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CPAESS Scientist Stories

Whether it was the tornado scene in the Wizard of Oz, or the rare triple rainbow watched as it appeared then disappeared in the sky, there usually was a defining moment, or event, that led a person to science. To explore, to discover, to find an answer, solve a problem. This section captures the imagination brought to life through the accomplishments of our scientists, who embody the CPAESS Programs—science in action: the goal, the process, the outcome, lessons learned along the way, the recognition. We hope you are inspired by these news features and enjoy the glimpse into the journey of scientists associated with CPAESS.

To our staff: please send us news, photos, and charts of your career accomplishments so that we can add to this page. 

NASA Jack Eddy Scholars

Two of our Class of 2018 students, Natsuha Kuroda and Karanam Ramesh, answer some questions about their time as NASA Jack Eddy fellows and about their research.

Ocean Sciences

Our world oceans play a critical role in climate change and weather modeling. So it is no surprise that we have brilliant staff all over the globe whose work focuses on 71% of our earth's surface, our oceans.

All-Female Crew Headed into Hurricane!

CPAESS employee Zorana Jelenak is leading an all-female crew into Hurricane Lorenzo.

Award for NOAA C&GC Fellow

Congratulations to one of our NOAA Climate and Global Change Fellows, Danielle Claar, who just won the Canadian Governor General’s Gold Medal Award for outstanding dissertation!

Juzer Dhondia wins Innovation Award

A hearty congratulations to Juzer Fakhruddin Dhondia who just received word from the British Royal Meteorological Society that his work has been acknowledged with a 2018 Innovation Award.

Women Scientists at NOAA's Climate Program Office

CPAESS’ female scientists who work for NOAA celebrate International Women's Day, March 8, 2018.

Chuanfei Dong

Chaunfei is a Jack Eddy Fellow at Princeton. He has been researching exoplanet habitability, and produced these two very interesting papers. Chaunfei has made unique contributions, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL), to the growing field of exoplanet research by using simulation tools and concepts that are very useful in the study of space and planetary weather.

David Keith | Geoengineering Experiment

Harvard climate scientists are preparing small-scale atmospheric experiments that could offer insights into the feasibility and risks of deliberately altering the climate to ease global warming.

Gabriel Vecchi | In the News

Documenting a pronounced slowdown in the Pacific Ocean atmospheric system that drives the trade winds, a prediction of global warming theory that appears to be coming true . . .

Colette Heald | Profile of a Scientist

Received the honourable Professor Crutzen Prize for best paper at the International Young Scientists' Global Change Conference, 5-8 November 2006 in Beijing, China

Irina Marinov | Postdoctoral Research

Irina Marinov pursued postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a NOAA Fellow in Climate and Global Change. These papers report on her work.

James Brown | Visiting Scientist

A committee of editors selected James Brown’s paper as a winner of the 2007 Best Paper Award of Computer & Geosciences using the criteria of innovation, computational complexity, exposition, and impact.

Benjamin Cook | Climate Modeler and Postdoctoral Fellow

Weather History Offers Insight Into Global Warming.

Yi Ming | VSP Project Scientist

Congratulations to Yi Ming VSP Project Scientist and Recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists & Engineers (PECASE)

Gavin Schmidt | Climate Scientist and NOAA C&GC Postdoctoral Fellow

Gavin has just co-authored a new book "Climate Change: Picturing the Science" with Joshua Wolfe, a documentary and editorial photographer with GHG Photos.

Peter Huybers: Climate Scientist

2009 Winner Of MacArthur 'Genius Grant' & 2009 AGU Macelwane Medal

Li-Chuan Chen

ALi-Chuan was awarded the 2009 Outstanding Reviewer for the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering.

Colin Thor West | Postdoctoral Fellow

Relationships between climate change and livelihoods in rural Alaskan Native communities.

Ning Lin | Awarded 2010 Natural Hazards Focus Group Award for Graduate Research

Ning Lin has been awarded the Natural Hazards Focus Group Award for Graduate Research, given annually to a recent Ph.D. recipient for outstanding contributions to natural hazards research.

Myles Allen | Awarded 2010 Appleton Medal and Prize

Dr. Myles Allen wins 2010 Appleton Medal and Prize for his important contributions to the detection and attribution of human influence on climate and quantifying uncertainty in climate predictions.

André van der Westhuysen | Nearshore wave modeller

André van der Westhuysen has been extensively involved in nearshore wave model development to protect the low-lying Netherlands against flooding from the sea.

William J. D'Andrea | Climate helped drive Vikings from Greenland

In the May 2011 Issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. D'Andrea presented new confirmation of a cooling and starving scenario affecting the Norse farmers.

Kerri Pratt & Brice Loose | Telluride Workshop

Organized by Paul Shepson (Purdue University), Paty Matrai (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), and Jan Bottenheim (Environment Canada), 27 interdisciplinary scientists from six countries gathered together to discuss the urgent scientific questions associated with climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Gavin Schmidt | Inaugural Climate Communications Prize Winner

A major new international prize for public communication on climate-change issues has been awarded to Gavin Schmidt of the Earth Institute-affiliated NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Kelly Mahoney | Hail May be Disappearing

Less hail damage could be good news for gardeners and farmers, but a shift from hail to rain can also mean more runoff, which could raise the risk of flash floods.

Jeremy Shakun | How Carbon Dioxide Melted the World

Global data set shows that rising greenhouse-gas levels drove the end of the last ice age.

Dr. Kerri Pratt | Arctic Snow Photochemistry

"In the Arctic, climate change is happening at an accelerated pace. A big question is, 'what will happen to atmospheric composition in the Arctic as the temperatures rise and snow and ice decline even further?'"

Hawaiian Monk Seal Health Program

The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is critically endangered and lives exclusively within U.S. waters. Only about 1,100 Hawaiian monk seals remain and their numbers are scattered from Hawai'i Island at the southern end of the Hawaiian archipelago to Kure Atoll at the northwestern end.