Summary of Qualifications

  • Nine years extensive technical research background in climatology, meteorology, and oceanography.
  • Named America’s Scientist Idol at the 2013 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  • Invited speaker/writer at the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang, Climate Desk, 2014 Green Biz Forum and Verge conferences, NAS Science and Entertainment Exchange, Nerd Nite DC, and Thirst DC.
  • Writer for NOAA’s climate.gov ENSO Blog and sole author of climate.gov’s Event Tracker Blog.

Professional Experience

Climate Prediction Center, Washington, DC – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration       

Meteorologist, July 2010 – Present

  • Official blogger for NOAA’s climate.gov. Write for the ENSO and Event Tracker blog hosted at climate.gov. Responsible for creating written and visual educational material aimed at the general public.
  • Am a spokesperson/expert for the Climate Prediction Center with regards to ENSO, El Niño, and La Niña where I make monthly forecasts on ENSO conditions as well as perform research on the topic.
  • Do interviews on weather and climate-related topics with major domestic and international newspapers as well as live interviews on the radio and television including the Weather Channel and TV stations in Los Angeles.
  • Work with NOAA and the American Museum of Natural History to produce a satellite interpretation product used at museums across the country.
  • Previously worked for the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-NET).
  • Provided expert meteorological analysis to the wider FEWS-NET team including USAID and agricultural groups through weekly teleconference briefings and constant communication.
  • Produced weekly weather hazard outlooks that are distributed internationally to fellow FEWS-NET members, aid groups and the US military as well as produced specialty products focusing on Darfur and the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
  • Maintained operational products including our Rainfall Estimate product over Africa as well as aided in research related to weather and climate in Africa, Central America and Hispaniola.

Georgia Tech Leadership Challenge Course – Atlanta, GA

Teambuilding/Leadership Facilitator, Oct. 2009 – Jun. 2010

  • Led professional and student groups in challenge course elements relating to leadership concepts and group dynamics.
  • Managed successful programs while regulating physical and emotional safety on ropes challenge course.

Stony Brook University – Stony Brook, NY

Research Assistant, Jun. 2007 – Aug. 2009; Teaching Assistant, Sept. 2006 – May 2007

  • Researched storm surge verification for the New York metropolitan region for the 2007-2008 Cool Season (Nov – Mar).
  • Modeled a past hurricane event (Hurricane Gloria – 1985) for testing within a coupled atmospheric mesoscale model (MM5, WRF) and ocean model ADCIRC.
  • Led office hours, and created and graded homework and tests for two introductory meteorological courses.

Northeast Regional Climate Center – Ithaca, NY

Research Assistance, May 2005 – Aug. 2005

  • Provided research support by performing data analysis and programming for large climate data sets.      

Education

Stony Brook University, School of Marine and Atmospheric Science – Stony Brook, NY

  • Masters in Meteorology, graduated in August 2009; 3.69 GPA; Advisor: Dr. Brian Colle
  • Thesis: “Verification of a Storm Surge Modeling System for the New York City – Long Island Region”
  • Awards: New York State Sea Grant Scholar, Jack Mattice Sea Grant Scholar Travel Fund Award

Cornell University, Earth and Atmospheric Science Department – Ithaca, NY

  • Atmospheric Science major, graduated in May 2006, Cum Laude; 3.44 GPA, 3.746 GPA in Major
  • Awards: NYS Academic Excellence Scholarship; NYS Lottery Leader of Tomorrow Scholarship

Community Service

National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange – Washington, DC

Member, Feb. 2013 – Present

  • Invited scientist panel member for various Science and Entertainment Exchange events to promote the proper use of science in the entertainment industry.
  • Technical consultant on meteorological content in TV shows and movies, as needed.

Sustainable DC – Washington, DC

Organizer, Jan. 2013 – Dec. 2013

  • Engage and educate the Washington, DC, community on the Mayor’s Sustainable DC plan.

Cornell Daily Sun Ithaca, NY        

Writer and Staff Meteorologist, 2004 – 2006

  • Wrote twice-a-week weather column for the Cornell Daily Sun that included a weather forecast and a column describing upcoming weather events or recent weather-related current events.

Cornell Chapter of the American Meteorological Society – Ithaca, NY

President 2005-2006; Lead Forecaster, 2003-2006; Apparel Chair, 2003-2005

  • Led community service events and other activities designed to promote weather awareness in Ithaca.
  • Taught underclassmen how to forecast and oversaw the Cornell Weather Phone production of the five-day weather forecast for the Ithaca area.

Skills

  • Meteorology, Climate Science, Science Education, Science Communication, Public Speaking, Teambuilding Facilitation
  • Programming: Microsoft Office, Adobe Publishing Suite, Matlab, Fortran, Linux, GIS, C Shell

Select Publications and Presentations

  • Di Liberto, T. 2014-2015. Various NOAA ENSO Blog and Event Tracker entries found at https://www.climate.gov/author/tom-di-liberto
  • Di Liberto T. 2015. “Lessons learned communicating.” Invited Presentation at interagency meeting held by the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science. Washington DC.
  • Di Liberto T. 2015. “Wait, wait … don’t drink that. A story on cholera and the beginning of Epidemiology.” Invited Presentation at Thirst DC. Washington DC.
  • Di Liberto, T. 2014. “Our Extreme Future.” Invited Presentation at the 2014 Green Biz Verge Conference. San Francisco, CA.  Online at http://www.greenbiz.com/video/noaa-tom-diliberto-how-to-face-climate-change-challenges.
  • Di Liberto, T. 2014. “The Wild Weather of the Future: Cities, Climates and Costs.” Invited Presentation at the 2014 Green Biz Forum. Tucson AZ. Online at http://info.greenbiz.com/gbf-2014-virtual-registration.html (log-in required).
  • Di Liberto, T. 2013. “Staying Ahead of the Storm: The Case for Funding Weather Forecasting”. Invited blog post at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ blog, The Equation. Online at blog.ucsusa.org/staying-ahead-of-the-storm-the-case-for-funding-weather-forecasting-216
  • Di Liberto, T. 2013. “The Wild Weather of the Future.” Invited Presentation at Climate Desk Live. Climate Desk is a collaboration of media groups including The Atlantic, Center for Investigative Reporting, The Guardian, Grist, Mother Jones, Slate and Wired. Washington, DC. Online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er-mBuRGefU.
  • Di Liberto, T. 2013. “Weather Forecasting: how hard can that be?” Winning Presentation at America’s Scientist Idol Competition, a national competition for effective science communication at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Boston, MA. Online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1rfclMpdhw.
  • Di Liberto, T. et al. 2013. “An Overview of the Weekly Regional Hazards Outlook for Food Security.” Presentation at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society. Austin, TX
  • Di Liberto, T. et al. 2012. “The National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s International Decision Support Systems.” Presentation at Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum. Bridgetown, Barbados
  • Di Liberto, T., B. Colle, N. Georgas, A. Blumberg, A. Taylor. 2011. “Verification of a Multi-Model Storm Surge Ensemble around New York City and Long Island during the Cool Season.” Weather Forecasting. 26, 922-939.
  • Di Liberto, T. and B. Colle. 2009. “High resolution WRF and ADCIRC simulations of hurricane Gloria (1985) for the New York City Metropolitan Region” and “Verification of three storm surge models over the New York Bight and Long Island regions.” Presentation and poster at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society. Phoenix, AZ.
  • Award: 8th Symposium on the Urban Environment Excellent Student Poster Presentation Award