Riley X. Brady
Ph.D. Candidate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Education
2021
University of Colorado Boulder PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Boulder, CO)
2018
University of Colorado Boulder MS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Boulder, CO)
2016
University of South Carolina BS in Marine Sciences (emphasis in Physical Oceanography). Magna Cum Laude, Honors College, Phi Beta Kappa, Leadership Distinction in Research (Columbia, SC)
2014
Otto-Friedrich Universität Bamberg Minor in German (Bamberg, Germany)
2012
Cosby High School (Midlothian, VA)
Work Experience
2021 – present
McKinsey & Company Senior Data Scientist, Climate Analytics (Denver, CO)
2016-2021
University of Colorado Boulder Graduate Researcher, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (Boulder, CO)
Summer 2020
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Graduate Researcher, Climate Change Science Institute (Remote)
Summer 2018
Los Alamos National Laboratory Graduate Researcher, Theoretical Division (Los Alamos, NM)
2012-2016
University of South Carolina Undergraduate Researcher, Ecosystem Oceanography & Climate Change Lab (Columbia, SC)
Summer 2015
NOAA Earth System Research Lab NOAA Hollings Scholar, Physical Sciences Division (Boulder, CO)
Summer 2013
UNC Institute of Marine Sciences NSF REU Scholar, Coastal Fisheries Ecology Lab (Morehead City, NC)
Publications
Peer-Reviewed
2021
Brady, RX, ME Maltrud, PJ Wolfram, HF Drake, and NS Lovenduski (2021), The influence of ocean topography on the upwelling of carbon in the Southern Ocean, Geophysical Research Letters, 48. [PDF] [Online]
2021
Brady, RX and A Spring (2021), climpred: Verification of weather and climate forecasts, Journal of Open Source Software, 6 (59), 2781. [PDF] [Online]
2020
Schlunegger, S, Y Eddebbar, RX Brady, and FA Burger (2020), Applications of Large Ensembles for marine biogeochemistry, US CLIVAR Variations, 18 (2). [PDF] [Online]
2020
Brady, RX, NS Lovenduski, SG Yeager, MC Long, and K Lindsay (2020), Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System, Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15722-x. [PDF] [Supplemental] [Press Release]
2020
Elsworth, GE, NS Lovenduski, KA McKinnon, KM Krumhardt, and RX Brady (2020), Finding
the fingerprint of anthropogenic climate change in marine phytoplankton abundance,
Current Climate Change Reports. DOI: 10.1007/s40641-020-00156-w. [PDF]
2019
Brady, RX, NS Lovenduski, MA Alexander, M Jacox, and N Gruber (2019), On the role of climate modes in modulating the air-sea CO2 fluxes in eastern boundary upwelling systems, Biogeosciences, 16, 329–346, DOI: 10.5194/bg-16-329-2019. [PDF] [Supplemental]
2017
Brady, RX, MA Alexander, NS Lovenduski, and RR Rykaczewski (2017), Emergent anthropogenic trends in California Current upwelling, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 5044–5052, DOI: 10.1002/2017GL072945. [PDF] [Supplemental] [Press Release]
Conference Proceedings
2019
Dutta, S, RX Brady, ME Maltrud, PJ Wolfram, and R Bujack (2019), Leveraging Lagrangian analysis for discriminating nutrient origins, Visualization in Environmental Sciences (EnvirVis). [PDF]
Magazine Articles
2017
Brady, RX (2017), The Basic STEM Toolbox, NextStep STEM, 16-17. [Online]
2016
Brady, RX (2016), Shark Walk to STEM - My Journey to Oceanography & Climate Science, NextStepU. [Online]
Funded Proposals
Lead Principal Investigator
2016-2020
Brady, RX, Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, $450,000 total award.
2014-2015
Brady, RX and RR Rykaczewski, Variability in large-scale forcing of the four major Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. University of South Carolina Magellan Research Scholarship, $3,000 total award.
2013-2014
Brady, RX and RR Rykaczewski, The influence of water vapor on upwelling. SC Honors College Science Undergraduate Research Fellowship, $2,900 total award.
2012-2013
Brady, RX and RR Rykaczewski, Ocean ecosystems in 2100. SC Honors College Science Undergraduate Research Fellowship, $2,700 total award.
Technical Skills
Computer Languages
- Python
- MATLAB
- shell scripting
- C/C++ (familiar)
- OpenMP/MPI (familiar)
- Javascript (familiar)
- NCL (familiar)
- R (familiar)
Other Tools
- ParaView
- GNU Parallel
- git
- NCO
- CDO
Design
- HTML
- CSS
- LaTeX
- Vector Graphics
Software
Core Developer
automate-mpas: a collection of shell and python scripts to automate the process of setting up and running an MPAS simulation with Lagrangian particles.
climpred: an object-oriented python package for analyzing decadal prediction ensemble output.
esmtools: a toolbox for Earth system model analysis.
xskillscore: metrics for verifying forecasts using xarray. Added an option to weight all metrics (e.g. by grid cell area) and skip NaNs (e.g. when masking).
Contributor
esmlab: tools for working with Earth system multi-model analyses with xarray. Added statistical significance testing for correlations.
LIGHT: a Lagrangian particle tracking system for the MPAS ocean model. Added biogeochemical “sensors” for the autonomous floats.
mpas-analysis: automated analysis of the components of the MPAS model. Added diagnostics for ocean biogeochemistry.
Awards
National
2016
Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, Department of Energy
2015
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, United States Congress
2014
Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Institutional
2020
Departmental (ATOC) Service Award, “For providing technical support to
fellow students and for outstanding mentorship to underrepresented undergraduate students.”
2018
Departmental (ATOC) Service Award, “For successful efforts to involve ATOC students with the oceanography faculty search.”
2016
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, University of South Carolina (3 recipients)
Outstanding Undergraduate in Marine Science, University of South Carolina (2 recipients)
Outstanding Senior Award, University of South Carolina
2012
McNair Scholar, University of South Carolina (Valued at $130,800)
Meetings
2016
1st Place, Oceanography, Earth System and Space Science Poster Conference
2015
Best Student Talk, Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference
2014
Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Ocean Sciences Meeting
2013
1st Place, Morning Oral STEM Session, South Carolina Discovery Day
Visualization
2019
Runner-up, NASA Data Visualization and Storytelling Competition, American Geophysical Union
Media
2020
“Ocean acidification prediction now possible years in advance”, CU Boulder Today, by Kelsey Simpkins (Research Highlight) [Online]
2020
“Killing Rainbows”, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Volume 40 (2), by Gary Singh. (Cover art and feature story) [Cover] [Story]
2019
“Diversifying Peer Review by Adding Junior Scientists”, Undark, by Dan Garisto. (Quoted) [Online]
2019
“The Great Pacific Garbage Patch from 1982 to 1998, visualized”, Digg. (Visualization) [Online]
2019
“The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, front page of reddit. [Online]
2017
“How will climate change affect the California Current upwelling?”, AGU Highlights, by Terri Cook. (Research Highlight) [Online]
2011
“Cosby’s ‘man of steel’ forges inspirational comeback story”, Richmond Times-Dispatch, by Fred Jeter. (Feature story, accompanied by a flattering photo) [Article]
Service
Mentorship
2021
Goldwater Scholarship Mentor, Matthew Duggan (University of South Carolina)
2020
Programming Mentor, Isis Díaz (SMART; University of Puerto Rico)
2019
Programming Mentor, Holly Olivarez (SOARS; University of New Mexico)
Programming Mentor, David Feagins (SMART; St. Mary’s University)
Programming Mentor, Gabriela Cazares (SOARS; MIT)
Programming Mentor, Brianna Green (RESESS; New Mexico Tech)
2017
Programming Mentor, Gabriela Negrete-Garcia (SOARS; University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Miscellaneous
2020
Co-Organizer, Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference (Mount Hood, OR)
2020
Trout Bowl Science Judge (Boulder, CO)
2019
Boulder Valley School District Science Fair Judge (Boulder, CO)
2018-2019
Skype a Scientist (video calls with high school science classes)
2018-2019
Contributor, Climate Gamers [Ice Ages] [Climate Models]
2017-2019
Graduate Committee Lead, oceanography faculty search; prospective students; mentorship
2017
SOARS Poster Conference Judge (Boulder, CO)
2013-2016
Ambassador, Office of Fellowships; Office of Undergraduate Research; Sustainable Carolina
Peer Reviewer
Biogeosciences
Earth System Science Data
JGR: Oceans (x2)
Journal of Open Source Software
Teaching
University of Colorado Boulder
Fall 2019
Guest Lecturer, Physical Oceanography and Climate (Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems)
Spring 2019
Grader, Biogeochemical Oceanography (20 Students)
Fall 2018
Guest Lecturer, Our Changing Climate (Latent and Sensible Heat)
University of South Carolina
Spring 2016
Grader, Ordinary Differential Equations (39 Students)
Fall 2015
Lecturer, University 101 (20 Students)
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Fall 2019
Guest Lecturer, Intro to Scientific Computing for Earth Sciences (From Raw Climate Data to Beautiful Plots) [Github Repo]
Spring 2019
Guest Lecturer, Intro to Scientific Computing for Earth Sciences (Color Theory and Matplotlib)
Presentations
Invited Talks
2020
climpred: an xarray wrapper for analysis of ensemble forecast models for climate prediction. CESM Workshop. (remote)
2019
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System. Physical Sciences Division, NOAA Earth System Research Lab. (Boulder, CO)
High resolution simulation of biogeochemical pathways in E3SM. Computational Earth Sciences Group, Oak Ridge National Lab. (Oak Ridge, TN)
On the role of climate modes in modulating the air-sea CO2 fluxes in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. EBUS Webinar Series. [Video]
2018
Effective Use of Color in Scientific Visualization. Scientific Programming and Data Visualization (ATOC Course: Sci Programming, Data Analysis, and Vis Lab). (Boulder, CO)
Effective Use of Color in Scientific Visualization. ATOC Graduate Student Forum. (Boulder, CO)
Southern Ocean Carbon Hotspots in E3SM. Climate, Ocean, and Sea Ice Modeling (COSIM) Team. (Los Alamos, NM)
2016
Emergence of Anthropogenic Trends in California Current Upwelling in the Presence of Natural Climate Variability. NCAR Oceanography Section. (Boulder, CO)
Conference Talks
2021
Lagrangian trajectories of carbon in the topographically influenced Southern Ocean. 2021 SOCCOM Annual Meeting. (remote)
2020
Lagrangian circulation of carbon from the Southern Ocean abyss. Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship Annual Review. (remote)
2019
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System. Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference. (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Skillful multiyear predictions of pH variability in the California Current System. CESM Workshop. (Boulder, CO)
2018
On the role of climate modes in modulating the air-sea CO2 fluxes in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. 12th Graduate Climate Conference. (Pack Forest, WA)
What controls the variability of CO2 fluxes in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems? Ocean Sciences Meeting. (Portland, OR) [Slides]
2016
Emergence of anthropogenic trends in California Current upwelling in the presence of internal climate variability. CESM Workshop. (Breckenridge, CO) [Slides]
2015
The influence of natural variability on future California Current upwelling. AGU Fall Meeting. (San Francisco, CA) [Slides]
Quantifying natural and anthropogenic variation in California Current upwelling. Eastern Pacific Ocean Conference. (South Lake Tahoe, CA) [Slides]
Posters
2020
Lagrangian pathways of dissolved inorganic carbon in the Southern Ocean. Ocean Sciences Meeting. (San Diego, CA)
2019
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System. Graduate Climate Conference. (Woods Hole, MA)
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System. Chapman Conference on Understanding Carbon Climate Feedbacks. (La Jolla, CA)
Skillful multiyear predictions of ocean acidification in the California Current System. CLIVAR Large Ensembles Workshop. (Boulder, CO)
2018
On the role of climate modes in modulating the air-sea CO2 fluxes in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. Synthesis and intercomparison of ocean carbon uptake in CMIP6 models. (Washington, DC)
2017
CO2 flux variability in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. 10th International Carbon Dioxide Conference. (Interlaken, Switzerland)
2016
Emergence of anthropogenic trends in California Current upwelling in the presence of internal climate variability. Ocean Sciences Meeting. (New Orleans, LA)
2014
Consequences of changing high-pressure zones on future coastal upwelling. Ocean Sciences Meeting. (Honolulu, HI)
Workshops
2020
The climpred diagnostics package. Earth System Prediction Working Group, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). (Boulder, CO) [Github Repo with Binder]
Effective Use of Color in Scientific Visualization. Colorado State University. (Fort Collins, CO)
2019
Effective Use of Color in Climate Science Visualizations. ATOC Graduate Student Forum. (Boulder, CO) [Github Repo with Binder]
Introduction to Git Version Control. ATOC Graduate Student Forum. (Boulder, CO)
Short Courses
2019
CMIP6 Hackathon, National Center for Atmospheric Research (Boulder, CO)
Swiss Climate Summer School: Carbon and Climate in the Paris World (Ascona, Switzerland)
CMIP6 Hackathon, Oak Ridge National Lab (Oak Ridge, TN)
2018
ParaView Tutorial, Los Alamos National Lab (Los Alamos, NM)
2017
Introduction to Parallel Programming, CU Boulder (Boulder, CO)
2014
NMFS Marine Resources Population Dynamics Workshop (Layton, FL)
Graduate Coursework
- Biogeochemical Oceanography
- Intro to Physical Oceanography
- Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Oceans
- Atmospheric Thermodynamics
- Into to Time Series
- High-Performance Scientific Computing
- The Global Carbon Cycle
- Into to Atmospheric Radiation
- Partial Differential Equations
- Modeling in Applied Mathematics
- Chaotic Dynamics