John A. Knox is a
meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
who researches
clear-air turbulence
In meteorology, clear-air turbulence (CAT) is the turbulence, turbulent movement of air masses in the absence of any visual clues such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet.
The atmospheric region mos ...
(CAT) and who also received media attention for discussing ways of calculating the
mathematical constant
A mathematical constant is a number whose value is fixed by an unambiguous definition, often referred to by a special symbol (e.g., an Letter (alphabet), alphabet letter), or by mathematicians' names to facilitate using it across multiple mathem ...
''e'', together with inventor Harlan J. Brothers.
He is a professor at the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
and has been nationally honored for his undergraduate teaching.
Early life
Knox grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where as a high-school senior at
Huffman High School
Huffman High School (HHS) is a four-year public high school in Birmingham, Alabama. It is the largest of seven high schools in the Birmingham City School System and is a magnet school open to students from across the district. School colors are g ...
he was honored as a U.S. Presidential Scholar. He went to college at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...
(UAB). He was recruited to UAB as a member of the inaugural class of the UAB Honors Program, now the University Honors Program, and served on its Honors Council for three years. He was UAB's first national finalist in the
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Esta ...
competition and later served as an ''ex officio'' member of the UAB Rhodes Committee, assisting UAB Rhodes candidates up to and including UAB's first winner, Neel Varshney, in 2000. As a graduating senior at UAB in 1988, Knox won both a
National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
Graduate Research Fellowship and a
Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...
Fellowship, and was a national finalist for the
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...
National Leader of the Year Award.
Scientific career
Knox received his Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
. He was a post-doctoral fellow at
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Goddard Institute for Space Studies
The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) is a laboratory in the Earth Sciences Division of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center affiliated with the Columbia University Earth Institute.
The institute is located at Columbia University in Ne ...
, and taught meteorology at
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus.
The university is known for its Luthe ...
in
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
before moving to the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
in 2001.
In 1997, inventor Harlan Brothers sent some college-level expression for ''e'' to
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's program ''
Science Friday
''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 500 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by science ...
''.
Knox's wife Pam, an intern at ''Science Friday'' during Knox's post-doc at NASA/GISS, told them to Knox, who confirmed them.
Together, they derived several formulae to calculate ''e''. The formulae involve applying
Bernoulli's
standard result that (1 + 1/''n'')
''n'' approximates ''e'' when ''n'' becomes large, to the formula
, which is the basis of the popular
bilinear transform
The bilinear transform (also known as Tustin's method, after Arnold Tustin) is used in digital signal processing and discrete-time control theory to transform continuous-time system representations to discrete-time and vice versa.
The bilinear t ...
.
Since 1995 Knox has performed research on clear-air turbulence (CAT), in particular CAT forecasting. In 2008, he co-authored (with Don McCann, and Paul Williams of the University of Reading) an article in the ''
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
The ''Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences'' (until 1962 titled ''Journal of Meteorology'') is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society. It covers research related to the physics, dynamics, and chemistry of the atmosphe ...
'' describing a new method of CAT forecasting that received international media attention. In 2010, Knox was honored by the
National Weather Association
The National Weather Association (NWA), founded in 1975, is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities.
Background
The National Weather Association is, ...
with the T. Theodore Fujita Research Achievement Award for his CAT forecasting research.
Knox writes popular articles and books about meteorology, including the award-winning ''Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere'' with Steven A. Ackerman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Knox is currently a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences in the Geography Department at the University of Georgia and since 2004 the Undergraduate Coordinator for its Atmospheric Sciences Program. Since 2011 Knox has served as Faculty Advisor for the
Demosthenian Literary Society
The Demosthenian Literary Society is a literary society focused on extemporaneous debate at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. It is among the oldest literary societies in the English-speaking world and was founded on February 19, 180 ...
, UGA's oldest student organization (founded in 1803).
Political career
In February 2016 Knox announced his candidacy for a seat on the
Athens-Clarke County Board of Education. Having lived in the district for 15 years, Knox was motivated to run by a desire to give back to the community and stand up for public schools. Knox has always believed that the "students come first". Knox represented District 8 on the Board of Education.
Honors and awards
In April 2012 Knox was the only geography professor in the nation, and one of only two atmospheric scientists, included in
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
's first-ever "Best 300 Professors" list and book.
In November 2014 Knox was honored as the Georgia Professor of the Year by the organizations CASE and the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is a U.S.-based education policy and research center. It was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress. Among its most not ...
in the US Professors of the Year ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. He was the first UGA professor named the state's Professor of the Year in a decade, and the first atmospheric sciences professor to be so named for any state in a quarter century.
In January 2015 Knox was extended an invitation to join the organization
Faculty Row, a private global network of accomplished academics, as one of its approximately 1,600 "Super Professors" worldwide.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, John (Meteorologist)
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American meteorologists
University of Alabama at Birmingham alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Valparaiso University faculty
University of Georgia faculty