Katharine M. Kanak is an American atmospheric scientist with noted publications on the dynamics and morphologies of atmospheric vortices, including tropical cyclones, supercell storms, tornadoes, and convective boundary layer vortices, such as dust devils,[1] both terrestrial[2][3]and Martian.[4][5] She has also published papers on mammatus clouds,[6][7][8] hailstorms, and hail processes[9] and numerical techniques.
Kanak earned a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma in 1987, majoring in meteorology and minoring in mathematics. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison she completed an M.S. in meteorology in 1990 with the thesis, Three-Dimensional, Non-Hydrostatic Numerical Simulation of a Developing Tropical Cyclone. She returned to the University of Oklahoma and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1999 with the dissertation On the Formation of Vertical Vortices in the Atmosphere. Kanak has developed three-dimensional numerical models for both Earth and Mars and collaborated in field research. She was assistant field coordinator for Project VORTEX in 1994-1995 and participated in STEPS in 2000,[10] as well as serving as a co-PI for VORTEX2 in 2009-2010.[11]
