Written by: Liz Junod May 10, 2023 (Left to Right) Dr. Richard T. McNider, Kevin Doty, Dr. John Christy, and Peggy Kauffman, at Kevin Doty's and Peggy Kauffman's retirement party held in UAH's Cramer Hall on April 27th, 2023. Photo Courtesy: Liz Junod/UAH In today鈥檚 world, it鈥檚 rare to hear employees remain at the same job more than 5 years. It speaks volumes about 糖心原创出品 (UAH) Earth System Science Center when hearing of two employees retiring with 26 years of service on May 1, 2023. Senior Program Coordinator Peggy Kauffman and Research Scientist Kevin Doty will miss walking into work every day, filled with people who they consider to be lifelong friends. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen students come in, get their degree, get married, and now have children of their own. The people I work with are family,鈥� says Kauffman. Denise Berendes, a UAH Earth System Science Center colleague can attest to Kauffman鈥檚 statement. Berendes has fond memories of working with both Doty and Kauffman over the past two decades. 鈥淜evin and I would joke about having to send a computer candy and flowers to make it function properly. And Peggy is just so open and friendly with everyone. I鈥檒l miss them both dearly,鈥� says Berendes. Hired by Dr. Richard T. McNider, both Kauffman and Doty鈥檚 careers at UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center began in 1997. Research Scientist Kevin Doty is retiring with 26 years of service to UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center. Photo Courtesy: Liz Junod/UAH Doty was hired by Dr. McNider right out of graduate school with his degree in atmospheric science. His specialty lies in running numeric weather prediction models. 鈥淜evin is one of the hardest working people I ever hired. He could write thousands of lines of code when we had projects. I am thankful for the talented people like Kevin who came Huntsville often from far away and made it home,鈥� says Dr. McNider. Doty says the first project assigned to him by Dr. McNider is most memorable to him, as McNider always came up with great research ideas. 鈥淚 worked on the Southern Appalachian Mountain Initiative, looking at the impact of air quality on the visibility of the Appalachian Mountains. The results allowed the project to give recommendations to the Environmental Protection Agency,鈥� says Doty. Doty鈥檚 weather modeling career at UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center evolved from air quality to most recently tackling projects that involved hydrology and irrigation. 鈥淚 collaborated with Dr. Lee Ellenburg and Dr. John Christy running hydrology and agricultural crop models. I particularly worked on hydrology modeling to see if we were to withdraw water from a stream, what would be the impact?鈥� says Doty. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about facing a tough problem, taking it on, and attempting to solve it that UAH has allowed me to achieve in my career. I鈥檒l miss that most,鈥� says Doty. Kauffman says accepting the offer to work at UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center to handle purchasing and travel authorizations was the best decision she ever made in her career. 鈥淭he atmospheric research scientists I worked with gave me the knowledge I needed to overcome my lifelong fear of thunderstorms,鈥� says Kauffman. Kauffman says Dr. Kevin Knupp, the Director of UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center Severe Weather Institute for Research & Lightning Laboratories taught Kauffman how to track storms on the radar. 鈥淚 finally have peace of mind when it comes to severe weather and if it would impact me no matter where I was located,鈥� says Kauffman. Senior Program Coordinator Peggy Kauffman is retiring with 26 years of service to UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center. Photo Courtesy: Liz Junod/UAH Dr. McNider considers Kauffman to be a part of the bedrock of UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center. 鈥淪he made it look easy even with all the changing rules related to purchasing and travel,鈥� says McNider. One of the first purchases Kauffman completed for UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center was a 1999 van that is still used as a support vehicle by UAH鈥檚 Mobile Atmospheric Profiling Network facilities for tornado field campaigns. Kauffman wrote every option for the 1999 van by hand into a requisition form. Thankfully, everything nowadays is inputted through electronic forms. 鈥淚 really enjoy knowing everything I have purchased for UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center is being used by students, faculty, and staff to study severe weather to help protect lives,鈥� says Kauffman. While both Kauffman and Doty will officially retire on May 1, 2023, both will be re-hired as part-time, on-call employees. 鈥淭here are people from UAH鈥檚 Earth System Science Center that I will remain lifelong friends with even after retirement and I鈥檒l still be able to see them in the building from time to time,鈥� says Doty. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to having the time to retire, but not be completely out of the picture. I can鈥檛 walk away from the people I call family. I am always happy to help this great research center when needed,鈥� says Kauffman.