Julian Schmitt

Julian Schmitt

Caltech PhD Candidate | Applied Math, Statistics & Climate | Nordic Skier

Gap Semester

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Drafted:

I am taking Fall 2022 off from school to graduate on-cycle this spring. Current activities include thesis research, drafting a manuscript for the snow droughts study, exploring Vermont on foot, bike, and skis, and visiting friends.

September Adventures

I made a video of some of my outdoor activities in September. Highlights include a wakeboarding concussion (not a highlight), a hiking trip to New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and other adventures across Vermont.

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NSF Research Proposal

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Published:

I was awarded a 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to fund my graduate studies. My research proposal combined my interests in drought, snow, and seismology. NSF GRFP Research Proposal.

Weston Ski Track Snowmaking Project

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Published:

This past spring, I was lucky enough to work on a mini project for Jim Stock alongside my friend James Kitch exploring how climate change was likely to impact our local Nordic ski center, the Weston Ski Track. As snowfall is inconsistent in the Boston area, the center relies on snowmaking equipment that uses high-pressure cannons to throw a compressed air and water mixture into the sky where it freezes as snow (if you’ve ever skied on manmade snow you know it’s not quite the same). Snowmaking equipment requires certain conditions to run, for example, it has to be cold enough to freeze water in the air but not too cold such that the snowmaking pipes freeze. The amount of moisture in the air places further constraints on when snow can be made and wind speed constraints on snowmaking equipment also warrant consideration. The project’s goal was to show that even with future climate projections, there would still be enough snowmaking hours to make Boston area skiing possible. These results helped lobby for additional funding to expand the snowmaking capacity at Weston.

Bozeman Adventures

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Adventures in Bozeman, MT

To avoid another semester stuck on zoom in a dorm room, my teammate James Kitch and I decided to take a gap ski-mester. We drove out to Bozeman, MT where we’d rented a small apartment outside of town. During the winter we trained and raced with the Bridger Ski Foundation ski team coached by Heather Mooney and former 4x Olympian Andy Newell. Over the summer we explored seemingly limitless mountain running trails, National Parks, and hosted an impressive rotation of friends on the second twin bed. In addition to exploring some of the West’s best skiing, we learned how to fix a lot of things on a car, not cook broccoli until the pot turns black, and how to take shoot epic (at least from our point of view) videos of ourselves on a GoPro. We ended up making a few highlight blog videos - they’re pretty fun :)

Harvard Varsity Nordic Ski Team

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Background

Since my sophomore year, I’ve trained and competed with the Harvard Varsity Nordic ski team (cross-country skiing). I walked onto the team after wanting a change from the clubs and club sports teams I participated in during my freshman year. Racing and training at the collegiate level have been incredibly rewarding and I’ve made some of my closest friends. My top finish to date is a 35th place finish in a mass start skate 20k. I am looking forward to one final 2023 race season!