of Reading (UK), and a PhD from the University of Oklahoma, school of Meteorology. My research has focused on various projects related to weather and climate. During my time at SC-CASC, I examined future climate projections for the South Central United States, with a focus on hazards that impact the transportation sector, on a grant co-funded by the Southern Plains Transportation Center. I have a fascination with winter weather hazards, including freezing rain and ice storms, and recently developed a value-added climate length freezing precipitation dataset for the South Central United States.

My research interests surround precipitation variability – in particular in its extremes (drought, floods), as well as climate dynamics, and climate adaptation. My other joys are in mentoring undergraduate research, supporting stakeholder science through assisting with climate data interpretation, and assisting in a recent early-career workshop facilitated by CS-CASC. I also had the privilege of co-authoring the Southern Great Plains Chapter of the National Climate Assessment (NCA4). At the University of Florida, I will be expanding the meteorological teaching and research within the department of Geography. I will also continue to work with her colleagues at OU on the PRES2iP project, which aims to improve our understanding and prediction of heavy precipitation at seasonal to sub-seasonal lead times.