Hi, my name is Barbara Snyder, and my background includes meteorology, weather prediction, and engineering. I've had an interesting, but non-traditional career path in aeronautics. I'm in the process of switching from meteorology to engineering, with a side line of teaching math and science in junior high and high school!

I grew up moving around a lot because my dad was in the Air Force. I've always enjoyed being around Air Force bases, flight lines, and airplanes. And I've always liked following the weather - it seemed so dynamic, so exciting. So, after I graduated from high school, I went to college to study meteorology and geology. I chose to attend a small school for the first two years, Southern Mississippi University, then transferred to Florida State University (FSU), where I earned a bachelor's degree in meteorology. I was awarded a two-year Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarship at FSU, and upon graduation, I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force.

I've had some interesting assignments in my 5 1/2 years as an active duty officer and 3 years as an active duty reserve officer. My first assignment was as a weather officer at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base (AFB) in South Carolina. At first I worked as one of the forecasters, monitoring the radar, charting the storms, and briefing the pilots. After about six months, I was assigned to the A-10 squadron as the squadron weather officer. It was my job to brief the pilots each day on the weather, aid in training and deployment scheduling, and provide the squadron with a point of contact in the weather shop. When the squadron was deployed, I predicted the weather to and from the deployment, and went with the crews to do the weather prediction at the site. Some of my deployments were to Alaska, Savannah, GA, and Puerto Rico!

My next assignment was as a weather officer to Clark AFB in the Philippines! In addition to weather prediction for the pilots, the weather shop there took an active role in the monitoring and charting of the weather patterns in the Pacific. In the United States, we have many, many reporting sites that communicate to the weather shops all the weather changes and new storms. In the Philippines, we were dependent on satellite readouts for most of our information. I had to master satellite analysis to interpret the weather. For about two years, I was in charge of coordinating this satellite information. In particular, we concentrated on typhoon development, strength, and characteristics. Typhoons are hurricanes in the Pacific Ocean. We would then send this information to the Hurricane center for the Pacific in Guam. My one big regret during this time is that although they asked me to many times, I never flew with the crews that fly the airplanes into the hurricanes to get data. That would have been so cool. I kept telling them I'd go the next time, but something always came up. I wish I had done it! While I was in the Philippines, I deployed to many spots in the Far East, including Korea.

While I was stationed at Myrtle Beach AFB, I met and married a helicopter pilot in the Air Force. After the Philippines, we were transferred to Andrews AFB in Maryland. I made the move from active duty officer to active reserve officer when I became a mother for the first time. I worked as a weather officer at Andrews as an officer in the reserves, which means that I worked part-time for the Air Force on an as-needed basis. I also decided to go back to school and work on a degree in mechanical engineering. Before we were transferred to our next assignment, I had another baby and earned an associate's degree in mechanical engineering from Charles County Community College in Maryland.

Our next assignment took us to Hickam AFB on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. I worked as a reserve officer for one year, then concentrated on finishing my BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Hawaii. It may have taken me 5 1/2 years to do it part-time, but I got it! After the Air Force transferred us to McChord AFB in Tacoma, WA, I had to decide whether to look for a job as an engineer or use my technical background in another way. To balance my desire to both work and have a family life, I chose to go back to school and get a teaching certificate for secondary education. I taught math and science classes at a local junior high school while we were in Washington.

The Air Force transferred us again, this time to Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts. I was interested in going back to school again for a master's degree in mechanical engineering, but there were no opportunities to do so close to home. I taught math and science classes for 1 1/2 years at a vocational technology high school in our area. The Air Force has transferred us once again to Randolph AFB in San Antonio, TX, where I am now pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio. I plan to concentrate in the areas of heat transfer and fluid dynamics (two of the areas you've read about in this textbook!). When I finish, I'd like to work for a small firm as an engineer. Since my kids are getting older, it is easier to balance my family and work. Eventually, I think I'd like to teach at a junior college, but I'd like to get some experience working in engineering first.

Questions for Barbara:

What is your educational background?
High School Diploma BS, Meteorology, Florida State University AS, Mechanical Engineering, Charles County Community College BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Hawaii