Karl P. Schneider, a Schreyer Scholar, has been selected as the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ science honor marshal for Penn State's spring 2020 Commencement ceremony, which will be held virtually at 2 p.m. on May 9.
Schneider has demonstrated superior academic achievement and will graduate summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade-point average with a degree in meteorology and atmospheric science. His assistant faculty marshal is Kevin Bowley, assistant teaching professor in meteorology and atmospheric science.
“I am very proud to serve as the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ science honor marshal and grateful for the help and support of my faculty mentors,” said Schneider. “My Penn State education has enabled me to explore topics that interest me through a multitude of projects and independent studies. I was able to make the educational experience my own, applying my growing computer programming skills to meteorological problems.”
During his outstanding undergraduate career, Schneider received many awards. As a first-year student, he won the National Collegiate Weather Forecasting Contest, a 20-week nationwide forecasting competition, topping hundreds of other forecasters, including some graduate students and faculty. He also won the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Dean Steidle Memorial Scholar Award, the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science’s Weather Information Technology Award and Jerome N. Behrmann Award.
Schneider served as an on-air weather forecaster and host for Penn State’s Weather World television program. He was the first student invited to give the “Extended Forecast” segment and also directed and produced graphics for the show.
“My experience with Weather World has allowed me to refine my science communication skills, which are relevant now more than ever,” Schneider said. “I believe these are important skills for all scientists, as we must do a better job of communicating our work to the public in order to reduce misinformation.”
Schneider excelled in research and as part of his honors thesis he worked with Bowley to develop a revolutionary new online weather forecasting simulator, named the Penn State ReForecast Simulator, which implements a historical database of model data and graphics to simulate forecasting in a real-time scenario.
“I have worked closely with Dr. Bowley to develop my honors project – the ReForecast Simulator,” said Schneider. “He has been incredibly supportive of the project and offered excellent advice in the writing process of my thesis. I am proud of what we have created, and am confident it will make a significant impact in our department.”
In addition to his scholarly activities, Karl enjoys several outdoor hobbies. For years, he has been building his own home snowmaking equipment, in order to make snow in his backyard when weather conditions permit. He is also an avid skier, and serves as a ski instructor at Tussey Mountain. In the summer months, Karl enjoys gardening, landscaping, and tree climbing. He also was a member of the Penn State Storm Chase club where he served as treasurer and chase driver.
Schneider is exploring several different paths for his future after graduation, including data science, graduate school, or working for a start-up company.
Schneider is the son of Kevin and Lisa Schneider from State College, Pennsylvania.