Cristiana Stan recently joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Earth and Environmental System Modeling (EESM) program under an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment.

In her new EESM role, Stan—an associate professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia—will work across EESM program areas, particularly in advancing novel scientific concepts and innovative methods that enhance the predictive capacity and analysis of earth system models.

“As a PI (principal investigator) myself, I am focused on my own areas of research,” says Stan, whose IPA will last at least through the close of calendar year 2020. “In this role at DOE, I have the opportunity to get the bird’s eye view of the world and find myself looking at the earth system sciences  in multiple dimensions. Seeing my science as a part of the full, big picture has allowed me to see how and where it fits into the whole.”

Stan adds that her DOE role allows her to interact with other PIs whose area of research may not intersect with hers. “I really enjoy that,” she says.

RGMA Program Manager Renu Joseph says Stan is a fantastic addition to the program management team. “Even during the remote work conditions of COVID-19, Cristiana has stepped in and taken on responsibilities, and she is bringing new ideas to the table that will continue to make each program area stronger and better serve the needs of our PIs.”

At George Mason University, Stan’s climate modeling work focuses on large-scale dynamics and predictability of tropical variability. This research includes the role of cloud representation in modeling the tropical cyclone activity, monsoon circulations, Madden-Julian Oscillation, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) under current conditions and future climate change scenarios. She also focuses on the development of coupled climate models using super-parameterization for representing cloud-scale processes.

Stan holds a B.S. in physics and M.S. in atmospheric physics from the University of Bucharest, and a PhD in atmospheric science from Colorado State University.