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Naval Academy Graduate Receives Award for Air Quality Research in Chile

August 22, 2012

By Jessica Clark

Naval Academy 2012 graduate Ensign Anthony Testino was selected to receive the American Meteorological Society�s annual Father James B. Macelwane Award July 30.

Testino�s paper, entitled “Predicting air quality through the phasing of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in Santiago, Chile,” focused on a climate analysis of air quality in a topographically diverse region, a subject of interest to naval operations due to pollution�s effect on visibility, said Assistant Professor Bradford S. Barrett of the Naval Academy�s Oceanography Department.

Each year, students across the country submit original research papers concerned with some aspect of atmospheric science. Naval Academy oceanography majors have won the Macelwane award five times since 1988.

Barrett worked closely with Testino on the project, completed over a two-year period beginning in 2010.

“I encouraged him in the topic and assisted him in writing more than 2,000 lines of computer code that he used in his data analysis,” said Barrett.

Testino accompanied Barrett on a trip to Chile in January 2011 where he gained firsthand experience studying the geography, topography, culture and meteorology of the region. He presented his work at the 2012 American Meteorological Society annual meeting and incorporated the feedback he received into his final paper.

“Ensign Testino is an especially motivated, curious young scientist. He asks good questions and is eager to answer them through data analysis and critical inquiry into the results,” said Barrett.

Testino, who is now a submarine warfare officer, also received Oceanography Department�s Jerome Williams Research Paper award the Naval Intelligence Foundation Award for the 2012 outstanding honors student.

“I am very proud of Ensign Testino,” said Barrett. “The Oceanography Department at USNA has a long tradition of top student-scholars, and as one of the newer faculty members, I am pleased to continue in that tradition.”