Crystal Stiles

Crystal Stiles

  • Contact Information
  • My Story
  • Publications
  • Background
  • Interests
  • Grants
  • Advising

Contact Information

TitleApplied Climatologist
Faculty RankAssistant Geoscientist
Address Off Campus
KY
Phone
  • office: 402-202-3320
E-mailcstiles3@unl.edu
VitaeDownload file

 

Contact Preference

e-mail

My Story

Hello, my name is Crystal Stiles and I am an Applied Climatologist and Assistant Geoscientist for the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) in the School of Natural Resources at UNL. I direct the HPRCC’s stakeholder engagement program for the High Plains region and surrounding areas. I also lead the tribal engagement program for the Center. I coordinate with regional climate partners, evaluate climate data and information needs for stakeholders in the region, identify and exercise opportunities to grow awareness and use of HPRCC’s climate data and information, and provide expertise and assistance on National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) projects related to Drought Early Warning Systems. I also spend part of my time working on projects for the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), which is also housed within SNR at UNL. In addition to these duties, I promote the HPRCC through social media and the Center’s quarterly newsletter.

I received my Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences from UNL in 2014. My specialization was Climate Assessment and Impacts and I worked on projects for the NDMC. My dissertation research involved studying drought planning and management for river basins in the U.S. I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Western Kentucky University in Geography and Geosciences, respectively. I studied drought impacts and planning in Kentucky for my Master’s thesis and worked on projects for the Kentucky Mesonet. I also have teaching experience at both UNL and WKU where I taught and assisted with courses in meteorology, climatology, natural resources, and geography. I am also an adjunct professor at WKU.

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, which includes my husband (Josh), my son (Thomas), and my lab/terrier mix (Daisy). I am a sports fanatic and especially follow Husker football, University of Kentucky basketball, and Cincinnati Reds baseball. I love a good thunderstorm and enjoy photographing nature.

I work remotely from Kentucky, so please call or email me if you would like to get in touch!

Selected Publications

Knutson, C., Gayton, L., Chapman, C. Stiles, C. 2019. Rosebud Sioux Nation Climate Guidebook: Building Resilience to Climate Change (pp. 42). South Dakota: Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance.
Knutson, C., Gayton, L., Chapman, C., Knutson, C., Stiles, C. 2019. Oglala Sioux Nation Climate Guidebook: Building Resilience to Climate Change (pp. 42). South Dakota: Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance.
Knutson, C., Gayton, L., Chapman, C., Stiles, C. 2019. Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe Climate Guidebook: Building Resilience to Climate (pp. 42 p.). South Dakota: Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance.
Knutson, C., Knutson, C., Gayton, L., Chapman, C., Stiles, C. (2019). Standing Rock Sioux Nation Climate Guidebook: Building Resilience to Climate Change (pp. 42). Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance.
Umphlett, N., Pettee, W., Sorensen, B., Stiles, C. 2019. Enhancing ACIS Maps: Increasing Usability through a GIS Portal. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 100: 23-27.Online
Wickham, E., Bathke, D., Bulling, D., Abdel-Monem, T., Pytlik Zillig, L., Bernadt,T., Wall, N., Stiles, C. 2019. Conducting a drought-specific THIRA (Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment): A powerful tool for integrating all-hazard mitigatOnline
Bulling, D., Bathke, D., Pytlik Zillig, L., Abdel-Monem, T., Stiles, C., Wickham, E., Bernadt, T., Wall, N. (2018). Drought THIRA Application Toolkit.Online
Stiles, C. (2018). Missouri River Basin Quarterly Climate and Impacts Report - Summer 2018.
McNeeley, S. M., Dewes, C. F., Stiles, C., Beeton, T. A., Rangwala, I., Hobbins, M. T., Knutson, C. (2017). Anatomy of an Interrupted Irrigation Season: Micro-Drought at the Wind River Indian Reservation. Climate Risk Management.Online
Stiles, C., Hayes, M. J. (2017). Recommendations for Collaborative Drought Management in Transboundary River Basins. Water Resources Impact, 19(3), 3.Online
Smith, K.H., C.J. Stiles, M.J. Hayes, and C.J. Carparelli, 2016: Support for Drought Response and Community Preparedness: Filling the Gaps between Plans and Action. In Water Policy and Planning in a Variable and Changing Climate: 123-139.Online
Shulski, M., Baule, W., Stiles, C., Umphlett, N. A. 2015. A Historical Perspective on Nebraska’s Variable and Changing Climate. Great Plains Research, 25(2):109-120.Online
Stiles, C., Umphlett, N., Rattling Leaf, Sr., J., Shulski, M., Kluck, D., Hayes, M. J., McNutt, C. 2015. Improving Climate Resiliency in Tribal Communities: Partnering for Change in the Missouri River Basin. Water Resources IMPACT. 17(4):15-17.
Bergman, C.J., 2014: Improving Drought Management for Transboundary River Basins in the United States through Collaborative Environmental Planning. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 142 pp.Online
Bathke, D., N. Wall, J. Nothwehr, K. Smith, D. Woudenberg, T. Bernadt, C. Bergman, J. Robine, M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, L. Darby, and R. Pulwarty, 2012: Building a Sustainable Network of Drought Communities. National Integrated Drought Information System EngaOnline
Bergman, C.J., 2009: A Survey of Drought Impacts and Mitigation Planning in Kentucky. Master's thesis, Western Kentucky University, Paper 95, 178 pp.Online

Background

Education

DegreeMajorInstitutionYear Awarded
Doctorate of PhilosophyNatural Resource Sciences (specialization in Climate Assessment and Impacts)University of Nebraska-Lincoln2014
OtherGeographic Information Systems CertificateWestern Kentucky University2009
Master of ScienceGeoscienceWestern Kentucky University2009
Bachelor of ScienceGeographyWestern Kentucky University2005

 

Affiliations

 

Awards

TitleAwarded byYear Awarded
Chancellor's Award for Employee WellnessUNL Wellness Team2017
Honorable Mention Climate Adaptation Leadership AwardNational Fish, Wildlife, and Plant Climate Adaptation Strategy's Joint Implementation Working Group2017
Chancellor's Award for Employee WellnessUNL Wellness Team2016
Ronald R. Dilamarter Outstanding Geography Senior AwardDept. of Geography & Geology, Western Kentucky University2006

 

Professional Organizations

NamePosition
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of State Climatologists
American Meteorological Society
Earth Science Women's Network

 

Websites

 

SNR Program Areas

  • Applied Climate and Spatial Science

Areas of Interest/Expertise

  • Drought impacts
  • Drought planning
  • Applied climatology
  • Climate services
  • Climate Change
  • Weather

Grants

Currently this page only displays grants that were awarded on 1/1/ 2009 to the present. If a grant was awarded prior to 1/1/ 2009 and is still active, it will not be displayed on this page.

Grant TitleHigh Plains Regional Climate Center (additional funding)
Starting Date03/06/2020

Investigator(s)

Ending Date03/05/2021
Funding Level$562,500.00
Funding AgencyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric

 

Grant TitleRegional Climate Center - National Weather Service Climate Services Partnership
Starting Date08/26/2019

Investigator(s)

Ending Date08/25/2020
Funding Level$13,941.00
Funding AgencyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Association

 

Grant Title KS-NE-IA Tribes Workshops
Starting Date07/25/2019

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/30/2019
Funding Level$14,768.00
Funding AgencySac and Fox Nation of Missouri in KS and NE

 

Grant TitleHigh Plains Regional Climate Center (additional funding)
Starting Date03/06/2019

Investigator(s)

Ending Date03/05/2020
Funding Level$562,500.00
Funding AgencyUS Department of Commerce/NOAA

 

Grant Title16th Annual Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop (CPASW)
Starting Date04/20/2018

Investigator(s)

Ending Date04/20/2019
Funding Level$500.00
Funding AgencyIANR Travel Funds

 

Grant TitleGreat Plains Tribal Water Alliance Climate Partnership: Development of Water Resource Vulnerability Assessments to Build Tribal Resilience Category 1
Starting Date10/01/2016

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/30/2018
Funding Level$42,000.00
Funding AgencyGreat Plains Tribal Water Alliance

 

Grant TitleGreat Plains Tribal Water Alliance Climate Partnership: Development of Water Resource Vulnerability Assessments to Build Tribal Resilience
Starting Date10/01/2016

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/30/2018
Funding Level$40,000.00
Funding AgencyGreat Plains Tribal Water Alliance

 

Grant TitleAWR: Tribal Climate Summaries
Starting Date09/01/2016

Investigator(s)

Ending Date08/31/2017
Funding Level$60,000.00
Funding AgencyNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

 

Advising

Graduate Programs

Master of Applied Science

Master of Science in Natural Resource Sciences
including specializations in

    Doctorate of Philosophy in Natural Resource Sciences
    including specializations in