Josh Gilliland

Dr. Josh Gilliland’s interest in meteorology began at an early childhood age. The passion to learn more about this field was shaped by the unique weather observed in his small rural town of northeastern Ohio. The spark and desire to discover more about weather was also encouraged by his annual family vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Josh would spend countless hours before the trip studying and trying to forecast the likelihood of a hurricane cancelling the large family gathering. Luckily, during the many years of vacationing at the Outer Banks, only Hurricane Bertha (1996) affected the yearly beach reunion. Another point of inspiration to study weather for Josh was making sure to tune in everyday to watch the local newscast. His earliest memories of inspiring to become a meteorologist was put on full display during a Halloween celebration at his hometown elementary school. At that event, he dressed up as a broadcasting meteorologist and carried around with him a small computer-like device to monitor the minute-by-minute weather. Through these personal experiences, Josh knew from that point, he desired to enroll at a university, where he could earn a degree and make a career in the field of meteorology.

During Josh’s teaching tenure, he has been involved and exposed to a broad range of courses in physical geography, disaster science and management, climatology, meteorology, and geospatial sciences. Through these experiences, he has learned the importance of encouraging students to seek and learn about geographical and meteorological processes by implementing a balance approach of active, hands-on application, and online learning in the classroom. Dr. Gilliland has recognized the importance to develop a teaching pedagogy that meets the technological demands of students in the 21st century. This statement holds true for the fields of physical geography and meteorology, where advancements in satellite (remote sensing) and unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology, along with the role of geospatial sciences (GSS) and software applications has shaped the teaching direction of those disciplines. Josh believes that employing the latest and most up-to-date technologies is a key piece of developing effective active-learning courses in physical geography and meteorology at Sam Houston State University.

Dr. Gilliland’s research focuses on exploring the surface and upper-level atmospheric characteristics (wind) of North America and Latin America through in-situ and climate reanalysis products. This interdisciplinary research utilizes concepts from physical geography, meteorology, climatology, and GSS to understand how tropospheric features have changed both spatially and temporally for each region. His research also highlights applications in virtual and geovisualization, UAS, and quantitative sciences to show how atmospheric conditions evolve not only from a vertical but a horizontal perspective. Another point of research has been pertained to profiling natural hazards and assessing their risks at the local and state level. Consequently, Josh welcomes the opportunity to mentor eager students and work with faculty that have interest in his research, but he also invites the chance to build new opportunities outside of his own personal expertise while at Sam Houston State University.

When Josh is not deeply concentrated on his academic responsibilities, he enjoys following and cheering on his alma maters (OSU Buckeyes, WKU Hilltoppers, and LSU Tigers) and major professional Cleveland sports teams (Browns, Cavaliers, and Guardians). Additionally, he welcomes the chance to work outdoors, garden, exercise, and cook for his family and friends.