Frank J. LaFontaine
Co-Investigator: Mapping of Hurricane Precipitation Before and After Landfall Experiment

Frank J. LaFontaine is a senior research scientist for Raytheon Information and Technology Services, based at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. He is a co-investigator for the fourth Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX-4) - a series of field investigations to better understand hurricanes.

He is a participant in the "Mapping of Tropical Cyclone Precipitation Before and After Landfall" experiment, research dedicated to the development of better tools and methods for predicting hurricane-related rainfall.

LaFontaine has participated in several other precipitation-related research missions. He has studied tropical oceanic precipitation change after the 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines; first and second generation Navy operational precipitation retrieval algorithms; and high-resolution imaging of rain systems with the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer, an instrument that measures natural microwave emissions from cloud water, cloud ice, rainfall and surface water.

His other research areas include satellite meteorology, airborne instrument science, precipitation retrieval techniques, data visualization, and precipitation validation and algorithm development.

LaFontaine has a master's degree in meteorology from Penn State University in State College, Penn., and a bachelor's degree in meteorology from Millersville University in Millersville, Penn.