Cecilia Bitz studies the role that sea ice plays in shaping the climate in high latitudes. She is interested not only in our present and future climates, but also climates of the past. She is actively engaged in research on improving prediction of Arctic sea ice and sea ice data assimilation, investigating wave-ice and coupled air-sea-ice interactions that control large-scale climate. As a well-known expert in her field, she is a former chair of the UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences, leads several projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and has been called to testify to the U.S. Senate on Arctic climate change.