About me

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I am a postdoctoral scholar at the Colorado Stsate University, working with Prof. Elizabeth Barnes and Prof. Eric Maloney. My current research is at the intersection of artificial intellgence and tropical meterology. I use novel deep-learning climate emulator to study tropical cyclogenesis from subseasonal-to-decadal timescales.

I obtained my PhD in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, working with Prof. Daehyun Kim and Prof. Peter Blossey. My PhD thesis focuses on convectively coupled Kelvin waves (KWs) in current and future climates. I investigate the response of KWs to surface warming by running aquaplanet simulations. I also quantify the relative importance of tropical and midlatitude forcing in maintaining KWs in each basin and season. For my Master's research, I diagnosed the energetics of KWs and compared the representation of them in multiple reanalysis products.

I love teaching and interacting with people. Growing up in Taiwan, I was always curious about schools on the other side of the world. After graduating from National Taiwan University (NTU), I decided to persue a PhD degree and postdoc position in the US. Beyond science and school, I love hiking, biking, traveling, and all kinds of sports.

Publications

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Chien, M.T., Barnes, E.A., & Maloney, E.D. (2025c). Modulation of tropical cyclogenesis by the convectively coupled Kelvin waves: insights from deep-learning climate emulator ACE2, Geophysical Research Letters, under review (Preprint)

Chien, M.T., Barnes, E.A., & Maloney, E.D. (2025b). Modulation of tropical cyclogenesis on subseasonalto- interannual timescales in the deep-learning climate emulator ACE2, IOP Machine Learning: Earth (Link)

Chien, M.T., & Kim, D. (2025). Changes in stratiform heating structure with surface warming weaken and accelerate convectively coupled Kelvin waves, Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, to be submitted (Preprint)

Chien, M.T., Kim, D., & Haertel, P. (2025a). Maintenance of convectively coupled Kelvin waves: internal thermodyanmic feedback vs. external momentum forcing. Geophysical Research Letters (Link)

Lee, S.H., Park, S.H., Chien, M.T., & Kim, D. (2025). Simulations of convectively coupled Kelvin waves (CCKWs) with three different cumulus parameterization schemes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmosphere, 130(9), e2024JD042738,(Link) (PDF)

Chien, M.T., & Kim, D. (2024). Response of convectively coupled Kelvin waves to surface temperature forcing. Journal of Advanced Modeling Systems (Link) (PDF)

Chien, M.T., & Kim, D. (2023). Representation of the convectively coupled Kelvin waves in modern reanalysis products. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 80(2), 397-418. (Link) (PDF)

Research

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