Amy K. Huff

Amy K. Huff

  • Affiliate Assistant Research Professor of Meteorology

Email: akh157@psu.edu

Education:

  1. B.A., Chemistry, Dartmouth College, 1993
  2. Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California San Diego, 1998
  3. M.S., Meteorology, Penn State University, 2007

Research Specialties:

Atmospheric/Air Chemistry:

Biography:

Dr. Amy K. Huff has a background in experimental atmospheric chemistry and air quality meteorology.  She obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 1998 and a M.S. in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University in 2007.  During her academic career, Dr. Huff worked as an experimental chemist for over ten years, studying the stable isotope chemistry of atmospheric carbon monoxide and investigating the heterogeneous gas/ice chemical reactions that initiate ozone (O3) loss in the springtime Arctic boundary layer.  As part of her M.S. thesis work at Penn State, she conducted a statistical analysis of the operational performance of the NOAA-EPA National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) numerical O3 model in Philadelphia.  Dr. Huff has recently returned to Penn State after five years at Battelle Memorial Institute, where she worked on projects related to satellite remote sensing, air quality, climate change, and public health.  Dr. Huff is the lead forecaster and PI on three grants to provide daily forecasts of O3 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality for the Philadelphia metropolitan area and the State of Delaware.  In addition, she is the coordinator of the NOAA Satellite Air Quality Proving Ground, which is preparing the U.S. air quality satellite user community for the new generation of aerosol products from the JPSS (polar-orbiting) and GOES-R (geostationary) series of satellites.  Her prevous research has looked at the feasibility of incorporating satellite aerosol measurements into PM2.5 data sets for use in public health studies and the development of satellite-based air quality analysis products for decision-makers in Central America and the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya region of Asia.  Dr. Huff is an expert in the use of satellite products for air quality analysis, and she has conducted numerous training sessions on this topic for national and international audiences.  At Penn State, she teaches undergraduate meteorology classes on air quality forecasting (METEO 419) and the principles of atmospheric measurements (METEO 440W), and she supervises students conducting research into air quality forecasting techniques.