Biography
Kevin Birdwell has a PhD in physical geography with an emphasis in paleoclimate/environmental change from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also holds a BS and an MS in geography with an emphasis in math and remote sensing from Murray State University in Kentucky, as well as an AA in biblical studies from Central Bible College (now part of Evangel University) in Missouri.
Kevin has memberships in the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, and American Nuclear Society. He has 35 years of experience in meteorological operations and research, which has focused on complex terrain meteorology and air quality, dispersion meteorology, Quaternary paleoclimate, and nuclear energy safety. His dissertation research described the interaction of winds with complex terrain and the resulting implications for the prediction of atmospheric and pollutant flows.
Kevin currently conducts research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee on nuclear energy safety, atmospheric effects on wind energy, weather model performance in complex terrain, boundary layer and surface weather interfaces, and dispersion of pollutants in complex terrain. Kevin has also taught Earth and space science—as well as meteorology—intermittently for Lee University Online in Cleveland, Tennessee, since 2014.
Kevin has served as a volunteer apologist with Reasons to Believe since 1998 and has been a part of the RTB Scholar Community since 2012. He has also served as an apologetics speaker, mostly on earth science and environmental topics, since the 1990s.
Kevin and his wife, Marsha, have been married for 30 years. They live on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and have two grown sons, Keith and Kyle, and a daughter-in-law, Caleigh, who is married to Kyle. Kevin’s hobbies include apologetics and Bible teaching, getting out in nature, hiking, and home improvement projects.
