Russ Schumacher ’01

Professor
Department of Atmospheric Science
Colorado State University
Ft. Collins, Colorado

At Valparaiso, Russ Schumacher majored in meteorology and humanities, and following graduation entered the graduate program in atmospheric science at Colorado State University. He received his M.S. in 2003 and Ph.D. in 2008. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and assistant professor at Texas A&M University. In 2011, he returned to Colorado State to join the faculty and was promoted to associate professor in 2016. His research and teaching interests include mesoscale meteorology, extreme precipitation, numerical weather prediction, and societal impacts of weather and climate. During these years, he also completed a successful run on the TV quiz show “Jeopardy!”, including winning the Tournament of Champions in 2004 and reaching the semifinals of the Battle of the Decades tournament in 2014. Russ and his wife, Andrea, have a son, Stanley.