Contact Information
1301 W. Green St.
Urbana, IL 61801
Biography
I joined the Department of Atmospheric Sciences as a master's student in Fall 2021, working under the supervision of Prof. Larry Di Girolamo. I examined the macrophysical properties of shallow cumulus clouds over the tropical western Pacific using high-resolution satellite data collected during the NASA Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) field campaign. I earned my M.S. degree from the department in August 2023. I'm currently a Ph.D. student in the department.
I attended the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines for my bachelor’s degrees in Applied Physics and Materials Science and Engineering while minoring in Data Science and Analytics. As an undergraduate, I worked on determining the sources of trace gas emissions in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea region collected during the 2012 Vasco Cruise study for my thesis. I also participated in an internship at the Climatology Laboratory of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan, where I evaluated different heat wave and heat stress indices over the Philippines.
After completing my undergraduate studies in May 2020, I took a postgraduate diploma program in Earth System Physics at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy. There, I worked on using high-resolution satellite data to investigate sea surface temperature anomalies and their relationship to convection and the diurnal cycle in the Tropical Western Pacific.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (in progress)
- Master of Science (M.S.) in Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (August 2023)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Earth System Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (August 2021)
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Materials Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University (May 2020)
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Applied Physics, Ateneo de Manila University (May 2020)
- Minor in Data Science and Analytics
Awards and Honors
- Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Atmospheric Sciences Section, AGU Fall 2023 (2023)
- Ogura Student Teaching Award, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2022)
Courses Taught
- Fall 2023: ATMS 304 - Atmospheric Thermodynamics
- Spring 2022: ATMS 140/ESE 140 - Climate and Global Change
Recent Publications
De Vera, M. V., Di Girolamo, L., Zhao, G., Rauber, R. M., Nesbitt, S. W. & McFarquhar, G. M. (2024). Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields over the tropical western Pacific and their connection to meteorological variables. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 24(9), 5603–5623. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5603-2024
Recent Presentations
De Vera, M. V., Di Girolamo, L., Rauber, R. M., Nesbitt, S. W. & McFarquhar, G. M. (2024, February 27-29). Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields over the tropical western Pacific and their connection to meteorological variables [Oral presentation]. CAMP2Ex Science Team Meeting, Pasadena, CA.
De Vera, M. V., Di Girolamo, L., Rauber, R. M., Nesbitt, S. W. & McFarquhar, G. M. (2023, December 18-19). Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields sampled during CAMP2Ex from MISR, MODIS and ASTER [Oral presentation]. MISR Science Team Meeting, Pasadena, CA.
De Vera, M. V., Di Girolamo, L., Rauber, R. M., Nesbitt, S. W. & McFarquhar, G. M. (2023, December 11-15). Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields over the tropical western Pacific [Poster presentation]. American Geophysical Union Fall 2023 Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
De Vera, M. V., Di Girolamo, L., & Zhao, G. (2022, December 12-16). Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields over the tropical western Pacific [Poster presentation]. American Geophysical Union Fall 2022 Meeting, Chicago, IL.
De Vera, M. V., Di Girolamo, L., & Zhao, G. (2022, August 8-12). Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields over the tropical western Pacific [Poster presentation]. American Meteorological Society Collective Madison Meeting, Madison, WI.