Gavin Schmidt

Gavin Schmidt
BGilbert · Public domain · source
Name	Gavin Schmidt
Birth date	1964
Birth place	London, England
Nationality	British-American
Fields	Climate science, Paleoclimatology, Numerical modeling
Workplaces	NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University, RealClimate
Alma mater	University College London, University of Edinburgh
Known for	Climate modeling, Public communication on climate change

Gavin Schmidt is a British-American climate scientist, numerical modeler, and public communicator known for his work on climate modeling, paleoclimate reconstruction, and climate communication. He has held leadership positions at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and collaborated with researchers at Columbia University, contributing to assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and media outreach on anthropogenic climate change. Schmidt's work links observational records, model simulations, and public discourse across institutions such as NOAA, NASA, and academic centers.

Early life and education

Schmidt was born in London and raised in the United Kingdom, attending schools in the Greater London area before pursuing higher education at University College London and the University of Edinburgh. At University College London he studied physics and geophysics, then completed a doctoral degree in applied mathematics and climate science at the University of Edinburgh, working with researchers affiliated with the Met Office and the British Antarctic Survey. His graduate training connected him with international programs including collaborations with scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Career

Schmidt began his professional career in climate modeling and atmospheric dynamics, joining research groups that collaborated with the Hadley Centre and the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. He later became a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, where he served as acting director and director, coordinating research with the Columbia Climate School and the Earth Institute. Schmidt has contributed to multi-institutional projects alongside investigators from Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and the University of Cambridge. He co-founded and edited the blog RealClimate, collaborating with climate scientists from institutions such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Oxford, and Yale University. His career spans roles in research, administration, and advisory work for assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and national scientific academies including the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society.

Research and contributions to climate science

Schmidt's research focuses on climate variability, radiative forcing, feedbacks, and paleoclimate simulations, employing coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models developed with teams at NASA, GISS, and academic model centers. He has published work on transient climate response, equilibrium climate sensitivity, and historical temperature reconstructions alongside collaborators from NOAA, University of Washington, University of California, Berkeley, and ETH Zurich. Schmidt has contributed to model intercomparison projects such as CMIP and coordinated experiments linking to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 and Phase 6 efforts that support assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. His studies integrate proxy records from Greenland ice cores, Antarctic ice cores, tree-ring chronologies, coral records, and speleothems to evaluate model performance in simulating past climates like the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene climate optimum. He has analyzed radiative forcing from greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane, aerosol effects tied to events such as Mount Pinatubo eruption and anthropogenic emissions inventories compiled by EDGAR collaborators. Schmidt's methodological contributions include statistical comparisons between observations from networks like the Global Historical Climatology Network and model outputs from centers including the Met Office Hadley Centre and research groups at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Public engagement and media work

Schmidt is a prominent public-facing scientist, co-founding the commentary site RealClimate and engaging with outlets such as The New York Times, Nature, Science, The Guardian, BBC News, and NPR. He has provided expert testimony and briefing to policymakers affiliated with the United States Congress, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and advisory committees within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Schmidt has appeared in documentary productions and public lectures alongside figures from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, collaborating with filmmakers and communicators associated with magazines such as Scientific American and platforms like YouTube. His outreach includes public discussions at institutions such as the American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union, Royal Society, Smithsonian Institution, and university lecture series at Columbia University and New York University.

Awards and honors

Schmidt's recognitions include awards and honors from scientific organizations such as the American Geophysical Union, the Royal Meteorological Society, and election to fellowship in professional bodies including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological Society of America. He has been cited in lists and honors compiled by institutions like the Royal Society and research prize committees affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences. His contributions have been acknowledged in media awards and science communication prizes administered by organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and academic societies including the American Meteorological Society.

Category:Climate scientists Category:British scientists Category:NASA people