Brian Hong-An Tang

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They say that everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it. Well, meet Brian Tang.

Tang currently has a 4.0 GPA that includes 21 "A-pluses" in the double major of Atmospheric Science and Applied Mathematics.

An honors project typically involves a student being directed to research literature on some topic within the course scope and write a term paper with a summary of the current state of knowledge. In Tang's case, he tracked down all the literature on the effect of various climate variables on the Atlantic hurricane season, decided which hypotheses he wanted to look into, and analyzed which claims in the existing literature could be substantiated and which seemed to be on thin ice. While this would be excellent research for a graduate student, Tang was still a junior at the time.

He expanded his paper about the climatology of hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean into a paid summer research project, during which he studied the El Nino phenomenon. Tang intends to continue the research that will eventually culminate in a better understanding of how El Nino negatively impacts hurricane activity in the North Atlantic. Tang has received the Charles E. and Sue K. Young Undergraduate Student Award for his research.

When not doing something about the weather, he's president of his UCLA residence hall, which engages in community service projects such as the UCLA annual All-Hill-Hall-o-Ween, during which the dorm is converted into a haunted house so inner city children could trick or treat in a safe environment, free from El Ninos.

Another event he is honored with is Bake for Burma, in which proceeds from a bake sale went to aid physicians working in Burma.

Through his fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, Tang also serves dinner at the Union Rescue mission, pulls weeds at Kenneth Hahn Park, cleans up the beach at Malibu, clear paths in the mountains off the Angeles Crest Highway, and prepares food at the Los Angeles Food Bank.

"Every graduate school that he applies to will desperately try to recruit him. What school wouldn't want a double major in atmospheric sciences/applied mathematics with 21 A+ grades?"
Roger M. Wakimoto, UCLA Professor of Meteorology