Steven Lazarus, Ph.D.
Professor | Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences | Florida Tech
Melbourne, FL, UNITED STATES
Dr. Lazarus' research interests include data assimilation, electrical phenomena such as gigantic jets, and wind/wave interactions.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Climate Change
Hurricanes
Wind and Waves
Data Assimilation
Gigantic Jets
Coastal Meteorology
About
Dr. Steven Lazarus' research interests are varied and include data assimilation, electrical phenomena such as gigantic jets, surface layer meteorology and wind/wave interactions.
He has authored or co-authored 30 peer-review articles and has had two dozen proposals funded for more than $2 million combined. Over the past decade Dr. Lazarus has reviewed more than 30 articles and/or proposals and has served on both NASA and National Science Foundation panels.
He has graduated 8 Master's students and more recently two Ph.D. students. Dr. Lazarus is currently supervising a Ph.D. student who is funded under a NIST grant involving the impact of wind loading on residential structures.
Dr. Lazarus is principal investigator on a SECOORA grant involving the installation and operation of a coastal (wind and wave) radar system in east-central Florida.
He presently serves as an academic member representative for the University Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a consortium that includes 120 North American universities with programs in meteorology to hydrology, oceanography, atmospheric chemistry, climate science and more.
Media Assets
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Media Appearances (5)
Meteorologists: Hurricane season will wrap up quietly
Tampa Bay Times
2021-10-17
Hurricane season started with fear-inducing fury, but there’s a chance the final six weeks close with a feeble whimper. You never want to tempt Mother Nature, especially after 2021 became the seventh consecutive year to have a named storm before the June 1 start of hurricane season.
Wanted Weeds: Early Signs Positive for Living Docks Program
Florida Tech News
2021-01-20
The team will also take part in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, led by principal investigators Nezamoddin Kachouie, mathematical sciences associate professor, and ocean engineering and marine sciences professor Steven Lazarus, that was awarded to Florida Tech. They will continue the work for the next three summers, where undergraduate students will examine how algal blooms and climate change may impact the filtration abilities of the biofouling organisms.
Record-breaking arctic blast to spare South Florida; Gulf Coast freeze possible
TCPalm
2019-11-12
Florida Institute of Technology professor Steven Lazarus gave this example: “You get cold fronts that have air behind them that originates from more of an oceanic source, like the Pacific. “That, you can imagine, is not as cold as air that originates, say, in North-Central Canada.”
Cold fronts usually mean rain, but not this season
Palm Beach Post print
2019-01-08
Three cold fronts have loped through the state since Dec. 9 with a cumulative rainfall total of about a half-inch as measured at Palm Beach International Airport. For the month of December, rain at the airport tallied 1.44 inches, about two inches below normal. “That’s really significant,” said Steven Lazarus, a meteorologist and professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. “There is certainly a signature in the weather pattern that’s causing it.”
Hurricanes may pack more of a punch due to climate change, scientists say
USA TODAY print
2019-05-31
Climate scientists fear man-made global warming will spawn stronger hurricanes, packing heavier rainfall, higher storm surge and greater winds. "There’s plenty of evidence now in the literature that indicates these big weather events – these mesoscale systems in the Midwest and tropical cyclones – are all becoming wetter. And that is an issue," said Steven Lazarus, a Florida Institute of Technology ocean engineering and marine sciences professor.
Education (3)
University of Oklahoma: Ph.D., Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology 1996
University of Oklahoma: M.S. 1990
Florida State University: B.S., Meteorology 1985
Links (5)
Selected Articles (5)
Distinguishing Characteristics of the Tropical Cyclone Gigantic Jet Environment
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences2021
Extracting nearshore wave properties from video: A new method for coastal estuaries
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science2020
First Observations of Gigantic Jets From Geostationary Orbit
Geophysical Research Lettters2019
Statistically and Dynamically Downscaled, Calibrated, Probabilistic 10-m Wind Vector Forecasts Using Ensemble Model Output Statistics
Monthly Weather Review2018
Affiliations (2)
- American Meteorological Society : Member
- American Geophysical Union : Member
Accomplishments (1)
Russell L. DeSouza Award (professional)
2018 For service and activity in the Geoscience Community
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