📢 Graduate Student Opportunities! Dr. Lawton is seeking two highly-motivated students to join our research group starting in Spring or Fall 2027! Students with an interest in tropical meteorology and/or numerical modeling are encouraged to reach out. More information on the graduate program and admission requirements can be found on the Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment website.

Welcome to the Lawton Research Group! Our lab studies the dynamics of tropical weather systems with a focus on understanding, predicting, and ultimately mitigating the societal impacts of extreme weather in the tropics.

Our team utilizes high-resolution numerical models, alongside large reanalysis and observational datasets, to study and improve tropical weather prediction. We focus primarily on systems like tropical cyclones, equatorial waves, and African easterly waves. We also study extreme precipitation and tropical convection. A core tenet of our work involves building strong collaborations with operational centers to ensure broader real-world impacts. Dr. Lawton also developed and maintains QTrack, an open-source African Easterly Wave tracker used in both research and operational contexts.

In addition to working with many academic institutions across the globe, our group has active collaborations with scientists at NSF NCAR, ECMWF, and NASA.

Current Research Interests

• Tropical Meteorology
• Atmospheric Wave Dynamics and Interactions
• Extreme Weather Prediction
• Numerical Modeling at Storm-Resolving Scales