Kate Fossell is an Associate Scientist IV in MMM at NCAR, contributing to two DTC projects; the Unified Post Processor (UPP) and the Numerical Weather Prediction cloud container projects.
Kate has worked with the DTC for 10 years with much of her time dedicated to co-leading the UPP project and its growing team through its transition to the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) in 2023. During this period, she built a strong collaborative relationship with the UPP team at the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), establishing a solid code management plan to shepherd multiple community innovations into the software package and support EMC's recent refactoring project. She worked tirelessly to ensure that DTC's support of the UPP was valuable to the community and DTC partners. She has co-led the UPP task with great skill, ensuring the transition to EPIC transpired efficiently and seamlessly.
Kate also demonstrated her outstanding leadership skills when she volunteered to lead DTC's NWP container and cloud project to its completion, stepping in when the prior lead stepped down for other pursuits.
In addition to her excellent leadership style and mentorship, Kate brings strong technical skills to her DTC projects, pursuing in-depth knowledge of the underlying code and demonstrating a drive to expand her knowledge and skills. The icing on the cake is Kate's positive and friendly approach to her interactions with DTC staff and collaborators. She obviously cares about her team members by the way she advocates for them, providing them with growth opportunities to further their own technical and leadership skills.
Kate has exemplified the mission and values of the DTC on a daily basis. Aside from her contributions to DTC projects, she played an integral role in organizing the 2022 DTC retreat, providing a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all. Even with the sunsetting of the DTC’s support of UPP, Kate’s impact on the UPP and other projects will live on. Thank you Kate for all of your hard work and support over the past decade!
