Peter Huybers: Climate Scientist
2009 Winner of MacArthur 'Genius Grant' & 2009 AGU Macelwane Medal
Peter Huybers is a climate scientist who, by mining the wealth of often-conflicting experimental observations, has developed several influential theories that explain global climate change on various time scales. Much of his research focuses on the Pleistocene, which spans from about 1.8 million years ago to the end of the most recent ice age, some 12,000 years ago. Drawing on physics, statistics, and mathematical modeling, Huybers showed that the long-recognized periodic glaciation of about 100,000 years could be explained mainly by obliquity—changes in the angle of the Earth’s axis in a 40,000-year period—rather than its orbital shape or precession.
September 22, 2009
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced the recipients of this year's fellowships. Twenty-four innovators in art, science, writing and more will each receive $500,000 over the next five years.
The MacArthur Foundations says, "Through his imaginative yet simple interpretations of fundamental questions in climatology, geology, and oceanography, Huybers is advancing our understanding of both past and ongoing climate change." Read the NPR Article
Press Release
"24 New MacArthur Fellows Announced"
Out of the Blue — $500,000 — No Strings
September 22, 2009
(Chicago, IL) — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 24 new MacArthur Fellows for 2009. The new Fellows work across a broad spectrum of endeavors. They include an infectious disease physician, an ornithologist, a painter, a photojournalist, a bridge engineer, a climate scientist, an economist, a papermaker, a mental health lawyer, and a poet. All were selected for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future.
This past week, the recipients learned by a phone call out of the blue from the Foundation that they will each receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next five years.
As seen on AGU's front page October 1st, 2009:
Two AGU members have been awarded MacArthur fellowships(“genius grants”): Peter Huybers, a climate scientist at Harvard University and a recipient of the 2009 AGU Macelwane Medal . . ."
