Dr. Prajvala Kurtakoti joins us this summer. Prajvala is the first Benton Fellow, supported by a generous gift from the family of Dr. George S. Benton. George Benton was a professor of meteorology at JHU for more than 40 years. He was also department chair, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, and Vice President of the Homewood Divisions. In addition, Prof. Benton served the US government in several high-profile roles related to meteorology, including as Associate Administrator for NOAA in the Carter Administration. More on Prof. Benton’s distinguished career can be found in this archived interview and in this one.

Prajvala joins us from a postdoc at Los Alamos National Lab. She holds a PhD in Oceanography from Texas A&M University, a Masters degree in Physical Oceanography from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Amrita School of Engineering in her native India. Her research interests lie in Southern Ocean physical oceanography (deep convection at polynyas) and climate dynamics (Bjerknes compensation for meridional heat transport). Prajvala will work with the Haine and Gnanadesikan research groups during her Fellowship. Welcome to Hopkins Prajvala!