UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State community is mourning the loss of Jenni Evans, professor emerita of meteorology and atmospheric science and director emerita of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, who died April 3 in her Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, home. She was 63.
Evans was a global leader in the field of meteorology. Her research was organized around the themes of tropical cyclones, tropical convection and climate change. Much of her work involved forecasting and predicting tropical cyclones using numerical modeling and advanced computational techniques. She was essential in developing the Cyclone Phase Space framework, a tool now standard in operational tropical cyclone forecasting.
“Jenni was a remarkable scientist, a leader in our field and a vibrant member of our community,” said Paul Markowski, distinguished professor and head of meteorology and atmospheric science. “Her passion for understanding tropical cyclones and their interaction with our changing climate will have a lasting impact on both research and operational forecasting.”
A Melbourne, Australia native, Evans earned her bachelor of science degree with honors and her doctorate, both in applied mathematics, from Monash University. Before joining the Penn State faculty in 1992, she worked for two years as a research scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia. She was promoted to associate professor in 1998 and to full professor in 2005. She retired from the University in June 2024.
Evans served in many leadership positions during her tenure at the University. She was appointed interim director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute in 2013, acting director of the Institute of Energy and the Environment (IEE) from 2014 to 2015 and interim director of the Institute for CyberScience (ICS) in 2016. She was then appointed director of ICS, which was renamed the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), where she held that position until retiring in 2024.
“Jenni was the only person to have directed two OSVPR-funded Institutes – IEE and ICDS,” said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research. “That she could do both spoke to the caliber of her own interdisciplinarity scholarship – extraordinary even by Penn State standards. Personally, I will miss her wicked sense of humor. She was able to find joy even in the worst times. My heart goes out to husband Bruce and Jenni’s family. She was taken from them before they could all enjoy her retirement.”
Under Evans' leadership, ICDS oversaw major expansion of Penn State’s high-performance research cloud, strengthening of the ICSD community by co-hiring faculty experts in computational research and an increase of ICDS’s role in facilitating interdisciplinary research.
“Under Jenni, the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences expanded from the original 15 members to nearly 100 members,” said Guido Cervone, professor of geography and meteorology and atmospheric science, and interim director of ICDS. “We will honor her by continuing the legacy she left behind in the institute."
Her leadership extended to various professional teams, including her role as hurricane meteorologist for the Florida Commission for Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology. She was a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was named a Monash University Fellow in 2021.
Evans’ service to the American Meteorological Society
Evans was very active in the American Meteorological Society (AMS). She joined AMS when she was an undergraduate student. In 2010 she was named a fellow and served as a councilor from 2005 to 2008. She was elected as president-elect in 2018 and served as its centennial president in 2019, leading AMS’s 100-year anniversary activities. She then served as past president in 2020. She was one of only five women to serve as president of AMS. She also chaired the Tropical Meteorology and Tropical Cyclones Committee and the Nominations Committee for President and Councilors. She was a member of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Editorial Board, editor of Monthly Weather Review, and served on the Awards and Fellows Nominations Committee.
In a previous interview Evans said that she was drawn to taking on the leadership role at AMS.
“I'm working with our next generation of leaders and thinking about where they can have the most impact as experts, and I’ve also been talking with many of the students about their roles in that future,” Evans said. “The AMS presidency was an opportunity to see how much better things could become as we embrace new opportunities and new directions. It was exciting to learn about how other people saw the field progressing.”
Reflection on her students and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
Throughout her career Evans was deeply committed to education and mentorship and said that one of the most significant accomplishments of her career was the success of her students.
“Beyond her scientific achievements, Jenni was an inspiring mentor — especially to early career women in the geosciences — and a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion in science,” said Markowski. “Her leadership extended to the highest levels of our professional societies, including serving as centennial president of the American Meteorological Society. Through it all, she brought a rare combination of brilliance, humility, warmth and resolve.”
In a previous interview Evans said, “I'm proud of helping launch my students into their careers. Seeing their successes makes me very happy. I enjoyed helping students find the thing that really excited them at that stage of their career and helping them think about the next step that's right for them.”
Evans also valued the community in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
In a previous interview she said, “We're not a huge college, and we have a small family feel, but all of our research touches societal issues. As a college, we look at all facets of issues critical to society. The quality of what we do, and the diversity of the college is really important. The students, faculty and staff make it such a welcoming place.”
“Jenni impacted so many people in so many ways: as a mentor, instructor, researcher and leader in the college, University, and at national level,” said Lee Kump, the John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Minerals Sciences. “She will be missed.”
Evans is survived by her husband, Bruce, colleagues, students and the many individuals whose lives she touched through her work and mentorship.
Memorial celebration
A memorial celebration will be held on Friday, April 11, at 5 p.m. in 112 Walker Building to honor Evans' life and the profound impact she had on the meteorology and University communities.
The memorial will be an opportunity to share memories, stories and reflections on her life and work. If you would like to speak during the event, please contact Paul Markowski, pmarkowski@psu.edu; or Guido Cervone, cervone@psu.edu.