Melissa Moulton

Dr. Melissa Moulton studies the dynamics and impacts of rip currents, storms, and other coastal processes using remote sensing, in situ observations, laboratory experiments, and numerical models. She has appointments at the University of Washington (UW) as a Research Scientist/Engineer at the Applied Physics Laboratory and Affiliate Faculty in Civil & Environmental Engineering. She also holds a Project Scientist position at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Melissa grew up roaming the barrier beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her sister and cousins. She was first exposed to the joys and challenges of scientific fieldwork during her undergraduate years at Amherst College, when she spent a summer investigating bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico. Equipped with a penchant for fieldgoing science and a bachelor’s degree in Physics, Melissa headed back to Cape Cod to pursue a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program. Melissa enjoys being part of the Environmental Fluid Mechanics group at UW, and also can be found studying the coast from a distance at NCAR in Boulder, CO.