August 29, San Francisco - Climate One at The Commonwealth Club announced today that Penn State scientist Dr. Richard B. Alley will be awarded the first annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. The $10,000 award is given to a natural or social scientist who has made extraordinary scientific contributions and communicated that knowledge to a broad public in a clear and compelling fashion. The award was established this year in honor of Stephen Henry Schneider, one of the founding fathers of climatology who died suddenly in 2010.
The award jurors are Professor Larry Goulder (Chair of the Economics Department, Stanford University), Dr. Ben Santer (Climate Researcher, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and Bud Ward (Editor, The Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media). The jury solicited nominations from a broad spectrum of anonymous experts in the fields of science and communication. The jury unanimously decided that Dr. Richard B. Alley exemplifies the rare ability to be both a superb scientist and superior communicator in the mold of Stephen Schneider.
In choosing Dr. Alley, juror Ben Santer said “Richard’s research has been directed toward answering a key question about climate change – how fast and how high will sea levels rise, and what can past climates tell us about the sea level changes we might expect to see over the 21st century."
Regarding Dr. Alley’s communication prowess, juror Bud Ward recalled a Congressional hearing where Dr. Alley used his bald head to illustrate ice age cycles. “It was a moment of Schneider-like brilliance,” Ward said, noting that Dr. Alley also recorded several YouTube videos explaining scientific principles while strumming guitar to a Johnny Cash song and playing piano to a Billy Joel tune.
"Stephen Schneider was hugely successful at making science useful to the public so it is humbling to receive this award in his honor," said Richard Alley, Evan Pugh professor of geosciences, Penn State.
Dr. Richard Alley will be presented the award in San Francisco on Tuesday, December 6th at The Commonwealth Club of California. The award is underwritten by the ClimateWorks Foundation and energy entrepreneur Michael Haas.
Dr. Richard B. Alley
Dr. Richard B. Alley is the Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and Associate of the EMS Environment Institute at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. He is host of "Earth: The Operators' Manual," a three-part documentary that is nationally televised on PBS, and has also authored a book under the same title and most recently co-authored The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change with Philip Conkling, Wallace Broecker, and George Denton. Professor Alley teaches and conducts research on the paleoclimatic records, dynamics, and sedimentary deposits of large ice sheets, as a means of understanding the climate system and its history, and projecting future changes in climate and sea level. Dr. Alley has spent three field seasons in Antarctica and five in Greenland.
Dr. Richard B. Alley is the Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and Associate of the EMS Environment Institute at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. He is host of "Earth: The Operators' Manual," a three-part documentary that is nationally televised on PBS, and has also authored a book under the same title and most recently co-authored The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change with Philip Conkling, Wallace Broecker, and George Denton. Professor Alley teaches and conducts research on the paleoclimatic records, dynamics, and sedimentary deposits of large ice sheets, as a means of understanding the climate system and its history, and projecting future changes in climate and sea level. Dr. Alley has spent three field seasons in Antarctica and five in Greenland.
His book on abrupt climate change, The Two-Mile Time Machine, was the national Phi Beta Kappa Science Award winner for 2001. Dr. Alley chaired a recent National Research Council study on Abrupt Climate Change, and serves, or has served, on many other advisory panels and steering committees. He received his Ph.D. in geology, with a minor in materials science, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987, and earned an MSc degree (1983) and BSc degree (1980) in geology from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. In 2008, Dr. Allen was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Stephen H. Schneider
Dr. Stephen H. Schneider was the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biological Sciences, Professor (by courtesy) of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from Columbia University in 1971. He studied the role of greenhouse gases and suspended particulate material on climate as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1972 and was a member of the scientific staff of NCAR from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project. In 2002, Dr. Schneider was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Stephen H. Schneider was the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biological Sciences, Professor (by courtesy) of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from Columbia University in 1971. He studied the role of greenhouse gases and suspended particulate material on climate as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1972 and was a member of the scientific staff of NCAR from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project. In 2002, Dr. Schneider was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Internationally recognized for research, policy analysis and outreach in climate change, Dr. Schneider focused on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. He also consulted with federal agencies and/or White House staff in the Nixon, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton and G.W. Bush administrations. His work is chronicled at climatechange.net.
Climate One
Climate One is the sustainability initiative at The Commonwealth Club of California, a nonprofit and nonpartisan public forum founded in San Francisco in 1903. The mission of The Commonwealth Club of California is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. Climate One convenes top thinkers and doers from business, government, academia and advocacy groups to advance the discussion toward a clean energy future. In addition to ongoing programs focusing on the full range of climate topics, Climate One focuses on food and agriculture, transportation, and building and land use. Its programs, hosted by founder Greg Dalton, are broadcast on KQED FM and KRCB TV 22 in Northern California and occasionally are carried on The Commonwealth Club's national radio network. Climate One.
Climate One is the sustainability initiative at The Commonwealth Club of California, a nonprofit and nonpartisan public forum founded in San Francisco in 1903. The mission of The Commonwealth Club of California is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. Climate One convenes top thinkers and doers from business, government, academia and advocacy groups to advance the discussion toward a clean energy future. In addition to ongoing programs focusing on the full range of climate topics, Climate One focuses on food and agriculture, transportation, and building and land use. Its programs, hosted by founder Greg Dalton, are broadcast on KQED FM and KRCB TV 22 in Northern California and occasionally are carried on The Commonwealth Club's national radio network. Climate One.
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Navneet Miller
Group Manager, Weber Shandwick
600 Battery Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
P 415-262-5972
nmiller@webershandwick.com
Riki Rafner
Director of Media/Public Relations
The Commonwealth Club
595 Market Street, San Francisco 94015
P 415-597-6712
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