I am an oceanographer interested in climate and the general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, which I study through the development of mathematical and numerical models of key physical and biogeochemical processes.

I became interested in the field of meteorology and oceanography in the 1970s as an undergraduate student in Physics at Imperial College, London. I stayed on there to do a PhD, working with the meteorologist John Green, and subsequently became a faculty member in Physics.

Since moving to the Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences at MIT, some 35 years ago, I have studied oceanography and, increasingly, the role of the ocean and ice in climate. I am attracted to the field because of its wonderful mix of empiricism, observation, theory and modeling. Furthermore, its ‘bottom-up’ nature allows scientists themselves to identify the problems to be solved, then organize and implement programs to do so. It still remains a field in which scientists working in small groups can make a huge impact.

I am also motivated by the fact that understanding the climate, and the role of the ocean therein, is one of the greatest and most important of intellectual challenges.

Other useful links:

MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EAPS – MIT Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
PAOC – MIT Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate