Steve Vavrus, Senior scientist, Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research

Steve is the Senior Scientist at the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, and an expert on global climate change, Arctic climate, Wisconsin climate, and extreme weather. Most of his research involves computer climate models, which provide both quantitative estimates of changes in Earth’s climate in the past (paleoclimate) and future. Steve serves as Director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office, Co-Director of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and is a member of its Climate Working Group. He also serves as Assistant Director of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research. His achievements include serving as a scientific steering committee member of SEARCH (Study of Environmental Arctic Change) and the Community Earth System Model, as well as chairing the American Meteorological Society's Polar Meteorology and Oceanography Committee. Through his partnership with the Outrider Foundation, Steve has also helped develop an educational website on climate change that describes actions that individuals can take to reduce their carbon footprints. Steve holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.