May 2, 2019

Atmospheric scientist Chris Bretherton elected to National Academy of Sciences

Chris Bretherton, a University of Washington professor jointly appointed in the departments of Atmospheric Sciences and Applied Mathematics, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He is one of 100 new members elected for their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research” who were announced April 30 by the academy. Chris studies how clouds form and change over time and how to better represent these processes in global climate and weather-forecasting models.

Cecilia Bitz named chair of UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences

The UW College of the Environment is pleased to announce that Cecilia Bitz has been named chair of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, effective July 1, 2019. Cecilia is a professor of atmospheric sciences and studies the role that sea ice plays in shaping the climate in high latitudes. 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.

UW Program on Climate Change provides an interdisciplinary nexus for climate research and education

The UW’s Program on Climate Change was created in 2002 as a way for researchers in oceanography, atmospheric sciences and Earth and space sciences, then often located in separate colleges, to meet and collaborate on issues related to climate change. Back then, climate science was not as politically charged as it is today. Over 17 years, and since the 2008 launch of the UW’s College of the Environment, the program has evolved into a campuswide, interdisciplinary, student-driven program on climate change research, communication and action.

Congratulations to Abigail Swann, named an Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA)

Abigail Swann, an associate professor in both the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Department of Biology has been named an Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Swann was elected for her impact advancing understanding of linkages between vegetation change and the atmosphere via “ecoclimate teleconnections,” including an understanding of the climate impacts of plant distributions and plant functioning, and of the processes responsible for plant-climate interactions.

UW tool maps huckleberries to help find endangered grizzly bears

A team of researchers from the University of Washington and U.S. Geological Survey have made used satellite images of Glacier National Park, to examine patterns in huckleberry plants that turn a brilliant red color each fall. Tracking where huckleberry plants live now — and where they may move under climate change — would help biologists predict where grizzly bears will also be found.