Mearns Symposium

Dr. Linda Mearns has been a thought leader in interdisciplinary climate change research for more than 40 years. As an interdisciplinary climate scientist, she is renowned in regional climate-change, climate-change scenario formation, quantifying uncertainties, and climate-change impacts on agro-ecosystems at NCAR since 1982. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications, brought in numerous externally funded projects, and served as a leader and inspiration to a generation of scientists, particularly women scientists at NCAR and beyond. Linda mentored a large number of scientists, both within and beyond NCAR, and conducted a plethora of community service. Her contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are substantial, including authoring reports in 1995, 2001, 2007, 2013/14 and 2021/22, both in Working Group (WG) I and WG II Assessments.

Linda’s illustrious career has demonstrated convergent science well before this framework became popular in our community. She served as Director of the Weather and Climate Impacts Assessment Science Program (WCIASP) for 15 years and Director of the Regional Climate Uncertainty Program (RCUP) for three years. Prior to her recent retirement, she led the Regional Integrated Sciences Collective (RISC). She served as Director of the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment (ISSE) for three years ending in April 2008.  

Linda is highly recognized and honored by multiple professional societies. She is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, and received the American Association of Geographers Lifetime Achievement and Excellence in Research Awards in 2016.  She currently serves on the Advisory Panel of the USGCRP, is a member of the Board on Environmental Health (BEH) of the AMS, the NASEM Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC), and the WCRP GEWEX Core Project Scientific Steering Group.  These honors and invitations to high-level panels demonstrate the respect the international and national community has for her. She is currently editing a book entitled, Uncertainty in Climate Change Research: An Integrated Approach; and leading NCAR’s role in the Conference of Parties (COP).