Governor Names OU Professor to be Secretary of Science and Technology

drDrogemeier

Governor Mary Fallin has named longtime meteorologist Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier to be her administration’s secretary of science and technology.

His appointment to her Cabinet starts Monday. Droegemeier is vice president for research at the University of Oklahoma, a Regents’ professor of meteorology, the Weathernews chair emeritus and Teigen presidential professor at the university.

He already serves on the Governor’s Science and Technology Council and chairs the academic research and development subcommittee.

“Dr. Droegemeier is a leading expert in the science and engineering research fields, as well as in the education community, and I am thrilled he has agreed to continue to serve the state in a greater capacity,” said Fallin. “To realize all that the state and our citizens can become, we must harness the potential of science and technology. This is a part of my focus on ‘future ready’ education and training, and I know Kelvin will be committed to ensuring Oklahoma makes strides in these critically important areas.

Droegemeier co-founded the National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Center (STC) for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS), which is today recognized around the world as the pioneer of storm-scale numerical weather prediction. He also co-founded the NSF Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA), and served on the National Science Board under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and, under then-Governor Brad Henry, he chaired the Weather and Climate Team for the EDGE (Economic Development Generating Excellence) Program.

“I am deeply honored by the privilege of serving in Governor Fallin’s Cabinet as secretary of science and technology,” said Droegemeier. “I look forward to working with the governor, with other Cabinet members, and with elected leaders and citizens in Oklahoma to unlock the full potential of our state’s science and technology enterprise.  Now is the time for us to seize the moment – to utilize our science and technology assets to transform our economy, create high-paying jobs in future industries, improve the quality of life for all our citizens, and enhance educational opportunities for not only traditional students, but for life-long learners as well.”

Droegemeier earned a B.S. with special distinction in meteorology from OU, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined OU in 1985 as an assistant professor of meteorology. He and his wife, Lisa, reside in Norman.