Krider to be Honored at 20th International Lightning Detection Conference

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Krider to be Honored at 20th International Lightning Detection Conference

E. Philip Krider (Photo by Kent Wood)

Lightning experts will convene in Tucson on April 21-23.

By University Communications
April 14, 2008

More than 150 atmospheric scientists and lightning experts from around the world will pay special tribute to University of Arizona atmospheric sciences professor and renowned lightning expert E. Philip Krider next week.

Krider will be honored at the 20th International Lightning Detection Conference that will be held at Marriott University Park Hotel, 880 E. Second St., on April 21-23.

Krider was instrumental in developing the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network, the system that monitors the nearly 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes across the United States every year.

Vaisala Inc., a major international manufacturer of weather instruments and other environmental measuring systems, is the conference sponsor. Vaisala, the UA and the UA's department of atmospheric sciences and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics are hosting a dinner reception honoring Krider at Flandrau Science Center on April 23.

"Dr. Krider is a shining example of the world-class scientists who call Arizona home," Eric Betterton, head of the atmospheric sciences department, said. "His dedication to advancing the field of atmospheric electricity and lightning is evident in the generations of students he has inspired, and the innovative research he has published."

Krider is known worldwide for his work on lightning and thunderstorm electricity. He also is nationally known for his writings, lectures and interviews on Benjamin Franklin's electrical experiments. Krider traces modern lightning protection methods directly to Franklin's mid 18th-century discoveries.

Krider led the group that developed the first gated, wideband magnetic direction-finders that are now the basis of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network. A fellow of the American Geophysical Union and of the Meteorological Society, Krider is a former editor of the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences and also past president of the International Commission on Atmospheric Electricity.

Krider has a bachelor's degree in physics from Carleton College and master's and doctoratal degrees in physics from the UA. He joined the UA faculty in 1971. His primary research focus for more than 30 years has been on the physics of lightning detection and protection and related problems in atmospheric electricity. He is the author or co-author of more than 130 reviewed publications and holds eight patents.

The 20th International Lightning Detection Conference will provide a forum to discuss advances in lightning detection and network performance, conference organizers say.

Topics also include asset and facility protection, human safety, electric power distribution and transmission, forestry applications, telecommunications performance and Vaisala Thunderstorm Technology Showcase sessions.