News

Hello, FPAW Community.

The terms of either four or five current FPAW Steering Committee (SC) members expire on September 30th each year. This year, 2026, there are four current members whose terms are set to expire at the end of this month:

• Jennifer Stroozas/NWS AWC (Providers)
• Rick Curtis/Collins Aerospace (RED & Academia)
• Christian Amaral/ALPA (Users)
• Eric Avila/NATCA (Users)

Recall from our August 31st newsletter that there were eight (8) candidates for the four (4) open FPAW SC positions starting on October 1, 2026, and that voting was projected to take place early this month. We can now report that the current FPAW SC members were very quick with their selections, and that their votes have been tallied (no hanging chads, thank goodness).

Nathan and I are thrilled to announce that the following aviation weather enthusiasts will join (and, in one case, rejoin) the FPAW SC on October 1, 2026:

• Jesse Heers/Campbell Scientific (Providers)
• Matt Wandishin/NOAA GSL (RED & Academia)
• Christian Amaral/ALPA (Users)
• Doug Lotter/ADF (Users)

Please join us in congratulating them and welcoming them all to the FPAW SC. The information on the FPAW web site will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect all the changes listed above.

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

Happy Labor Day to all you aviation weather laborers!

We are one day shy of seven weeks before the Fall 2026 FPAW Meeting, and we seem to be stuck at 62 registrants.

Sixty-two? Given the meeting theme, the quality of the presenters and panelists (not including the TBDs), the outstanding session co-leads (all of whom have now been ID'd), the excellent MITRE meeting venue, and the price of admission ($0.00), we should have 162 by now!

Have you seen the early Bios document on the meeting web site? What about the Logistics document, which gives you some excellent gouge on how to get to MITRE, and where to stay if you're coming in person from out of town? There's plenty of reasons to get signed up NOW!!

We hope to look at the registration list tomorrow evening and see another 10-20 names on the list, even if most of them are for remote attendance. It's OK (even though we want to see you in person).

So, don't wait. Don't hesitate. Go to the Fall 2026 FPAW Meeting page and register now!

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

Hello FPAW community!

As Harry Caray used to say, "Holy Cow!" We have some PRIMO nominees for the four (4) three-year FPAW Steering Committee (SC) senior positions that will be available on October 1, 2026.

And now, here are the candidates!

Providers (1 opening)
Jesse Heers           Campbell Scientific
Dave Hubner          Baron Weather

RED & Academia (1 opening)
Rick DiMaio            Lewis University
Leonid Nichman    National Research Council Canada
Matt Wandishin       NOAA Global Systems Laboratory

Users (2 openings)
Christian Amaral     ALPA
Eric Avila                 NATCA
Doug Lotter             ADF

If all goes as planned (it never does), the FPAW SC will be voting in the next two weeks, and we will identify and confirm the new members by the middle of September, just in time to turn right around and select the first ever, CHARTER student member of the FPAW SC.

So, stay tuned to this channel, and we'll provide you with updates as soon as possible.

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

Today's the day, folks. If you are interested in being considered for one of the four available senior positions on the FPAW SC, you need to get your nomination package, as outlined in previous newsletters, to Nathan and me before COB (1700E) today.

Note that this deadline does NOT apply to the newly created student position on the FPAW SC, for which we will accept nominations through COB (1700E) Friday, 9-11-26.

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair

Good evening, all.

As I type this, we are five (5!) days from the deadline to submit nominations for open senior positions on the FPAW Steering Committee (SC). Here's the good organizational news - we've already got multiple candidates for each open position. Here's the unknown news - we don't know if we have the right, the ideal, the perfect candidate for those slots. So, if you're interested, self-nominate. Or, if you know someone who is interested and would be willing to be nominated by someone else, send in their name. In either case, in addition to a name, we will  need (1) an expression of interest ("Here's why I'm interested in joining the FPAW SC and why you should choose me), (2) a C/V ("Here's what I'm all about") and (3) the FPAW constituency you'd like to represent. Submit these to the FPAW Co-Chairs, Nathan Polderman (nathan.polderman@united.com) and Matt Fronzak (mfronzak@mitre.org), by COB EDT Monday, August 31, 2026, and you/they will be in the running.

Interested? Great!!

Confused? Take a stroll around the FPAW web site, and I'm confident you'll find answers to all your questions.

But wait -- there's more!

Are you an aviation weather buff who is also a student, undergrad or graduate, and will be for the next 12 months? Would you like to become THE charter student member on the FPAW SC? If so, submit (1) and (2) above, plus (4) a faculty letter of support for your nomination, to the FPAW Co-Chairs, Nathan Polderman (nathan.polderman@united.com) and Matt Fronzak (mfronzak@mitre.org), by September 11, 2026 (yes, that is a later date).

I gotta' tell you, that would be something very cool to put on a resume coming out of school! And, you'll get to rub elbows with some of the pillars of aviation weather and help set direction in the field for your generation!

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair

Good Friday afternoon to you all.

I had a very long, very newsy email drafted. And then I must have hit the wrong button. And it disappeared. And I hadn't saved it (because, why would you?). And it really honked me off. My loss, however, is your gain. You won't have to read all the stuff I wrote, regardless of how humorous or pithy it was.

Here's the bottom line: the preliminary, non-detailed agenda, along with the registration form, for the Fall 2026 FPAW Meeting, are now both available on the meeting web site.

I have registered. Who's going to be #2? Anyone? Bueller?

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair

P.S. I am compelled to draw your attention to the afternoon of Day 3, and recommend that you plan to be there!

Good day everyone.

Have you ever thought about nominating yourself, or nominating someone else too nervous or humble to do it themselves, for the FPAW Steering Committee? If so, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!

Each year, 4 or 5 FPAW SC positions open up for potential new members. This year is no exception. We will be filling four slots (two Users representatives, one Providers representative, one RED/Academia representative) on the FPAW SC later this year, with terms starting on October 1, 2026 and running for three (3) years, through September 30, 2028.

Intrigued? But not sure if you're qualified? Throw caution to the wind! Throw your name in the hat by August 31, 2026 and take a run at it!!

To self-nominate, send an email to the two of us (nathan.polderman@united.com and mfronzak@mitre.org). In that email, in 1-2 paragraphs, tell us that you're interested in becoming a member of the FPAW SC, and then explain why you should be chosen. Attach a current resume/CV, and you're done. That's it!

If you're nominating someone else, they will need to complete the step listed above, along with being willing to meet monthly, be voluntold to co-lead sessions at FPAW Meetings, contribute to white papers as a member of FPAW SC Tiger Teams, or just actively advance aviation weather!

Some of you may have already tried and not been selected. Well, keep trying. Current FPAW SC member David Dillahunt/Southwest Airlines tried, and tried again, and tried a third time, before he was elected. And let us assure you, from watching his performance over the last nine months, that David is an aviation weather superstar. It just took us a while to recognize that.

So, know that you might not be selected this time. But, by letting the current FPAW SC know that you're interested, and especially by reinforcing that interest via active participation in FPAW meetings, you will be seen, recognized and, eventually, selected if you have the right stuff. Ask Gus. Ask Christian. Ask Elizabeth. Ask any of the current FPAW SC members. They'll tell you.

Although we hoped that our inboxes would get flooded with nominations, it's been a trickle so far. So, don't wait, don't hesitate. If you're self-nominating, send us the required info by August 31, 2026. If you're nominating someone else, and they're willing to run, they will need to get their info to us by the same date.

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs