# R. Saravanan: Bio (*Generated using [Slidoc](https://github.com/mitotic/slidoc). To view as slides, press Escape key. [Original Markdown](bio.md.txt)*) Dr. R. Saravanan is Professor and Head of the [Department of Atmospheric Sciences](https://atmo.tamu.edu/people/profiles/faculty/saravananr.html) at Texas A&M University. He is a climate scientist with a background in physics and has been a lead researcher using computer models of the climate for more than thirty years. He received his Ph. D. in [Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences](https://aos.princeton.edu/) from Princeton University] and his M. Sc. in Physics from the [Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur](https://www.iitk.ac.in/). He carried out postdoctoral research at the [University of Cambridge](https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/) and subsequently worked at the [National of Atmospheric Research](https://www.cgd.ucar.edu/) in Boulder, Colorado. Email: sarava (at) tamu.edu Twitter: [@RSarava](https://twitter.com/RSarava) ## Name Ramalingam Saravanan (usually shortened to R. Saravanan) ## Address Professor & Department Head Department of Atmospheric Sciences 3150 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-3150 Phone: (979) 845-0175 e-mail: sarava (at) tamu.edu ## Education - 1990 *Ph. D. (Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences)*, Princeton University - 1986 *Master of Science (Physics)*, Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) ## Professional Experience - 2018-present, *Head, Department of Atmospheric Sciences*, Texas A&M University - 2005-present, *Professor of Atmospheric Sciences*, Texas A&M University - 1993-2005, *Scientist I,II,III*, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado - 1990-1993, *Postdoctoral Research Associate*, Dept. of Applied Math. & Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, UK ## Professional Service - Member, *NCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM) Scientific Steering Committee* (2021-present) - Member, *Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Atlantic (PIRATA) Science Steering Committee* (2010-2018) - Member, *American Meteorological Society Committee on Climate Variability and Change* (2014-2017) - Member, *NRC Committee on the Assessment of Intraseasonal to Interannual Climate Prediction and Predictability* (2009) - Co-organizer, *TAMU Symposium on Climate, Statistics, and Satellites* (2009) - Editor, *Journal of Climate* (2007-2010) - Co-chair, *Program Committee for the 14th AMS Conference on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics*, San Antonio, Texas (2003) - Co-convener, *NCAR/ASP Colloquium on the Dynamics of Decadal-to-Centennial Climate Variability* (2000) - Member, *American Meteorological Society Committee on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics* (2000-2003) - Member, *NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Predictability (NSIPP) Science Team* (2000-2005) - Member, *U.S. CLIVAR Pacific Sector Implementation Panel* (1999-2000) ### Honors and awards - Texas A&M University, College of Geosciences Distinguished Research Award, 2015 ## Courses taught - ATMO 201: Introduction to Atmospheric Science - ATMO 321: Computer Applications in Atmospheric Science - ATMO 324: Physical and Regional Climatology - ATMO 459: Tropical Meteorology - ATMO 604: General Circulation and Climate - ATMO 611: Atmospheric Dynamics II - GEOS 210: Climate Change ## Book - Saravanan, R., 2021: [The Climate Demon](https://r.saravanan.us/climate-demon): Past, Present, and Future of Climate Prediction, Cambridge University Press (to be published) ## Video - Saravanan, R., 2020: [Is the weather actually becoming more extreme?](https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-the-weather-becoming-more-extreme-r-saravanan) TED-Ed Lesson ## Book Chapters - Saravanan, R., and P. Chang, 2018: Midlatitude Meso-scale Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction and Its Relevance to S2S Prediction. In: The Gap between Weather and Climate Forecasting: Sub-Seasonal to Seasonal Prediction, Elsevier, Andrew W. Robertson and Frederic Vitart, ed., [doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-811714-9.00009-7](https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811714-9.00009-7) - Saravanan, R., 2008: Seasonal-to-decadal prediction using climate models: successes and challenges. In: *Large-Scale Disasters: Prediction, Control and Mitigation*, Cambridge University Press, Mohamed Gad-El-Hak, ed., 318-328pp. [doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511535963.016](https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535963.016) - Saravanan, R. and P. Chang, 2004: Thermodynamic coupling and predictability of tropical sea surface temperature. In: *Earth's Climate: The Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction*, Geophysical Monograph 147, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC. C. Wang, S-P. Xie, J.A. Carton, eds. 171-180pp. ## Selected Papers - Verma, T., R. Saravanan, P. Chang, and S. Mahajan, 2019: Tropical Pacific ocean dynamical response to short-term sulfate aerosol forcing, *Journal of Climate*, [doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0050.1](https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0050.1) - Yang, J., M. Jun, C. Schumacher, and R. Saravanan, 2019: Predictive statistical representations of observed and simulated rainfall using generalized linear models. *Journal of Climate*, [doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0527.1](https://dpi.org/doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0527.1) - Patricola, C.M., R. Saravanan, P. Chang, 2018: The response of Atlantic tropical cyclones to suppression of African easterly waves, *Geophysical Research Letters*, 45, 471-479. [doi:10.1002/2017GL076081](https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076081) - Patricola, C.M., P. Chang, R. Saravanan, 2016: Degree of simulated suppression of Atlantic tropical cyclones modulated by flavour of El Niño, *Nature Geoscience*, 9, 155-160. [doi:10.1038/ngeo2624](https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2624) - Ma, X., P. Chang, R. Saravanan, R. Montuoro, J.-S. Hsieh, D. Wu, X. Lin, L. Wu, Z. Jing, 2015: Distant influence of Kuroshio eddies on North Pacific weather patterns? *Scientific Reports*, 5, 17785. [doi:10.1038/srep17785](https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17785) - Wang, Y., R. Zhang, and R. Saravanan, 2014: Asian pollution climatically modulates mid-latitude cyclones following hierarchical modelling and observational analysis. *Nature Communications*, 5, 3098. [doi:10.1038/ncomms4098](https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4098) - Balaguru, K., P. Chang, R. Saravanan, and L. R. Leung, 2012: Ocean barrier layers’ effect on tropical cyclone intensification. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*, 109, 14343-14347, [doi:10.1073/pnas.1201364109](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1201364109) - Mahajan, S., R. Saravanan, and P. Chang, 2010: Free and Forced Variability of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean: Role of the Wind-Evaporation-Sea Surface Temperature (WES) Feedback. *Journal of Climate*, 23, 5958-5977. - Deser, C., A. Capotondi, R. Saravanan, and A. Phillips, 2006: Tropical Pacific and Atlantic climate variability in CCSM3. *Journal of Climate*, 19, 2451-2481. - Magnusdottir, G., C. Deser, and R. Saravanan, 2004: The effects of North Atlantic SST and sea-ice anomalies on the winter circulation in CCM3: Part I: Main features and storm-track characteristics of the response. *Journal of Climate*, 17, 857-876. [doi](https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442%282004%29017<0857%3ATEONAS>2.0.CO%3B2) - Giannini, A., R. Saravanan, and P. Chang, 2003: Oceanic forcing of Sahel rainfall on interannual to interdecadal time scales. *Science*, 302, 1027-1030, [doi:10.1126/science.1089357]( https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1089357) - Saravanan, R., G. Danabasoglu, S. C. Doney, and J. C. McWilliams, 2000: Decadal variability and predictability in the midlatitude ocean–atmosphere system. *Journal of Climate*, 13, 1073–1097. - Polvani, L. M., and R. Saravanan, 2000: The three-dimensional structure of breaking Rossby waves in the polar wintertime stratosphere. *Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences*, 57, 3663–3685 - Saravanan, R., 1998: Atmospheric low frequency variability and its relationship to midlatitude SST variability: Studies using the NCAR Climate System Model. *Journal of Climate*, 11, 1386–1404. - Saravanan, R., and J. C. McWilliams, 1998: Advective ocean–atmosphere interaction: an analytical stochastic model with implications for decadal variability. *Journal of Climate*, 11, 165–188. [doi](https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442%281998%29011<0165%3AAOAIAA>2.0.CO%3B2) - Saravanan, R., and J. C. McWilliams, 1997: Stochasticity and spatial resonance in interdecadal climate fluctuations. *Journal of Climate*, 10, 2299–2320. - Saravanan, R., and J. C. McWilliams, 1995: Multiple equilibria, natural variability, and climate transitions in an idealized ocean–atmosphere model. *Journal of Climate*, 8, 2296–2323. - Saravanan, R., 1993: Equatorial superrotation and the maintenance of general circulation in two–level models. *Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences*, 50, 1211–1227. [doi](https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469%281993%29050<1211%3AESAMOT>2.0.CO%3B2) - Saravanan, R., 1990: A multi–wave model of the quasi–biennial oscillation. *Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences*, 47, 2465–2474 - Saravanan, R., J. K. Bhattacharjee, K. Banerjee, and O. Narayan, 1985: Chaos in a periodically–forced Lorenz system. *Physical Review A31*, 520–522. A more complete list of publications is available in my [ResearcherID](http://www.researcherid.com/rid/G-8879-2012) profile or [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CiHsuqwAAAAJ)