FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May1, 2008                                 

Brown named director of Western Regional Climate Center
DRI scientist established Climate, Ecosystem and Fire applications program

RENO - Tim Brown has been named Director of the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC), which is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and resides on the Desert Research Institute campus.

“During his time here Tim established and now directs the Climate, Ecosystem and Fire Applications (CEFA) program at DRI,” said Stephen Wells, DRI President. “He is well respected in the scientific community, is familiar with WRCC staff and many projects, and has the required contacts and managerial and scientific experience to lead and grow the WRCC program.”

The Western Regional Climate Center, inaugurated in 1986, is one of six regional climate centers in the United States. NOAA administers the regional climate center program. Specific oversight is provided by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS).

In addition to the CEFA program at DRI, Brown was also a key player in the development of the Advanced Visualization, Computation and Modeling (CAVE) program at DRI. He received his Doctorate in Climatology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1995 and joined DRI in 2000.

Since the retirement of Dick Reinhardt in June 2007, Dr. Kelly Redmond has served as interim director, and will remain as Regional Climatologist and Deputy Director.

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