Xiaolei Zou received the Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China, in 1988. From 1989 to 1993, she was with the National Center for Environmental Prediction, Boulder, CO, USA, where she developed the 4-D-var system of the National Center for Environmental Prediction medium-range global model medium-range fore- cast model with full physics. From 1993 to 1997, she was with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, where she developed the MM5 4-D-var system and involved in GPS radio occultation data assimilation. From 1997 to 2014, she was a Professor with the Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA. Since 2014, she has been with the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. She has authored over 115 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Her research interests include satellite data assimilation for quantitative precipitation forecasts and hurricane track and intensity forecasts, as well as satellite calibration and climate trend studies. Dr. Zou was a recipient of the 2008 American Meteorological Society Fellow Award for her outstanding contributions to the applications of satellite data in the numerical-weather-prediction models and the education in data assimilation.