Steve Nesbitt

Steve Nesbitt is a professor of climate, meteorology, and atmospheric sciences (CliMAS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and holds a joint appointment at Argonne National Laboratory. Nesbitt received his PhD from the University of Utah in 2003, and then was as a research scientist at Colorado State University from 2003-2006. He joined Illinois in 2006, and served as associate head of CliMAS from 2021-2023 and head of CliMAS from 2023-2026. His research focuses on cloud and precipitation science using advanced observational techniques, high performance computing, and artificial intelligence modeling tools to improve the understanding and prediction of high-impact weather and extreme events.

Prof. Nesbitt has participated in over 20 field experiments; notably he was the lead Principal Investigator of the 2018-2019 NSF/NOAA/NASA RELAMPAGO (Remote sensing of Electrification, Lightning, And Mesoscale/microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations) field campaign, which observed convective storms in central Argentina alongside the DOE CACTI (Clouds, Aerosols, and Complex Terrain Interactions) field campaign, which he served as a Co-Lead Investigator.  He is co-author of the 2018 textbook Radar Meteorology, A First Course. He has received several research, teaching, and mentoring awards, including the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship, the NASA New Investigator Program award, the NASA Robert H. Goddard Award for Scientific Achievement, and named a Distinguished Visitor of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina for international cooperation. He was named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 2025. Prof. Nesbitt also serves as the Chief Editor of the Atmosphere Section of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. He also serves as a co-host of the Weather Realness podcast on Illinois Public Media.

Prof. Nesbitt serves as the Associate Dean for Research in the Office of Research, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He leads a team of staff coordinating research strategy and administration for the college. In this role, he works to expand the college's research enterprise, foster interdisciplinary collaborations and publicly engaged research, and connect faculty and students with the resources necessary to advance their scholarly and scientific pursuits.