"Matt, as a team of one, comes in here with data from eastern Cleveland County and develops an entirely different paradigm shift and developed a completely new approach in a matter of about two years," Crawford said.

In the future, Haugland said he hopes to expand his model so it can track temperatures more efficiently, as well as during all times of the day. He said he does not plan to sell the invention, but rather, start his own company, "NanoWeather," in Norman to license use of the technology.

"I'm hoping that anytime you see a nighttime forecast, I'm hoping it would be based on this model," Haugland said. "I'm hoping it will lead to more local forecasts, not just forecasts for general areas."

And when people mention research and innovation, Haugland said he hopes his award turns faces toward Oklahoma.

"I think it reflects very well on the University of Oklahoma that we can compete and beat students at other schools and competitions. I think this is something that will help give Oklahoma the recognition it deserves in terms of research."

For samples of Haugland's forecasts, visit www.nanowx.com.

Althea Peterson 366-3539 apeterson@normantranscript.com