CHIACAGO, Il. (WBKO) – Two Western Kentucky University graduate students, along with Dr. Josh Durkee, University Meteorologist and Director of the WKU Disaster Science Operations Center (DSOC), provided specialized weather monitoring for the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Durkee was specifically recruited to design and deliver event-specific weather planning, forecasting, and on-site monitoring services for the June 18 grand opening ceremony.
The ceremony marked the official unveiling of the 19.3-acre campus in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, per the release.
Dr. Durkee led the effort through the new DSOC Pro, the professional services unit of DSOC, and was joined on-site by graduate students, Harmony Guercio and Thomas Payette.
“I am sincerely honored that Agency EA and the Obama Foundation gave my graduate students and me the opportunity with full trust behind our mission to provide precise and accurate event-specific weather planning, forecasting, and on-site monitoring for such a prestigious, historic event,” he said in a release.
The team’s services required custom weather support for a large-scale outdoor event with high-visibility, complex operations, and extensive security considerations.
Dr. Durkee said the team provided hyperlocal weather intelligence to support operational and safety decisions throughout the event.
“The weather was diverse, inclement, and quite challenging to predict accurately for the array of critical decisions needing support across all elements of operations and production of the event,” Dr. Durkee said, in a release. “It is professionally rewarding to be sought for the work and to successfully conduct the work, but even more so to pass these experiences on to my students so they can be better than me.”
The opportunity allowed students to apply their skills to real-world events, which has become a hallmark of the University’s meteorology and disaster science programs.
“Participating in an event of this scale is something I never imagined I would have the opportunity to do, especially as a graduate student,” said Guercio, a graduate student from Knoxville, Tennessee, pursuing a Homeland Security Science degree, in a release. “Being trusted to provide weather support for an event involving President Obama, other former U.S. presidents, Secret Service, production teams, event organizers, and thousands of attendees was both humbling and incredibly rewarding.”
According to Guercio, the experience reinforced how essential weather intelligence is to major public events.
“What stood out to me the most during this event was seeing how weather information influenced nearly every aspect of the operation,” she said. “From wind impacts on staging and rigging to safety decisions that affected staff, performers, and guests, every single forecast and observation was of high importance.”
The Obama Presidential Center event is the latest example of DSOC’s growing national reach. Over the years, WKU’s Disaster Science Operations Center has built partnerships and provided weather support for large-scale events and organizations, including the Special Olympics USA Games, the Chicago Marathon, Chicago road races, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, NASCAR events, concerts, and festivals.
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