{"id":216,"date":"2021-07-23T17:41:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T16:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/people-grid\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T23:01:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T23:01:59","slug":"people-grid","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/people-grid\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><\/h1>\n<h1>Academic and Research Staff<\/h1>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 100%;height: 417px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 272px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 272px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-384 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/alex_baker-150x150-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"159\" height=\"159\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 272px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/alex-baker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr Alex Baker &#8211; Senior Research Scientist (NCAS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tropical, post-tropical and midlatitude cyclones<\/li>\n<li>Global km-scale climate model evaluation<\/li>\n<li>Cyclone air-sea interactions<\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric circulation and jet streams<\/li>\n<li>North Atlantic climate variability and extremes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-381 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/xiangbo_feng-150x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"158\" height=\"158\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/xiangbo-feng\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr Xiangbo Feng &#8211; Principal Research Fellow in Tropical Cyclones (NCAS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tropical cyclone variability and predictability<\/li>\n<li>Extreme weather and climate<\/li>\n<li>Coastal extremes (sea level, ocean waves)<\/li>\n<li>Improving high-impact weather forecasts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-379 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/kevin_hodges-150x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"164\" height=\"164\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/kevin-hodges\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr Kevin Hodges &#8211; Principal Research Fellow<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cyclone tracking<\/li>\n<li>Cyclone processes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-378 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/john_methven.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"146\" height=\"218\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/john-methven\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Professor John Methven <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dynamics of weather systems with emphasis on the evolution of extratropical and tropical cyclones, jet streams, Rossby waves and equatorial waves<\/li>\n<li>Predictability of the atmosphere including the dependence of high impact weather prediction on larger scale phenomena and the use of ensemble forecasting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-380 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/pier_luigi_vidale-103x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"147\" height=\"214\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/pier-luigi-vidale\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Professor Pier Luigi Vidale<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High-resolution Global Climate Modelling<\/li>\n<li>Tropical cyclone processes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-385 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/leo-saffin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"181\" height=\"181\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 24px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/leo-saffin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr Leo Saffin &#8211; Research Scientist (NCAS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The extratropical transitions of tropical cyclones<\/li>\n<li>Development of python packages for feature tracking data (HuracanPy)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 15px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-389 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/linda_hirons-150x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"182\" height=\"182\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 15px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/linda-hirons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr Linda Hirons &#8211; Principal Research Fellow (NCAS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Subseasonal to seasonal predictability<\/li>\n<li>Drivers of climate variability and change in Africa<\/li>\n<li>Co-production of weather and climate services for society<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 24px\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 10px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%;height: 10px\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Current PhD Students<\/strong><\/h1>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 100%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-376 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/Leo-Chow-Tsun-Ngai-292x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"173\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/tsun-ngai-leo-chow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tsun Ngai (Leo) Chow<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The role of tropical waves in tropical cyclone genesis<\/li>\n<li>Subseasonal predictability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-375 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2026\/02\/Giacomo-Giuliani-262x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"200\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/giacomo-giuliani\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Giacomo Giuliani<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High-resolution modelling of tropical cyclones<\/li>\n<li>Tropical cyclone genesis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-370 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/tropical-cyclones\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/211\/2025\/11\/Lewis-Grant-150x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"179\" height=\"179\" \/><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/people\/lewis-grant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lewis Grant<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Research Interests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Subseasonal drivers of tropical cyclone activity<\/li>\n<li>High-resolution modelling of tropical cyclones<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Academic and Research Staff Dr Alex Baker &#8211; Senior Research Scientist (NCAS) Research Interests: Tropical, post-tropical and midlatitude cyclones Global km-scale climate model evaluation Cyclone air-sea interactions Atmospheric circulation and&#8230;<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"&#104;&#116;&#116;&#112;&#115;&#58;&#47;&#47;&#114;&#101;&#115;&#101;&#97;&#114;&#99;&#104;&#46;&#114;&#101;&#97;&#100;&#105;&#110;&#103;&#46;&#97;&#99;&#46;&#117;&#107;&#47;&#116;&#114;&#111;&#112;&#105;&#99;&#97;&#108;&#45;&#99;&#121;&#99;&#108;&#111;&#110;&#101;&#115;&#47;&#112;&#101;&#111;&#112;&#108;&#101;&#45;&#103;&#114;&#105;&#100;&#47;\">Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[11],"class_list":["post-216","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>People - TROPICAL CYCLONE GROUP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People - TROPICAL CYCLONE GROUP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Academic and Research Staff Dr Alex Baker &#8211; 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