Every Tuesday evening, you'll find research scientist, Patrick Duran, manning a stand at the local produce market. He and his wife market the bounty from their mini farm there. "We grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables and raise free range chickens and pigs, selling both meat and eggs," he explains. " Patrick was born and raised in Fruit Cove, Florida (about 30 miles south of Jacksonville). As a teenager, he made cast nets, hand-tying over 20,000 knots by hand.
That takes persistence. He has also been persistent with his interest in weather. Like many of his colleagues at Marshall, Patrick became interested in weather at an early age. "As soon as I could read, I started reading weather books. By age 6, I had read every kid's weather book in the county library. In middle school, I read college textbooks about it." He earned his bachelor’s degree in Meteorology from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2012 and his doctorate in Atmospheric Science from the University at Albany, State University of New York in 2018. He moved to Huntsville in 2018.
As the leader of the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center, or SPoRT, Center’s Tropical Meteorology research and applications team, he specializes in tropical cyclone dynamics. In other words, he studies how hurricanes form and intensify. "The most exciting thing I'm researching is how to use lightning to predict hurricane intensity," he explains. "We're looking at lightning from a novel perspective: using the brightness and size of lightning flashes to help determine whether the storm will intensify."
Patrick and his team also want to understand the outer rain bands in hurricanes. "Some bands can move far from the center of a storm as a squall line and cause severe weather and tornadoes long before the storm center makes landfall. We want to understand the physical processes that drive those rain bands so we can better model and track them."
Patrick seeks understanding of much more than storms. "I want to better understand God and Creation and allow this knowledge to reform me to better love my family and neighbors. This philosophy has been developed over years of thought, prayer, reading, and struggle. I don’t always live up to this goal, but I try!"
Family has always been very important to Patrick. "My father taught me how to work hard to achieve my goals, showed me that what really matters in life is faith and family and to live a life of integrity." Patrick's daughter and wife are his pride and joy.
"My daughter is 18-months-old, and every time I see her learn something new. It's a whole new level of pride. My wife is a huge support. She and my daughter bring me more joy that I could have imagined before they came into my life. I'm tremendously grateful for the life I’ve been given. Working at NASA is an honor, and I can’t think of a better place to spend my career. "
It hasn't always been smooth sailing for this 31-year-old. Again, persistence saw him through." I struggled with some of my courses in college, especially the higher-level math. It was just a matter of persevering, because as soon as I saw that same math related to the atmosphere, it all started to make sense to me. There was a time in college where my future in meteorology looked doubtful and I almost gave up, but I’m grateful I persevered through the challenge!"
As a recreational tree climber, he overcomes physical challenges. "I use rope access techniques to climb trees, which has allowed me to climb some really huge, ancient cypress trees back home in Florida." Onward and upward.
Patrick fishing in the St. Johns River with a cast net he made by hand.
Patrick with his wife and daughter, gathering eggs laid by their free-range chickens.