- In April 1977, as a junior meteorology major at Northern Illinois University, Tim Marshall, ’78, conducted a 24-hour microclimate study some 35 miles west of DeKalb off an 80-foot cliff overlooking the Rock River.
The ambitious effort included hourly rappelling and recording temperatures every ten feet. The ensuing term paper received a rare “A” from Professor Jack Villmow. Even more importantly, the experience solidified a principle that Marshall has embraced for the last half-century: “Get out there and do the observing.”
An emeritus engineer and meteorologist with Texas-based Haag Engineering Company, Marshall has had an illustrious, pioneering career specializing in surveying and assessing building damage in the wake of natural disasters. An avid storm chaser, he’s also tracked more than 300 tornadoes and two dozen hurricanes and is renowned for his role as a principal developer of the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
“My professors taught me that the atmosphere is our laboratory and the best way to explore it is getting out there,” Marshall said. “Even in today’s world with all the technology, you still need to get out.”
In 2024, when NIU Atmospheric Science Professor Victor Gensini, ’08, M.S. ’10, asked him if he could support the ICECHIP project, Marshall backed those words with an extraordinarily generous action — a $100,000 donation to purchase and transform a 2022 Ford F-150 pickup truck into the Huskie Hail Hunter.
“The ‘yes’ was immediate,” Marshall recalled. “I’m all in.”
Six College of Engineering and Engineering Technology mechanical engineering majors outfitted the truck with protective shields to make it hail resistant, and Marshall’s “generous donation allowed our creativity to not be held back by cost,” noted Ryan Ramos, ’25. “We were able to choose the right vehicle, materials and equipment we saw would be up to the capabilities needed for the research effort.”
The Huskie Hail Hunter stood out among the 30 vehicles that were part of the ICECHIP convoy. “We showed up in Boulder with this beautiful, outfitted truck and everyone’s like, ‘Where did you get that? How’d you do that?’” Gensini said.
Marshall joined the ICECHIP team on the six-week scientific adventure but wanted to make sure he didn’t take anyone’s spot, so he provided another $8,000 in funding for a graduate student’s expenses.
“Everyone wanted to make this project a success — the students have the same passion, and we enjoyed so much camaraderie,” he said. “It was wonderful to get back and work with students again.”