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Keah Schuenemann
Professor of Meteorology
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
[email protected]Office Hours
Office Location: Science 2020 and Microsoft Teams
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 12:30-1:15 and Thursdays 12:00-1:45 PM in Science 2020 or on Microsoft Teams
Biography
Keah Schuenemann, Ph.D., is a Professor of Meteorology in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science at MSU Denver. Her path to atmospheric science began at age 14, when she witnessed an F5 tornado from her front porch in Wisconsin the same summer the film Twister premiered. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During graduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, her focus shifted toward climate change, particularly Arctic climate dynamics and large-scale weather pattern variability. As a teaching assistant, she discovered a passion for education. After finishing her Ph.D. and completing a short postdoctoral position, Dr. Schuenemann joined MSU Denver in 2009, where she now teaches courses in meteorology and climate change. Dr. Schuenemann takes great pride in her meteorology alumni, who are now scattered across the country making meaningful contributions in forecasting, research, education, and beyond.Research Interests
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Dr. Schuenemann studied the large scale weather around the Greenland Ice Sheet and the effect of recent climate changes on these weather patterns using Self-Organizing Maps, a machine learning technique. She studied how climate change affects mid-latitude weather patterns. Dr. Schuenemann also undertook endeavors communicating climate change to the public through a massive open online course. She is passionate about promoting science literacy and critical thinking in the sciences and spent four years as the director of General Studies. She has contributed to teaching machine learning to earth scientists.
Teaching Interests
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Dr. Schuenemann teaches courses on climate change, climatology, synoptic (large scale) meteorology, and dynamic meteorology. She has taught MTR 1400 Weather and Climate, MTR 1600 Global Climate Change, MTR 2020 Weather and Climate Lab for Scientists, MTR 3000 Weather Discussion, MTR/GEG 3330 Climatology with lab, MTR/ENV 3340 Climate Change Science, MTR 3450 Dynamic Meteorology, MTR 4210 Forecasting Lab, MTR 4400 Advanced Synoptic Meteorology with lab, MTR 4600 Meteorology Research Seminar, SCI 2600 Integrated Biology and Earth Science with lab, SCI 2610 Integrated Physical and Chemical Sciences with lab. She also took a group of students to Alaska to study glacier retreat and was a guest in our storm chasing course.
Keah is passionate about teaching not only upper-level meteorology courses for majors, but also general education courses that serve the broader MSU Denver student body. She believes the Natural and Physical Sciences requirement plays a vital role in developing critical thinking skills and fostering an understanding of the scientific process. These courses give all students the opportunity to engage with evidence-based reasoning and explore how science helps us make sense of the world around us.
Education
PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science
University of Colorado
MS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science
University of Colorado
BS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science
University of Wisconsin
Personal Website
https://www.msudenver.edu/earth-atmospheric-sciences/meteorology/
Published Works
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Corbin, N., Martin, T., Schuenemann, K. (2025). Supervised Machine Learning Readiness: A No- and Low- Code Learning Series. In the Trenches; National Association of Geoscience Teachershttps://nagt.org/nagt/publications/trenches/articles/290953.html.
Auger, D. J., Mayewski, A. P., Maasch, A. K., Schuenemann, K., Carleton, M. A., Birkel, D. S., Saros, E. J. (2019). 2000 years of North Atlantic-Arctic climate. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.05.020.
Auger, D. J., Birkel, D. S., Maasch, A. K., Mayewski, A. P., Schuenemann, K. (2018). An Ensemble Mean and Evaluation of Third Generation Global Climate Reanalysis Models. Atmosphere, 9(236), 12. https://doi.org/doi:10.3390/atmos9060236.
Auger, D. J., Birkel, D. S., Maasch, A. K., Mayewski, A. P., Schuenemann, C. K. (2017). Examination of Precipitation Variability in Southern Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 122(12), 6202–6216. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026377.
Cook, J., Schuenemann, K., Nuccitelli, D., Jacobs, P., Kevin, C., Green, S., Way, R., Richardson, M., Cawley, G., Mandia, S., Skuce, A., Daniel, B. (2015). Denial 101x: Making sense of climate science denial. EdX, edx.org/understanding-climate-denial
Schuenemann, K., Wagner, G. R. (2014). Using Student-Generated Blogs to Create a Global Perspective on Climate Change. Journal of Geoscience Education, 62(3), pp. 364-373. https://doi.org/10.5408/13-065.1.
Schuenemann, K., Cassano, J. J. (2010). Changes in synoptic weather patterns and Greenland precipitation in the 20th and 21st centuries: 2. Analysis of 21st century atmospheric changes using self‐organizing maps. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 115(D05108). www.agu.org/journals/jd/.
Schuenemann, K., Cassano, J. J. (2009). Changes in synoptic weather patterns and Greenland precipitation in the 20th and 21st centuries: 1. Evaluation of late 20th century simulations from IPCC models. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 114(D20113 ). www.agu.org/journals/jd/.
Schuenemann, K., Cassano, J. J., Finnis, J. (2009). Synoptic Forcing of Precipitation over Greenland: Climatology for 1961–99. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 10(1), 60-78. journals.ametsoc.org/loi/hydr.