under the radarget an in-depth look at the history and future of the aggie doppler radaraug 24 2020the aggie doppler radar (adrad) is located on the roof of the david g eller oceanography & meteorology building or o&m buildingperched on the roof of the david g eller oceanography and meteorology building or o&m building the aggie doppler radar (adrad) sits at the highest point on campus its giant dish measuring 16 feet in diameter can be seen far and wide though many passersby strolling through central campus have seen the radar its deep history and value to texas a&m university and the atmospheric science community remain a mystery to most dr don conlee 94 an instructional professor in the department of atmospheric sciences in the texas a&m college of geosciences wants to shed light on adrads utility as an unparalleled educational tool and proud piece of aggie history dedicated to weather education a mississippi native conlee earned his bachelors degree in meteorology from the university of louisiana-monroe and enlisted in the us navy as an oceanographer and meteorologist while still on active duty he enrolled at texas a&m in 1991 to pursue a doctorate in meteorology crediting his decision to the universitys excellent reputation with service members and veterans despite having no previous ties to texas a&m he quickly came to call the university home during the three years he spent in college station like everybody who comes here i fell in love with the place conlee said after eventually retiring from service and spending time working in the private sector conlee eagerly accepted an offer to return to aggieland as a faculty member in 2009 initially brought on as an instructional professor specializing in operational meteorology conlee has deeply involved himself in adrads operation and educational programming in his 11 years as an aggie faculty member he has gained a reputation for encouraging students enthusiasm and curiosity as well as instilling solid habits for conducting scientific weather research a reputation for innovation the adrad is the only s-band doppler-capable weather radar in the country located directly on a college campus the radar on top of the o&m building today was technically built in 1962 but has been continually updated modified and refurbished to keep up with new advances in technology it was moved to its current home overlooking campus in 1973 and given doppler capability along with its current name in 1992 the origins of weather radar research at texas a&m go back to the 1950s when aggies conducted foundational research on tracking weather using radar technology researchers here did seminal work determining what wavelengths could be used for weather radar conlee saiddr don conlee instructional professor of atmospheric sciencesthe adrad is the only s-band doppler-capable weather radar in the country located directly on a college campus on april 4 1956 aggies collecting data from a storm reported readings of a hook echo a radar pattern associated with tornado-producing conditions north of bryan texas they communicated their data to the us weather bureau forecast center in kansas city missouri which issued a tornado forecast for the area this event has been credited as the first radar-based tornado warning in history though conlee is skeptical of the historical claim (aggies like to tell tall tales he said) the event speaks to the innovative prowess of aggie meteorologists throughout history a teaching tool unlike any other conlee is deeply involved in adrad and its educational programs but he is quick to credit dr courtney schumacher as the key driving force in updating the radar to its current capabilities she not only revitalized adrad but she also started a program to allow undergraduates to interface with it that program is the student operational adrad project (soap) which allows undergraduate and graduate meteorology students the opportunity to operate the fully-functional weather radar firsthanda unique learning opportunity that sets adrad and texas a&ms meteorology department apart from similar research radars and programs students here are trained to run and monitor the radar in severe or interesting weather situations conlee said thats just an irreplaceable experience that most students around the countryeven those at institutions specializing in radardont get to do theres no substitute for that admittedly adrads technical capabilities do not represent the cutting edge of radar technology its current specifications are closer to what national researchers used to predict the weather in the 1990s however conlee considers it the most capable weather radar dedicated to education in the country the unfriendly skies adrad is first and foremost an instrument for education and research not for pinpoint weather forecasting the radars location however gives it the potential to do much more than teach students with the influence and help of dr chris nowotarski we have made data from the radar much more usable not only for the public but also the national weather service (nws) and local media conlee said especially toward the northeast we provide the best coverage in the area as a result of adrads prime real estate the nws has routinely called upon its data to track and assess severe weather across texas when a deadly tornado tore through the east texas town of onalaska on april 23 2020 adrad was in the best position to record the tornados formation and help the nws deliver timely warnings to the community while adrads technological and logistical limitations prevent it from being run continuously it has continuously proven its value not only in helping teach aggie students to study weather but also as a living monument connecting those students to the history of radar research at texas a&m it takes a significant amount of maintenance and upkeep to run adrad conlee said but aggies and texans definitely benefit from this resource the college of geoscience seeks a $2 million endowment to provide for the continued maintenance of adrad as a unique educational tool forecasting aid and historical icon of the texas a&m atmospheric sciences program to learn more about this special giving opportunity contact jay roberts '05 assistant vice president for development by bailey payne '19 texas a&m foundation