Team

Deepti Singh

Deepti is an Associate Professor in the School of the Environment at Washington State University Vancouver. She leads the Climate Extremes Lab. Prior to WSU, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Earth System Science from Stanford University in 2015, M.S.E in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from Purdue University, and a B.E in Mechanical Engineering form Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, India. In 2015, she was recognized as a Kavli ‘Frontiers of Science’ Fellow by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. She served as an author on the Fifth US National Climate Assessment (NCA). She currently serves on the NASEM Committee on Attribution of Extreme Weather and Climate Events and their Impacts.

Her work is motivated by the potential for climate science to provide usable information to minimize the risk of climate-related disasters on communities around the world. Her research aims to advance the physical understanding of climate extremes and their interactions that result in compound hazards, and their sources of predictability in the Earth System. Through interdisciplinary collaborations, her research also evaluates the impact of extremes on critical resources such as agriculture, energy infrastructure, and health. She also enjoys hikes, swims, volunteering, and engaging with K-12 students and community groups on climate change.

Email: deepti.singh@wsu.edu

Amanda Laverty (PhD student)

Amanda is a Ph.D. student at Washington State University researching atmospheric ridges, extreme heat and drought, and impacts on water resources. In 2018, she earned her M.S. in Biological Oceanography from Old Dominion University and has spent the past eight years in Washington, D.C., working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In her free time, she enjoys biking, rock climbing, fiber and ceramic arts, and supporting local food systems. She is also looking forward to hiking and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Email: amanda.laverty@wsu.edu

Sam Hall Watson (MS student)

Sam is a Master’s student in the School of the Environment at Washington State University. His background is in aerospace engineering and wildfire suppression, and his research is focused on wildfire-driven ecological succession and land-atmosphere feedbacks. He is a Washington native and looks forward to skiing and biking in the beautiful mountains around Vancouver.

Email: samuel.hallwatson@wsu.edu

Xiaoyu Bai (postdoc)

Xiaoyu is a postdoc at Washington State University. Her research interests are focused on large scale climate dynamics. Her masters and PhD work examined ENSO, ITCZ shift, and energetic theory. Her current research is on atmospheric ridges that are the large-scale drivers of heatwaves and droughts in the mid-latitudes. She aims to develop methods to downscale global or regional climate models to a community level to help people in their daily life. Besides research, she is a cat lady who likes embroidery, cooking, and organizing.

Email: xiaoyu.bai@wsu.edu

Dmitri Kalashnikov (Affiliate)

Dmitri was a Ph.D. candidate at Washington State University and a NASA FINESST fellow, graduating in 2024. At WSU, his research focused on understanding the physical drivers and impacts of dry thunderstorms in the western US, which are a major ignition source of wildfires. He received his M.S. in Geography from Portland State University in 2019, where he researched large-scale meteorological patterns conducive to lightning outbreaks in the western US. During his time at WSU, Dmitri was also an author on the 2023 Oregon Climate Assessment report. He is currently a National Science Foundation AGS postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Merced. 

Email: dkalashnikov@ucmerced.edu