Joseph Dwyer is a highly recognized researcher in the field of atmospheric and space electricity. He is widely acclaimed for his groundbreaking discoveries in understanding energetic radiation from thunderstorms and lightning, as well as his commitment and success in sharing knowledge and research findings with the broader scientific community and general public.
Joe’s publications are products of exceptional creativity and curiosity, which have made transformational impact in his research field. He has published more than 180 peer-reviewed papers and has a Google scholar H-index of 57, with 32 highly cited papers, each cited over 100 times. One example of his influential papers is a single author paper he published in 2003, which has been cited 360 times. In this study, he discovered that a fundamental physical process can increase the number of energetic particles generated by thunderstorms by more than 10 orders of magnitude. Because of these contributions, he has been recognized by the top honors in the field, including Karl Berger Award (2014), the honor to give AGU Franklin Lecture, and election as AGU Fellow.
Beyond his excellence in research, Joe has also put serious effort into the broadest possible sharing of his knowledge and research skills. He has mentored many students and young investigators via contributing ideas, research tools, and data. Joe is also a resource for the popular media and has done many interviews for high profile outlets such as “Good Morning American” and the New York Times. In many ways, Joe is the public face of the lightning field.
Joe’s work has certainly raised UNH’s research profile and made UNH a stronger institution by contributing to delivering its public mission for excellence in research and outreach.