The University of Wisconsin – Madison Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences regrets to inform of the passing of Professor Emeritus John E. Kutzbach on 29 January 2021. Professor Kutzbach was a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from 1966 until his retirement in 2002. He was also former director and Senior Scientist of the UW-Madison Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research. A native of Wisconsin, Professor Kutzbach earned all of his degrees at UW-Madison: an undergraduate engineering degree in (1960), a M.S. degree (1961) and a Ph.D. (1966) in atmospheric sciences from the then Department of Meteorology.

Second on the list of priorities on the new White House Website is the climate.   “President Biden will take swift action to tackle the climate emergency,” the website reads. "The Biden Administration will ensure we meet the demands of science, while empowering American workers and businesses to lead a clean energy revolution.”  

“That was one very specific step that Biden thought would be important to take to symbolize to the world community that we're back in the climate change game in terms of negotiations with the rest of the world,” said Stephen Vavrus, a climate scientist with the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Scientists with the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research will receive critical funding for their work on climate variability and climate change thanks to the Pandemic-Affected Research Continuation Initiative (PARCI). The PARCI is provided through the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate and offers financial assistance to research projects that are facing a shortage of funds due to challenges brought about by COVID-19.

Professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and co-director of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research Dan Vimont shared, “While this initiative will help CCR maintain our pursuit of the Wisconsin Idea through world-class research and outreach on the causes and impacts of climate change, it does more. In addition to recognizing the importance of our colleagues for what they do, it also recognizes the importance of who they are: parents, spouses and family members who are also world-class scientists. As we face what we expect will be a challenging time for the university and for research funding, this is welcome help to our center and to our scientists.”  Read more.

During an interview with TMJ4, WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, Wis., on December 13, 2020, associate director of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, Michael Notaro shared his research into the warming trend being seen in the Great Lakes area. According to Notaro, data shows that the average winter temperature has increased by around 4°F over the past few years. Notaro has been investigating this trend as a part of a three-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) Program. He shared that Minnesota and Wisconsin have had the greatest amounts of warming in the winter and that this warming will have an impact on everything from the ecosystem to local businesses that depend on winter weather.

The Elizabeth S. Pringle Award is limited to those members of the University Staff who hold Office Support Titles and is awarded on an annual basis.  It is issued to a single winner from among the nominees. The nominations are reviewed by a 5 person committee of University Staff Shared Governance called the Awards Selection Committee. This committee meets collectively to determine the winner.  The Pringle Award is made possible from a generous grant by Dr. Joel Margolis, an Emeritus Faculty member of the UW-Madison. The Award is named for his Assistant, the late Elizabeth S. Pringle.

Steve Vavrus was recently interviewed by Spectrum News about WICCI’s contribution to the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change.  Last year, Evers directed The Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) to provide scientific guidance to the Task Force. The report details ways Wisconsin is experiencing climate change, projects what the climate may look like in the coming decades, and offers suggestions to mitigate issues that climate change will bring.

Steve Vavrus, senior scientist with the Nelson Institute's Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was recently interviewed this week by BBC World Service Radio about the Arctic heat wave.

Recent UW–Madison research, as well as experiences throughout Wisconsin and beyond, have shown that existing storm water and flood control infrastructure is inadequate in the face of increases in extreme rainfall. Existing rainfall design statistics are already more than a decade old and seriously underestimate current and future rainfall conditions in Wisconsin due to rapid climate change. The Wisconsin Rainfall Project will use cutting-edge science to produce both “present-day” and “future climate” rainfall statistics, and will create a community of practice to promote the integration of the best science and engineering knowledge regarding climate change and extreme rainfall into infrastructure design and management. The Wisconsin Rainfall Project will be the first major effort of the newly formed Infrastructure Working Group of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), which has been founded to push WICCI’s prior successes into the critical emerging area of climate and infrastructure.