Like the hurricanes he studies, William Bredemeyer began his collegiate career with a flurry of activity.

As a Liberal Studies Honors freshman, he volunteered for the Hurricane Research Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), performing scientific data analysis for the Atlantic Hurricane Re-Analysis Project for storm seasons 1911-1912. The Project's goal is to improve the quality of the Atlantic hurricane database, which will, in turn, reduce the uncertainty in tropical storm and hurricane predictions. "The database is also crucial in hazard response decisions by emergency managers," says William, "since it determines what intensity is paired up with which set of damage impacts."

While at NOAA, William attended research seminars on cutting edge techniques—global climate trends, the warm pools needed for tropical cyclone development, asymmetric tropical cyclone analysis, and new RADAR methods that can be used to estimate the intensity of tropical cyclones. He led the Division's weeklong map discussions on current conditions in the tropics. Later, he and other NOAA scientists and employees pooled their experiences to co-write, "A Reanalysis of the 1911 to 1930 Atlantic Hurricane Database," an article which will soon be published. William was also invited to review "A Reanalysis of Hurricane Andrew's Intensity" for the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The experience showed him "the rigor of analysis needed for scientific articles and the importance of the peer review process to ensure accuracy."

William's intensity toward his studies has remained constant. With a 4.0 cumulative GPA, he has appeared on the President's List every semester of his attendance, while working toward a dual degree in Economics and Geography and completing a certificate in Demographics.

After his graduation in December, William plans to further his Geography studies at the graduate level. Of his passion he says, "Much work remains to be done on predicting disaster impacts on people and communities by improving evacuations, building codes, and preparedness." And there is the work to be done on urban mass transportation. More is to be learned about the relationship between population and the viability of different modes of transit, and about the geographical aspects of migration.

The world will need to prepare for William Bredemeyer—his intensity will not die off any time soon.