Dr. Marshall Shepherd is a Full Professor in the Department of Geography and Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia.  Dr. Shepherd is also a member of the Initiative on Climate and Society, Faculty of Water Resources and the College of the Environment.  He is also an Affiliate of the Southern High Resolution Modeling Consortium (with USDA) and a member of NASA’s Precipitation Measurement Missions Science Team.

Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd joined the Department of Geography’s Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia (UGA) in January 2006.  He is a Full Professor conducting research, advising, and teaching in atmospheric sciences, climatology, water cycle processes and urban climate systems.  He is also the Director of the UGA Atmospheric Sciences Program.  Prior to joining the UGA faculty, Dr. Shepherd spent 12 years as a research meteorologist in the Earth-Sun Division at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Shepherd was also Deputy Project Scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, which launches in 2012.  Dr. Shepherd is currently a member of NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions Science team. He conducts research on weather and climate systems using advanced satellites, experimental aircraft, radars, and sophisticated computer models.  This research seeks to understand weather processes (i.e. thunderstorms, hurricanes, rainfall) atmospheric processes and to relate them to current weather and climate change.  Dr. Shepherd is also interested in innovative strategies to infuse research data into applications and outreach communities.  For his work on urban effects on precipitation, Dr. Shepherd received the highest federal award given to the Nation’s young scientists and engineers. He was honored on May 4th 2004 at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award for pioneering scientific research.  Dr. Shepherd was also recently elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. This honor is only given to two-tenths of one percent of the membership for outstanding scientific contributions in the atmospheric and related sciences. He was the recipient of the 2011 AMS Charles Anderson Award. He was also honored by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of their 2005 Hot List under 40 members, and The Network Journal magazine in 2005 as one of its “40 Under Forty”.  Dr. Shepherd has over 60 publications in the peer-reviewed literature and is funded by NASA, USDA Forest Service, Department of Defense, NSF-PRISM, and the UGA Research Foundation to carry out his research.  Shepherd also contributes to popular publications like Weatherwise and Earth Observation Magazine.

Dr. Shepherd provides service to UGA and the larger scientific and educational communities through his work as an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Executive Council member, UN World Meteorological Organization steering committee member on aerosols and precipitation, contributing author on the 2007 Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR4 report, National Technical Association Member, Association of American Geographers Member, American Geophysical Union Member, International Association of Urban Climatology member and newsletter editor, and reviewer on numerous technical and science committees. Dr. Shepherd also serves on the NOAA Climate Working Group, University Space Research Association Earth Science Advisory Committee and is a Project Associate for the Urbanization and Global Environmental Change project.  He is serving on a National Academies of Science panel considering the security implications of climate change on U.S. Naval operations.  He is an editor for the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology and co-section editor (climatology) for the journal, Geography Compass. At UGA, he serves on the Franklin College Faculty Senate, Franklin College Task Force on Diversity, and the Geography Department’s Advisory and Graduate Studies Committees.

Dr. Shepherd received his B.S., M.S. and PhD in physical meteorology from Florida State University.  He was the first African American to receive a PhD from the Florida State University Department of Meteorology, one of the nation’s oldest and respected.  He is an AMS/TRW Industry and Dolores Auzene Fellow as well as a National Achievement Scholar. He is a member of Sigma Xi Research Honorary, Chi Epsilon Pi Meteorology Honorary, and Omicron Delta Kappa National Honorary.  He is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  He frequently makes media (TV and radio) appearances as an expert on weather, climate, and remote sensing.  During the Hurricane Seasons of 2004 and 2005, Dr. Shepherd appeared in over 50 media interviews including the Today Show, Larry King Live, CNN, Fox News, and several others.  Dr. Shepherd is also frequently asked to present findings and results to key personnel at NASA, Congress, the White House, Department of Defense, and officials from foreign countries.  Dr. Shepherd also is the author of forthcoming textbook, The Urban Climate System, and co-authored a children’s book on weather and weather instruments.

Research Interests

1.  Conducts relevant research in areas related to weather, climate, and physical geography.  Teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in weather, climate, and physical geography. Serves the broader University, weather-climate, and geography communities on appropriate committees, peer review bodies, and boards.  Routinely lectures on weather and climate processes at educational, government, and public venues.

2. Conducts research into the evolution and lifecycle of rainfall-producing systems in tropical and subtropical environments (e.g. precipitation, hurricanes, storms) using numerical models and satellite remote sensing capabilities. I primarily utilize advanced satellite systems, ground-based remote sensing, and coupled models.

3.Conducts research into the effects of urbanization (land cover, pollution, etc.) on precipitation using satellite and modeling-based approaches.

Occasionally he appears on network television (i.e. CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and CNBC), webcasts and radio as an expert in the field of mesoscale meteorology and satellite remote sensing of weather and climate phenomena.

For more detailed information on my research interest or my background please visit the ABOUT ME, SERVICE and LEADERSHIP or PUBLICATIONS links above.