In 1994, Nguyen began chasing storms in Texas and soon expanded his range to the larger area of the central United States commonly known as Tornado Alley. Nguyen began publishing images regularly in Accord Publishing's popular annual Weather Guide Calendar series, , , as well as , Storm Track, , textbooks, and other venues. His Mulvane, Kansas image of white tornado with a rainbow is one of the most frequently licensed tornado images of all time and several other of his photos have appeared in publications and presentations around the world. Nguyen's storm and tornado photography was considered among the most expressive in the field, with a particular emphasis on unusual palettes and the use of foreground elements to create dynamic line structures in the composition. On April 21, 2007, Nguyen and his storm chasing partner, Amos Magliocco, were struck by a tornado in Tulia, Texas. Nguyen's scientific grade weather instrumentation survived the hit and arguably measured the sharpest pressure fall ever recorded on Earth. Upon his death, hundreds of weather enthusiasts from around the world praised Nguyen's skills as a photographer and chaser in the online journalThe University of Oklahoma hosted a memorial tribute ceremony in the National Weather Center on September 22, 2007. The keynote speaker was Dr. Charles A. Doswell III. An endowed scholarship for graduate and undergraduate meteorology students was created in Nguyen's name at OU's prestigious School of Meteorology. Nguyen's imagery is represented by the stock photo agency Corbis Int'l which notes that the Mulvane, Kansas tornado image is "Widely considered among stormchasers as the greatest tornado photo of all time..." A five-week exhibition of Nguyen's photography was held at the in Los Angeles from March 15-April 23.
Death
Nguyen died in Arlington, Texas on September 9, 2007 as a result of injuries sustained during a suicide attempt on August 31, 2007. Nguyen suffered a sudden relapse of a mental illness and experienced severe negative reactions to anti-depressant medication.
Publications
Nguyen authored and coauthored scientific publications and conference papers as well as the photography book, Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers. Publications include:
Richard Ferrare, Edward Browell, Syed Ismail, Susan Kooi, Vince Brackett, Hank Revercomb, Bob Knuteson, Paolo Antonelli, Noah Misch, Jonathan Gleason, Eric Nguyen, Scott Currens, 2004: Airborne Lidar Measurements of Water Vapor and Aerosol Fields Over The Southern Great Plains During IHOP Field Experiment. 22nd International Laser Radar Conference, Metera, Italy.
Victoria Sankovich, G. Shaw, J. Gleason, S. Newsome, E. Nguyen, R. A. Ferrare, E. V. Browell, S. Ismail, S. Kooi, V. G. Brackett, H. Revercomb, B. Knuteson, and P. Antonelli, 2004: 2nd Symposium on Lidar Atmospheric Applications, San Diego, CA.
Blair, S. F., and E. M. Nguyen, 2005: Preprints, 4th Annual Southeast Severe Storms Symposium, Starkville, Mississippi, CD-ROM.
