George Kiladis is a renowned atmospheric scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of tropical meteorology. Born and raised in the Boston area, Kiladis developed a love for science at a young age, with a particular interest in astronomy and weather phenomena. His fascination with the stars and the weather was further fueled by the occurrence of Hurricane Donna in the early 1960s. Kiladis attended high school in Somerville, where he took advanced courses in physics, math, and Fortran programming, which was quite unusual at the time. He later attended the University of Massachusetts for his undergraduate studies, majoring in physics with the initial intention of becoming an astronomer. However, his academic focus shifted after taking a climatology class from Ray Bradley, which sparked his interest in atmospheric science. After completing his undergraduate studies, Kiladis went on to earn his PhD and worked at CERES for 10 years as a postdoc. In 1995, he joined NOAA as a researcher, where he has been working on tropical meteorology. Throughout his career, Kiladis has been an active member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) since the early 1980s, contributing to their conferences and journals.

Scope and Content Note
This interview with George Kiladis, conducted by Jinny Nathans, AMS archivist, on June 5th, 2018, provides a detailed account of Kiladis's life and career in atmospheric science. The interview covers Kiladis's early life in Boston, his educational background, and his career trajectory, including his time at the University of Massachusetts, CERES, and NOAA. Kiladis discusses his early interest in science, particularly astronomy and weather, and how this interest evolved over time. He talks about his high school education in Somerville, where he took advanced courses in physics, math, and Fortran programming. He also shares his experiences at the University of Massachusetts, where he initially majored in physics with the intention of becoming an astronomer, but later shifted his focus to atmospheric science after taking a climatology class from Ray Bradley. The interview also delves into Kiladis's professional career, including his time as a postdoc at CERES and his current role as a researcher at NOAA. He provides insights into his research on tropical meteorology, particularly his work on the Madden-Julian Oscillation and the impact of El Niño on the extratropical circulation. He also discusses his collaboration with Klaus Weickmann and their use of digitized global analyses in their research. Kiladis also shares his experiences with publishing in AMS journals, praising the meticulous attention to detail and efficiency of the publication process. He expresses his appreciation for the in-house handling of publications by AMS, as opposed to third-party publishers, and his satisfaction with the technical editing process. The interview concludes with Kiladis expressing his hope that the high standards of AMS publications will continue, and his intention to continue publishing primarily in AMS journals.