The Program on Climate Change (PCC) community came together on the evening of Wednesday, April 5th for a Spring Welcome event, a combination of our Winter Welcome and Spring Symposium. Over 90 students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and staff turned out for the event to socialize, talk about research, and listen to a set of short talks by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars over refreshments.

Attendees came from a range of departments and programs, representing the breadth of the PCC, including Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, Earth and Space Science, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Applied Physics Lab, Biology, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Climate Impacts Group, Urban Design and Planning, and Political Science. 

After a short time for eating and socializing, members gathered to hear about the highlights of the PCC over the past year. This included celebrating the 3rd annual Climate Justice Workshop, co-funded by the PCC, PoE and College of the Environment, which has successfully trained 30 UW instructors from many disciplines on how to implement themes of justice, equity, and civic engagement into their lessons and courses. It was developed by UW ATM S alumni Heather Price and was facilitated by Alex Turner (UW ATM S) this year. The PCC Graduate Student Steering Committee was celebrated for its success in community engagement through the ACORN program, its co-hosting of a Schooner Series Seminar with Cascadia Climate Action on “Solutions to Climate Change,” and its work helping the PCC Undergraduate Cohort connect with research opportunities, professional development tips, and other students interested in climate science.

The focal point of the event was the set of short talks covering a wide range of climate-related topics. Presenters shared research findings and research interests on responding to extreme events in healthcare settings, the impacts of climate change on farmed shellfish, impacts of environmental factors on thawing of permafrost, chemical composition of marine particles, North Pacific Basin Geometry and Atlantic Overturning, understanding the composition and sources of air pollutants, and renewable energy land-use ordinances in the U.S. One presentation also highlighted an ongoing ACORN project with the Clean Energy Transition Institute that aims to visualize the clean energy transition in the northwest.

Full presentations:

• Leslie Nguyen (Grad Student, SMEA) and Cassidy Quigley (Grad Student, Mechanical Engineering): “Visualizing the Clean Energy Transition in the Northwest“
• Matias Korfmacher (Grad Student, DEOHS/Urban Planning): “The Heat is On: Improving Extreme Heat Event Response in Western Washington’s Healthcare Community“
• Joel Eklof (Grad Student, CEE): “Environmental Factors Controlling Thaw at the Southern Fringe of the Permafrost Zone“
• Inhwan Ko (Grad Student, Political Science): “Restrictive renewable energy land-use ordinances across U.S. counties, 2010-2022“
• Zho Ragen (Grad Student, OCEAN): “The Importance of North Pacific Basin Geometry on Atlantic Overturning“
• Christopher M. Kenseth (Post-Doc, ATM S): “Pulling Molecules Out of Thick Air“
• Craig Norrie (Post-Doc, SAFS): “Climate change impacts on farmed shellfish“
• Yang Xiang (Post-Doc, OCEAN/CICOES): “Chemical composition of marine particles“

PCC members who had been honored throughout the past year were also recognized for their achievements. These included several recipients of PCC awards generously funded by William H. Calvin and Katherine Graubard as well as the 3 2022-2023 PCC Fellows, the 8 students who completed their Graduate Certificate in Climate Science, and the students who completed ACORN projects. The full list is available here.

The Spring Welcome culminated with the announcement of the results of a poll to gauge PCC community interest in possible themes for the  PCC Summer Institute for 2023. The PCC SI is held annually at Friday Harbor Labs on San Juan Island in early to mid September, and focuses on a different topic each year.  “Climate change at the Poles” was one of the top choices of the poll and we are very excited to announce that Aaron Donohoe, Senior Research Scientist, Polar Science Center, APL, has signed on as lead organizer of this years’ Summer Institute. Watch your pcc listserve email for registration information in early summer.